Kelsea Ballerini Talks CMA Awards Collaboration With Reba, Songwriting, New Tour & New Album, “Unapologetically”

Kelsea Ballerini Talks CMA Awards Collaboration With Reba, Songwriting, New Tour & New Album, “Unapologetically”

Jim Casey talks with Kelsea Ballerini about:

  • her very busy schedule
  • titling her new album, Unapologetically
  • picking songs for the new album
  • leading with her heart
  • writing or co-writing every track on the album
  • her upcoming The Unapologetically Tour
  • building the album with her darkest song, “Graveyard”
  • her favorite song on the record, “In Between”
  • writing “End of the World”
  • earning her fifth career CMA Awards nomination
  • performing with Reba McEntire at the CMA Awards
  • learning from tours with Thomas Rhett and Lady Antebellum

Show Participants

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Jim Casey, NCD editor in chief

photo by Bryan Webb

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