Kelsea Ballerini sought advice from artists like Taylor Swift during her rise as a country music star.
For her Sunday meeting with Willie Geist on October 27.The 31-year-old singer recalled the advice she asked Swift when she was going through a difficult time in her career.
Ballerini shared, “I remember asking her and saying, ‘You know, I’m an independent label girl. So for me it’s a little difficult.”
Swift’s advice?
“She said, ‘You have to become undeniable. Whatever that means to you, whatever that looks like to you. Then no one can tell you no, because what is no? You just, you turn around. Turn, do you understand? – Ballerini recalled.
During her conversation with Willie, Ballerini also recalled the beginning of her teenage career in Nashville, which faced harsh criticism from record labels.
“My first experience was on an independent label that doesn’t exist anymore, and I walked in and played a song that I wrote and he looked at me and said, ‘Well, there’s already Taylor Swift. “” she said.
Despite comparisons early in her career, Ballerini and Swift only supported with each other over the years, starting in March 2015, when the “Cruel Summer” singer shared praise for Ballerini’s music on social media.
Since then, Ballerini has continued to support Swift, including at the 2024 Grammy Awards when the duo sat next to each other.
While promoting her new album “Patterns,” Ballerini also spoke candidly about how she and Swift stayed in touch and how the singer continued to influence her into adulthood.
During a performance on October 24 on the channel “A taste of country nights” The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer shared that she and Swift “talk from time to time.”
“Actually, when I say, ‘Oh my God, you put ‘Down Bad’ on the set list, it’s amazing!’ Usually it’s just a fan of mine, which is normal,” she said. “It’s really nice to have artists that you can touch base with and just check in and make sure everything is good. They are good, you are good.”
Ballerini also discussed how Swift’s bold songwriting choices helped usher in a new era for her own music.
“Even though ‘Love You Like You Mean It’ and ‘Dibs’ were on country radio, they were also getting airplay on Radio Disney, so I was really—not calculating about it—but protective of it,” she explained. “You know, I’m 31 years old, and so I think, especially in (“Rolling Up the Welcome Mat”), I just thought, ‘I just want to write the way I talk.’
The singer continued, adding, “And speaking of Taylor… I think when she started swearing on her records, I think she kind of gave everyone permission to just write the way they speak and write the whole truth.”