Tag Archive for: Kelsea Ballerini

NYCS First Impression: Keith Urban ‘Graffiti U’

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Keith Urban has been making his mark on the country music genre for the past two decades, always finding ways to reinvent his sound while staying relevant to the changes in the business and the fluidity of music itself.  In his latest release, Graffiti U certainly stays current while still highlighting Urban’s signature guitar skills as well as his ability to keep his fans engaged and singing along.

The project begins with his duet “Coming Home” written by Urban with pop star Julia Michaels, famed songwriters Nicolle Galyon and J.R Rotem.  While Galyon and Urban bring their country flair, Michaels and Rotem who have thrived in the pop and r&b worlds bring a progressive feel to the song which opens with Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried”.  Michaels is also a co-writer on three other songs on the project, “Way Too Long”, “Parallel Line”, and “Gemini”.

The opening track sets the tone for the rest of the album, classic country Urban vocals with hints of pop, reggae, and r&b. Furthering his crossover power, Urban cut a few outside tracks, among those”Parallel Line” which was written by Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Levin, Johnny McDaid, Julia Michaels, Amy Wadge and produced by Sheeran and “Horses” which was written by Matt Rad, MoZella, Jamie Scott who have all had major success in the pop world.

A standout on the record is when Urban goes back to his country roots for “Texas Time”.  The intro has Urban fiddling with his guitar and saying “You know what we need right now, we need a song about Texas.”  Another stand out is “Drop Top” which leans away from the country genre sonically and has the line “She’s going to Coachella with feathers in her hair” but features the epic pipes of Kassi Ashton on the chorus and simply put is the perfect summer, roll your windows down anthem.

Urban was most recently nominated for ACM Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year for “Female” and won for Vocal Event of hte Year for “The Fighter” which featured Carrie Underwood.  “Female” which is one of the slower songs on Graffiti U takes a stab at the #MeToo movement, empowering women.

Keith Urban

 

The Graffiti U Tour is hitting 58 cities across the country and kicks off June 15th at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri. Kelsea Ballerini is the supporting act for all tour dates.  The tour stops at Barclays Center on October 27th. For all tour dates and more info head to www.keithurban.net. 

 

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NYCS Woman of the Month: Jensen Sussman

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Jensen Sussman Woman of the Month

Photo Credit: Delaney Royer

Jensen Sussman may not be a name that country music fans may know right away however her company, Sweet Talk PR, is a boutique firm specializing in entertainment and music media relations for many of country music’s biggest names such as Florida Georiga Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Dustin Lynch and more. As our April Woman of the Month, we highlight the journey Sussman took to get to where she is now as a boss of her own successful public relations company in Nashville.

Sussman moved to New York City after graduating college with a major degree in dance and a minor in biology.  She wanted to have no regrets and to pursue a career in dance in the Big Apple.  “I didn’t want to fast forward and be in my 50’s and look back and never have lived my dream of being a dancer,” she explains.  “I did the whole starving artist thing where I was teaching dance for a ballet school in New Jersey, auditioning and working retail, taking every part-time job I could to make ends meet.”  During her time hustling to live out her first dream, she landed a job working for Urban Outfitters in the women’s accessories section and fell in love with the makeup lines Hard Candy, Urban Decay and Tony and Tina.

Loving makeup, she took a job working for Bloomingdales corporate office for Tony and Tina and that is where she got her very first taste for the public relations/creative development world.  There she learned how to pitch, write press releases and work with a team of creatives on new products for the line. Realizing how much she had learned from Bloomingdales, she went on to work for a PR agency full time, Trachtenberg & Co. which repped everything from luxury brands to beauty brands and she perfected her craft, learning and truly becoming a publicist.

After a health scare forced her to move home to Nashville to be closer to the support of her family, she decided to plant some roots instead of moving right back to New York City.  Her father, who had worked in the music business, introduced her to Little Big Town at a holiday party and they just happened to be looking for a tour publicist.  Although the music industry was a change from the makeup and beauty world, Sussman gladly took the opportunity and learned all she could from their national publicist Jenny Bohler.  “Jenny ended up being my mentor and really taught me everything about country music, working music and everything about Nashville. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.” she humbly explained.

After freelancing for some time, then working for Sony Music Nashville followed by Warner Music Group, Sussman started her own company, Sweet Talk PR. One of her connections reached out to her about helping to launch an unsigned duo that was ready to release their first single to iTunes.  That duo just happened to be Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard also known as Florida Georgia Line. “FGL changed my life and the next thing I knew we started working, we launched “Cruise” and I had a company, a staff, and an amazing roster. All of the stars aligned and everything fell into place.”  The debut single from the duo stayed in the number one spot on the Hot Country Songs chart for 24 weeks and sold over 7 million copies in the U.S.

