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Kelsea Ballerini revealed new details about her upcoming album, Patterns, on Tuesday (August 27).
Hundreds of social media users quickly commented on Ballerini’s post, and while many of them expressed excitement for the singer-songwriter’s next record, many also noticed one highly-anticipated song that Ballerini omitted from the Patterns track list.
- Patterns
- Sorry Mom
- Baggage
- First Rodeo
- Nothing Really Matters
- How Much Do You Love Me
- Two Things
- We Broke Up
- Wait!
- Beg For Your Love
- Deep
- Cowboys Cry Too, with Noah Kahan
- I Would, Would You
- This Time Last Year
- Did You Make It Home? (Outro)
After reading the Patterns track list, some commenters reacted: “NO TO THE MEN WHO LOVE WOMEN AFTER HEARTBREAK? 😭,” “BUT KELSEA WE NEED ‘To the men who love women after heartbreak’ 😭😭😭😭 MAAM,” “I’m in my ‘to the man who loved this woman after heartbreak’ era and really wanted to hear it 🥺,” “To the man who loved this woman after heartbreak?????? 😭.”
Ballerini previously unveiled the unreleased love song when she performed at the historic Grand Ole Opry in November 2023. Her performance arrived shortly after she shared a sneak peek of “To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak” on TikTok. Songwriters Karen Fairchild and Hillary Lindsey joined Ballerini on stage to debut it live together.
“The reality is, I’ve been singing about a chapter of my life that is far past me now,” Ballerini said at that time, referencing Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, her deeply vulnerable EP that she released after her divorce. She's since started dating Outer Banks star Chase Stokes. “And I’m writing about the chapter of life that I’m in, and it looks very different, and I kind of wanted to share a bit of it now. I’m very gently and slowly starting to make the next record. I really want to take the time to handle it with care.”
“To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak” does not appear on the Patterns track list that Ballerini revealed on Tuesday. However, other commenters expressed their anticipation for the upcoming record and made other observations. Ballerini previously said as she answered questions on her Instagram story that a few personal highlights on the album include track 2, “my personal favorite,” track 4 is “an emotional cornerstone,” and 9 is a “bop.”
Ballerini’s “personal favorite” is “Sorry Mom,” the latest song to release from the record. It serves as a “love letter” to her relationship with her mom, and how that relationship has grown over time. That song followed “Cowboys Cry Too,” a duet with Kahan. Track 4, “First Rodeo,” is “an emotional cornerstone,” and track 9, “Wait!,” is the “bop.” Other observant fans are eager for track 7, “Two Things,” after picking up on what appeared to be a hint from Ballerini in a recent email update.
Patterns is due on October 25. Ballerini said during a rooftop show in Nashville in June that she’s “never handled anything with so much care in my life.”