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Kelsea Ballerini fielded a few questions from her social media followers who are eagerly awaiting her highly-anticipated album, Subject To Change, which is set to finally debut this month. Ballerini took to her Instagram story to answer five questions about the project — and share a snippet of an unreleased song.
One fan asked Ballerini which song on the 15-track album best describes how she’s feeling today. The award-winning singer-songwriter shared that track 14, “Marilyn,” was resonating with her the most: “it’s the first song I wrote for the album (summer of 2020) and it’s my little solo write so feel deeply connected to the lyrics and metaphor of it all.” With her response, Ballerini shared a snapshot of herself gazing at a stunning photo of legendary actress and beauty icon Marilyn Monroe.
Another Instagram user asked Ballerini which five emojis she would use to describe Subject To Change. Setting the slide to her latest song to release from the album, “What I Have,” Ballerini opted for a sun peeking out from behind the clouds, a cowboy, a shooting star, a butterfly and a plant. Next, she delivered a brief snippet of one of the unreleased tracks (without confirming its name), sticking with the ‘90s country vibe that Ballerini previously confirmed “heavily influenced” her album.
Ballerini revealed that the album includes a collaboration, and although she didn’t confirm the other artist(s) on the track, she shared a screenshot to show the enthusiasm behind it. Ballerini texted an unnamed friend that she’s “finishing up my record and have a song that I wanted to turn into a sassbomb female moment and just have to ask you if you would be a part of it. it’s country as sh*t and I’ve also asked (another unnamed artist) to be on it, so it would be a little trio. let me know what you think?!” Ballerini added an audio clip of the track “You’re Drunk, Go Home,” with her message. The mystery collaboration partner gushed in her reply: “I love it! Love (the other artist) as well! Also, ‘country as sh*t’ is my favorite kind of country music ha! I’m in.”
Closing out her brief Q&A, Ballerini shared what she hopes listeners will take away from this album:
“It’s my contrasted and honest journey of growth that bookmarks the last few years. I hope there is mutual comfort found in having no f***ing idea what tomorrow holds, but honoring today as it is. That the process of evolving isn’t always pretty, but is necessary for your existence. That love is beautiful and love is difficult. That when you take ownership of your good bad and cringe, you get new wings. That friendship is everything. That change is only scary if you give it the power to be, otherwise it’s just a new beginning.”
So far, Ballerini has released four songs from the long-awaited album: “HEARTFIRST,” “Love Is A Cowboy,” “The Little Things” and “What I Have.” Subject To Change is set to release on September 23.