We discussed if starting her own company and having such a resounding success with her first client was scary at first, she explained “I don’t think so, I’ve always been that person that sees a challenge and goes after it. I think that sometimes I just jump and don’t necessarily look which is a good thing, because you don’t have fear, but when I’m soaring I’m like ‘Wait, stop? What’s happening?” she laughs. “I tend to just jump and not have much fear about that.”  Now six years later, Sweet Talk PR is home to megastars including, Florida Georiga Line, their latest restaurant/bar in downtown Nashville, FGL House, Kelsea Ballerini, Jerrod Nieman and Dustin Lynch.  The company also supports rising stars such as Chris Lane, Morgan Wallen, Dylan Scott and Tegan Marie.

She tells us that one of the things she loves so much about her industry and publicity, in general, is how every day can be different. “One day you can be on set covering a TV taping, if you have an artist that is on a late night TV show, your day can be bouncing around press interviews that you have to set up, or you can spend the day at a tour stop if it is a huge headlining show,”  she explains. “It can also be sitting in your office all day not leaving your desk and sending out a thousand press releases or pitches to set up a campaign to launch a single, tour or album.”

Jensen Sussman

Photo Credit: Delany Royer

Sussman has a team of strong women who work to make her clients happy and successful and help her company run smoothly  “For me it’s really important to surround yourself with amazing people and to create the opportunities for other women and encourage each other because we are all rising through this together, whether its male or female, we are all in this business because we love music.  As long as we put our heads down and work hard and deliver on whatever our role is in this industry, that is what will keep us motivated and keep us going.”   She credits her family and friends as well for being a great support system and tells us that they have helped her navigate working in this industry.

“I always say PR finds you, it takes a very special type of person and work ethic to be able to do this job,” she tells us.  Explaining that while people who work in the music industry do have incredible jobs, it is not always pretty and it is very hard work.  “We are so fortunate we get to do amazing things with our careers but there is the side that you have to roll up your sleeves and work, there are those days where it’s twenty-hour days, and you are up until 2 am writing a press release.  I love what I am doing so much, we are so fortunate but it’s a lot of hard work and there is a lot of ups and down through that process.”

Follow Jensen’s exciting clients through her Instagram and check out her company Sweet Talk PR here.

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Kelsea Ballerini and Walker Hayes Sold Out Show at Playstation Theater

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Kelsea Bellerini Playstation Theater

Photo Credit: Kim Bunce for Hardwired

When an artist writes and records an album, they do so in a certain order so the listener can appreciate their thought process and their journey.  That is exactly the experience that Kelsea Ballerini wanted to give her sold-out crowd in New York City last night.  Ballerini played her entire 2017 sophomore album, Unapologetically in order, explaining throughout the night the story behind the songs and each section of the record, heartbreak, self-discovery, and finding true love.

Throughout her winter tour, Ballerini has had Walker Hayes play a 45-minute set to warm up the crowd.  Nash FM DJs Katie Neal and Jesse Addy had a big surprise for the singer, asking him to join them on stage so that they could present him with his very first ever certified platinum record for “You Broke Up With Me”.   Hayes gasped and held his hands over his mouth in disbelief when they made the announcement and graciously accepted the plaque.  Watching that special moment was the perfect way to kick off his set.

Walker Hayes - You Broke Up With Me Platinum Record

Photo Credit: Catherine Powell

Hayes performed songs off of his debut album, Boom such as “Break the Internet”, “Dollar Store”, “Beautiful” and “Halloween”.  He paused to explain to the fans how grateful he was for that moment.  “I’m humbled, I’ve never had a platinum record,” he said.  “The reason that this song went platinum is because of the people like you who love music and who are open minded, because my music definitely doesn’t fit into a box”.  Singing his next single, “Craig” he explained that the song was a simple thank you to someone who helped him out during a rough time in his life and that he feels it is an absolute miracle that the song is going to country radio in a few short weeks. He closed with a song he wrote as a tribute to his favorite country artist, Kenny Chesney, “Shut Up Kenny”.

Ballerini’s set included a giant video heart that changed colors and displayed videos that corresponded with each song.  She opened the show with the first song on Unapologetically, “Graveyard” and continued through the entire project.  One thing became clear extremely early on in the night, Ballerini’s fans are unlike those who just listen to the radio and know the words to the singles.  For an album that has only been released for five short months, it was remarkable to hear the entire room in unison not only singing “Legends” but every single word of every single song that she performed.  The way she interacts with her fans, even in a packed room like last night, she lovingly let them feel the appreciation she has for each and every one of them.

