Tonight was a big occasion for Kelsea Ballerini. Nominated a whopping six times for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, her name was in the category this year as well. She was also nominated for Musical Event of the Year for "Cowboys Cry Too" with Noah Kahan, which they performed tonight at the 58th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Fans on Reddit were wild about them. One posted, "They sounded so good together! Based off Kelsea's recent Instagram story hopefully they aren't done collaborating!" Noted another, "OH MY GOD?!?!? I love them both so much, I had no idea! Running to find a videoooooo" And from someone else, "Did anyone else catch their mashup performance at the CMAs tonight? It was stick season and mountain with a view! I'm so proud of him."
Holler weighed in with this: "The 58th Annual CMA Awards ceremony was packed with star-powered duets, but no collaboration was as moving as the Kelsea Ballerini-Noah Kahan performance."
Rolling Stone said the two "gave all the cowboys in Nashville permission to get a little teary-eyed..."
"To me, the CMAs are the pinnacle of country music. They are the award show that's the crème de la crème. I'm honored to be nominated and I'm excited to see what happens on the show," Ballerini said to On The Red Carpet via 6abc.com.
Ballerini, 31, was clearly in top vocal form this evening.
It's been a very good year for her professionally. Patterns, Ballerini's album that dropped in October, "is the singer's first to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart," per Biography. The duet with Kahan is on that album.
She Had Some Challenging Times As A Youngster
Ballerini Dealt With Her Parents' Divorce And Bulimia
She is an only child who showed an interest in dance as a youngster. Ballerini also liked to sing. But life changed a lot for her when she was 12 because her parents divorced. Per the outlet, she began exercising too much, developed bulimia, and used diet pills. Six years later, at 18, Ballerini addressed her bulimia.
The singer has a healthy outlook now. She shared this with People in 2021: "I've re-calibrated what it means to me to just look in the mirror and just be like, 'Man, I'm healthy. I'm strong. I have good breath support to do my job well.' Those are things that matter to me now, rather than: 'I look skinny in a dress.'"
She Had Her Heart Set On A Career In Music
Artists Like Kelly Clarkson Inspired Her
A key step on that journey happened in 2013. Ballerini, then 19, was signed by Black River Entertainment. It was her breakthrough. She released an album, The First Time, that eventually went platinum. And per the outlet, "...Ballerini was named New Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2016 ACM Awards." She was a star.
Honors Came Her Way Fast
Grammy Nominations And A Grand Ole Opry Induction Certified Her Success
She earned two Grammy nominations early in her career, one for Best New Artist and one for Best Country Album. She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2019 at the youthful age of 25.
Ballerini Recently Had A TV Role
She Appeared On The Drama 'Doctor Odyssey'
This fall has been an exciting time for the Tennessee native. She recently had a role on the Ryan Murphy-produced ABC-TV drama Doctor Odyssey playing a "bridezilla." Per the outlet via ABC's On the Red Carpet, Ballerini said, "When I was asked to be this role, first of all, I was so flattered. I never acted before. And it's kind of been on my bucket list of can I enter into this world? I want to. And then I was asked to play this role, and it was such an honor because I'm such a Ryan Murphy fan!"
