Kelsea Ballerini performed her latest album, Patterns, to Madison Square on October 29. One of the songs hit too close to home, however.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Her goldendoodle dog, Dibs, has been struggling with heart cancer since August. "He's not in pain, and luckily it hasn't spread further," she told fans at the time. The cancer is inoperable, however, and the singer is likely counting down to their last days together.
Dib is still alive, although it wasn't guaranteed that he'd make it for the show. When she started to sing Penthouse, she knew she'd be in for an emotional time for one specific lyric.
"I bought the house with a fence, enough room for some kids, a backyard for Dibs," the lyric goes. When reaching it, the crowd yelled the last lyric with her. The show of emotional support from the crowd physically knocked her back, and she stepped away from the mic with tears.
@champagneauby Dibs appreciation post ??? #penthouse #rollingupthewelcomemat #kelseaballerini #msg #madisonsquaregarden #patterns #penthousebaby #kelsea @Kelsea Ballerini ? original sound - Aub
Crowd Sings To Ballerini As She Cries Over Her Dog
She pauses as she tries to collect herself while the crowd cheers for her. After a moment, she says, "I'm gonna need you to take this chorus for me." Her voice starts to break as she talks as the floodgates open.
Ballerini starts them off but steps back to let the audience sing to her. As the crowd serenades their singer, she can be seen taking it all in. It's an emotionally powerful moment that will move her fans to tears.
When the chorus is over, she continues singing like normal. For a bit of humor to end the moment that had many sobbing, she remarks, "Now there's two dogs in the backyard." The lights fade and the crowd is left cheering even more.
The comment section of any post of this video is also flooding with support and sadness for the singer and her dog.
"It's everyone yelling "a backyard for dibs" too that kills me everytime," comments one.
"My heart breaks for her and Dibs," says another.
It's a heartbreaking moment that clearly meant a lot to Ballerini. I hope her and Dibs the best.