“I played the next song at the Grand Ole Opry,” she began.  “I can’t explain there was just a magic in it and we knew we had to put it on the album and today I heard it on NASH FM 94.7 for the very first time,” she told us before singing her next country radio single, “I Hate Love Songs”.  After finishing “Legends” which closes out her latest album, she thanked the crowd for changing her life with these next songs.  The night wouldn’t be complete without “Peter Pan”, “Dibs” and “Yeah Boy”.  “I wanted to end each night of this tour how everything started, just me and my guitar.” She explained before performing an acoustic version of her debut single and first number one, “Love Me Like You Mean It”.  If the night wasn’t filled with magic already, Ballerini held up the microphone for the last chorus and the audience drowned out the singer with their singing.

 

 

The tour heads to New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom tonight for another sold-out show. Below are the remaining stops and click here for tickets.

April 6 – Sayreville, N.J. @ Starland Ballroom
April 7 – Richmond, Va. @ The National
April 19 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
April 20 – Spokane, Wash. @ The Knitting Factory
April 21 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox SoDo
April 25 – Santa Barbara, Calif. @ Arlington Theatre
April 27 – Indio, Calif. @ Stagecoach Festival

 

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Swag Sessions: Featuring Walker Hayes

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Walker Hayes is no stranger to playing in New York City.  In the past, he has opened for Dan and Shay and sold out his own headlining show at American Beauty.  Just hours before he joined Kelsea Ballerini to open her Unapologetically Tour at Playstation Theatre, Hayes joined New York Country Swag at Refinery Rooftop to play his debut radio single “You Broke Up With Me” and “Beautiful”.  We also talked about his touring schedule, the new radio single “Craig”, swapped Dad Jokes and even found out his favorite cereals.

Watch the full Swag Session below and “Like” us on Facebook for some great content.

 

 

 

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Classic Country Grammy Moments

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This weekend the Grammy Awards, deemed “Music’s Biggest Night” will take place live from New York’s famed arena, Madison Square Garden. With the event just days away, let’s take a look back at some incredible Grammy moments featuring some of our favorite country artists…

Known for their spectacular collaborations, this duet featuring Lady Gaga and Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland singing “You and I” is definitely a moment to remember.

 

 

Maren Morris, after a great year, took home the award for Best Solo Country Performance at the 2016 Grammys. Morris is nominated again this year for the same category for “I Could Use A Love Song”. Ironically, Thomas Rhett is the presenter here and is also nominated for his own Grammy for Best Country Album, Life Changes.

 

Another classic collaboration, Kelsea Ballerini and Lukas Graham mashed up their songs about never growing up, “Seven Years Old” and “Peter Pan” at least year’s award show.

 

Let’s not forget 2007’s Best New Artist, Carrie Underwood. Taking home the award, Underwood proudly exclaims, “I love Country Music, first of all!” A grateful Underwood thanks God first and foremost, then her parents and then anyone who had a hand in making her album.

 

Catch The Grammys Live on CBS this Sunday night January 28th at 8 PM ET.
Follow Us on Twitter while we live tweet the show! 

 

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Top 10 Country Christmas Songs

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NYCS Country Christmas

It is officially the holiday season. While you drive to the mall or while online shopping for your friends and family check out our favorite holiday tunes by country music superstars.

    1. “Glow” – Brett Eldredge
    2. “Under the Weather” – Chris Young
    3. “Mele Kalikimaka” – Kacey Musgraves
    4.  “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Little Big Town
    5. “The Christmas Song” – Reba McEntire
    6.  “Deck the Halls” – Rascal Flatts
    7. “Oh Holy Night” – Lauren Alaina
    8. “What Are You Doing New Years Eve” – Lee Ann Womack
    9.  “Little Drummer Boy” – Jennifer Nettles
    10.  “My Favorite Things” – Kelsea Ballerini

For more of our favorites follow our NYCS Country Christmas Spotify Playlist.

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15 Songs We Wish Were Singles in 2017…

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15 Singles Great Lyrics

Sometimes, the songs buried deep in an artists’ album are even better than the singles sent to radio.  Here are our Top 15 favorite cuts from albums’ released this year (so far), in the order that they were released.

 

Lauren Alaina’s “Three”

On her sophomore album, Alaina has plenty of songs that are raw and honest but “Three”, a real look at what you miss when you follow your dreams, is definitely a standout on the record.

Key Lyrics: “A lot of miles, a lot of tears / You’ve given me some of my best years / There’s so much I had to miss out on / Six years of missing home for three minutes on the radio”

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Brett Young “Olivia Mae”

A smooth vocal and powerful lyrics, Brett Young delivers on this love song from his self-titled debut album.

