10 Facts About “The Comeback Stage” Fifth Coach, Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini is the latest addition to season 15 of The Voice! She will be bringing her musical expertise, young perspective, and experience in country music to the digital series “The Comeback Stage.” Kelsea will pick six of the artists who failed to turn a chair in the Blind Auditions and mentor them. One winner will get to join the show in the Live Playoffs, making the Top 12 into a Top 13! The companion series will air entirely online. But compared to the other coaches, she is relatively new to the music scene and much less known.

So who is Kelsea Ballerini? Here is everything you need to know about the up-and-coming country star:

1. Kelsea Ballerini was born on September 12, 1993, in Mascot, Tennessee, and grew up in Knoxville. She is currently 25 years old.
2. Growing up, Kelsea sang in the church and school choirs. She wrote her first song at 12 for her mother and moved to Nashville three years later. After attending Lipscomb University for two years, Kelsea decided to leave to pursue a musical career.
3. Kelsea has since released two albums. Her first album debuted in 2015, The First Time. Then in November of 2017, she released her second album, Unapologetically.
   
4. Kelsea is signed to Black River Entertainment, which is an independent record label in Nashville specializing in country music. The label has represented artists like Craig Morgan, Kellie Pickler, and Bobby Bones.
5. Kelsea says she “grew up on top 40 pop.” She lists her early influences as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and NSYNC. It was not until she heard “Stupid Boy” by Keith Urban that she decided to listen to more country music, including Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Dixie Chicks. Her greatest influence though? Shaina Twain.
6. In July of 2015, her song “Love Me Like You Mean It” reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Kelsea became the first solo female country music artist to score a number one hit with her debut single since Carrie Underwood did so with “Jesus, Take the Wheel” in 2006. Later, Kelsea also became only the fifth solo female country music artist to score back-to-back number one hits with her first two singles when “Dibs” reached the top of the Country Airplay chart.
7. Kelsea was named one of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” in 2014. She then won Billboard‘s Women in Music “Rising Star” award in 2015. After that, she went on to win “New Female Vocalist of the Year” at the ACM Awards in 2016.
8. At the 2017 Grammy Awards, Kelsea performed her hit song, “Peter Pan” while sharing the stage with Lukas Graham. She also received a nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammys that year, but lost to Chance the Rapper.
   
9. In March of 2016, Kelsea began dating Australian country singer Morgan Evans. He proposed to her on Christmas Day in 2016 and they were married almost a year later, in December of 2017, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Kelsea and her husband Morgan have a dog, Dibs, who they named after Kelsea’s #1 single.
10. Kelsea has toured with Lady Antebellum, Dan + Shay, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, and Keith Urban. Her next tour will be the Meaning of Life Tour with Kelly Clarkson and Brynn Cartelli!

“The Comeback Stage” with fifth coach Kelsea Ballerini kicks off on tonight, along with the new season of The Voice! We can’t wait to see the up-and-coming country star in action!