Key Lyrics: “Olivia Mae I hope it ain’t just me / From where I’m standing I can see / Us finding our own kind of meant to be / Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right / But I just had to try / Olivia may I?”

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Little Big Town “Lost in California”

This melody is addicting and this entire album is incredible, but this song blends harmonies with soft simple imagery.

Key Lyrics: “Whisper in my ear, dreamin’ disappear, say you’ll take me / Where the world unwinds / Lost in California / Let’s chase the waves and let ’em take us under / On some deserted piece of virgin sand, yeah / Hold on to the freedom and the wonder / While we can”

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Sunny Sweeney “Bottle by My Bed”

This song is meaningful and touches on a topic that is usually not talked about, Sunny Sweeney’s voice along with a beautiful cello make this song one of the best on the album.

Key Lyrics: “I’d rather be in a carpool lane than this big cold limousine / I’d trade every pair of high heel shoes for a high chair in the dining room / Don’t even know you yet but I know I love you”

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Steve Moakler “Siddle’s Saloon”

Based on his grandfather’s bar, this song perfectly describes a local spot to find a rowdy good time. Take a listen and let this great tune get stuck in your head.

Key Lyrics:  “It’s been a long week, and we’re glad you came by / The stories and punch lines and cold icy Lite / Well if you’re not here, we’ll be asking ’bout you / Come Saturday night at Siddle’s Saloon / Hey, hey, hey”

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Charlie Worsham “Southern By the Grace of God”

We love this tune from Charlie Worsham, simply put it sheds light on living life in the south in the best possible ways.

Key Lyrics:  “I’m tellin’ y’all this delta drawl / Is stuck to me like buzz on a honeybee / Country is as country does and look here ’cause / You can’t out-country me / Hound dog howlin’ in front porch blues / Kids run ’round outside with no shoes or socks / Southern by the grace of God”

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Brett Eldredge “Castaway”

Closing out his most recent self-titled album, “Castaway” highlights Eldredge’s perfect tone and the melody will pull at your heartstrings.

Key Lyrics:  “I’d be naive to ever think / You’re at your door waiting for me / So why do I always try / To run away from you / Please don’t say a castaway / Is what I was born to do / I guess I’ll always be lost without you”

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Old Dominion “Still Writing Songs About You”

On an album full of potential singles and number one hits, this song which we first heard at a writers round last summer in NYC is a highlight on Happy Endings.

Key Lyrics: “You on the sunny Santa Monica freeway / You on a bed and a mini bar three-day haze / With your hair and my heart all a mess in the morning / I’ve gotten drunk on whiskey and women / Woke up in places that we’ve / never been in / Spending all night and all day trying to say something new / But I’m still writing songs about you”

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Midland “More Than A Fever”

One of our favorite new acts out of Nashville, this trio is bringing back traditional country music and “More Than A Fever” is a great mid-tempo jam that’s all about love makin’.

Key Lyrics:  “Your hands all over me like they were velvet / There’s no way to temper this desire / I’m on fire tonight / More than a fever / Girl, you’ve got the red line on the rise / More than a fever / And I don’t wanna break it tonight”

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Thomas Rhett “Life Changes”

The title track of Thomas Rhett’s latest album features one of many different vibes on the record, this particular song is more of R&B and spoken word than country but Rhett narrates his life story featuring his wife Lauren and the changes they have experienced with their growing family.

Key Lyrics:  “I remember the day I told my Daddy and Mama you’re gonna have a grandkid, yep from Uganda, that’s right, we’re adopting / And she is the cutest little girl that you’ve ever seen / Well I was wrapping my head around being a dad, a bigger wrench got thrown in the plans we thought we’d had / Now Lauren’s showin’ and got one on the way / Yeah that’s two under two, hey, what can I say? / Ain’t it funny how life changes / You wake up ain’t nothing the same and life changes”

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Carly Pearce “Color”

With her debut single “Every Little Thing” currently sitting in the top spot on the country charts, Carly Pearce’s debut self-titled album is filled with beautiful love songs.  One of our favorites is “Color”.

Key Lyrics:  “Well, you’re the rock, you’re the steady / You need someone to push you in before you’re ready / Well, I’m the rush, I’m the crazy / But I’ll be circling the moon without you, baby / You be the lines, I’ll be the color”

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Russell Dickerson “Would You Love Me”

Russell Dickerson has said that his debut album Yours, is a 12 song love letter to his wife Kailey and “Would You Love Me” is no exception. This reggae infused jam will definitely be stuck in your head.

Key Lyrics: “Cause I’ma love you til the sun burns out / Love you til my heart breaks down / Listen baby ain’t no doubt that / I’ma love you, I’ma love you, I’ma love you / I’ma love you til we’re old and grey / Love you til we’re running out of days / Hear me, baby, when I say that / I’ma love you, I’ma love you, I’ma love you”

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Lee Ann Womack “Hollywood”

Off of her latest full-length LP, The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone, “Hollywood” has an ominous tone about a relationship falling apart.

Key Lyrics: “Like the silver screen,  it’s a technicolor dream / We pretend it’s real, but it’s only make-believe / Lying in our bed in the middle of Act Two, We say, “goodnight, I love you” / We never miss our cue / I ask you if you mean it, you say, “Yes”, I knew you would / Well, either I’m a fool for asking, or you belong in Hollywood”

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Kelsea Ballerini “In Between”

Right in the middle of her sophomore album is this remarkable song about growing up and feeling stuck between a girl and a woman.

Key Lyrics:  “Sometimes I’m my mother’s daughter, sometimes I’m her friend / Sometimes I play grown up and sometimes I play pretend / Sometimes I’m a princess dressed all curves / And sometimes I just wanna scream “I’m not a little girl!“ / Dumb enough to think I know it all / Smart enough to know I don’t / Young enough to think I’ll live forever / Old enough to know I won’t”

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Lee Brice “Songs in the Kitchen”

Also released earlier this month, Lee Brice’s self-titled album features his most vulnerable and personal songs.  “Songs in the Kitchen” even mentions Lee and his brother Lewis (who is also an artist) singing in the car when they were kids.

Key Lyrics: “All my dreams came true, my songs took me far away / Now I’m singing them every night in these bright lights up on this stage / If you catch me, close my eyes every now and then, to tell you the truth / I’m probably just missing, songs in the kitchen”

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For the full list of 15 songs, follow our Spotify Playlist here.

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NYCS First Impression: Kelsea Ballerini Releases ‘Unapologetically’

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Kelsea Ballerini

After her debut album soared and the first three songs she released hit the top of the charts, one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year is Kelsea Ballerini’s follow-up record, Unapologetically. With what seems like a bit of a whirlwind career in such a short time, Ballerini has written her music alongside some of the industry’s best songwriters for years, perfecting her craft and building her fan base.

The sophomore project features a deeper look into who Ballerini is, her persona and will have fans of “Yeah Boy” and “Love Me Like You Mean It” loving her new spin on her pop-country princess-vibes.  It feels like this record has evolved with Ballerini herself, going from liking boys to loving them, leaving childish things behind and growing up to be a strong adult in the music business.  Releasing The First Time when she was merely 21 years old, those next few years of your life are crucial to shaping who you will be and what your career looks like.  For Ballerini, writing about her life and what she is going through comes naturally. “It starts with loss, and it goes into life, and then it goes into love; it’s the story of my life over the last few years,” she says of the record.

The album truly follows in that order, if you listen straight through it tells like a good novel, starting with breakups, finding yourself again and then eventually opening up to a new love.

Kicking off the album, “Graveyard” and “Miss Me More” are a refreshing look at a break-up song, deciding to choose yourself over a relationship that isn’t working. It’s a strong outlook to give the young girls who fill out Ballerini’s fan base. “High School” and “In Between” are definite highlights on Unapologetically,  the lyrics are honest, raw and illustrate how best to navigate growing up.   The latter takes a close look at those years between childhood and adulthood where life can be confusing, something that a ton of her fans will identify with.

Sometimes I’m my mother’s daughter, sometimes I’m her friend / sometimes I play grown up and sometimes I play pretend / Sometimes I’m a princess dressed all ribbons and all curls and sometimes I just want to scream I’m not a little girl /  Dumb enough to think I know it all, smart enough to know I don’t / Young enough to think I’ll live forever, old enough to know I won’t / In the in between”

Other stand-outs are the first single off the project, “Legends” which is the last track on the album and “I Hate Love Songs”, a real look at the sappy songs dedicated to love, she flips the concept on its head. Ballerini gets real about hearts skipping a beat and the cliche’ of Cupid and honeymoon phase. “I hate love songs, yeah I really do, I hate love songs, but I love you”. With her pending nuptials quickly approaching the twist on the classic romantic song.

Ballerini stays true to her self, to her story and true to the career that she has shaped thus far with Unapologetically by releasing a cohesive, well-rounded album.  Instead of a few hit singles, the album as a whole is a great listen from the first track to the last. Grab Unapologetically on iTunes here. 

 

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