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Kelsea Ballerini embodies self-assuredness and a willingness to embrace imperfection like no one else. Her latest album, PATTERNS, released October 25 through Black River Entertainment, stands as proof. Since her debut with The First Time in 2015, Ballerini has subtly reinvented herself and her brand of country-pop with each release, but she truly found her voice—and mainstream success—with last year’s Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. The EP and its accompanying short film saw her confronting the demons of her divorce at 29, promising never to settle for less again.
Now, a year and a half later, that promise shines through on PATTERNS. Kelsea Ballerini has blossomed from the starry-eyed songwriter behind tracks like ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Legends,’ and ‘HEARTFIRST’ into an artist who confidently owns her musical and personal strengths. While PATTERNS isn’t her first rodeo, it’s undeniably her best work.
Stand-out tracks: “Baggage,” “We Broke Up” “Cowboys Cry Too (with Noah Kahan),” “I Would, Would You”
My favorites: “Patterns,” “First Rodeo,” “WAIT!” “This Time Last Year”
The album opens with the soaring, acoustic title track, where Ballerini casually admits, “I’m coming apart at the seams/I got patterns.” The song’s sonic landscape mirrors the rich sunset and sprawling oceanscape on the album cover, with Ballerini atop a mountain of baggage. ‘Patterns’ also holds one of her best vocal performances to date; the bridge powerfully resonates: “Over and over and over again/It’s so much deeper than under my skin/Is this a battle that I’ll ever win?/When does it start and when does it end?”
PATTERNS delves into Ballerini’s growth across her relationships—with herself, romantic partners, friends, and family. In ‘Sorry Mom,’ she offers a heartfelt tribute to the shift from a mother-daughter bond to a woman-to-woman relationship, fondly capturing the evolution of their connection. Ballerini also explores her current relationship openly, and tracks like ‘Baggage’ and ‘First Rodeo’ celebrate the happiness and sanctuary she has found while acknowledging the inherent fragility of love. Ballerini’s discography has always been littered with clever metaphors and inside references, so the simple ‘Baggage’ lyric, “If you want that welcome mat, then roll it out with me,” is everything we need to know about how much she’s moved on from her past.
In many ways, PATTERNS very much feels like a rebirth of Ballerini’s 2017 album Unapologetically. Where she once saw love as dreamy and romantic, growing older has replaced that vision with something more raw, more vulnerable, and infinitely deeper. Tracks like ‘How Much Do You Love Me,’ ‘Two Things,’ and ‘Beg For Your Love’ see Kelsea grappling with the most human of emotions: anxiety, frustration, and desperation, all for the sake of love.
And, of course, Kelsea didn’t leave us without some country-pop crossover bops. Songs like ‘We Broke Up,’ ‘WAIT!,’ and ‘I Would, Would You’ are irresistibly catchy and completely scream-singable. With her upcoming One Night Only at Madison Square Garden and 2025 arena tour on the horizon, these tracks are undoubtedly going to shine in the setlist, with lyrics like: “At the end of the day, I’m a girl I’m afraid/Turn around, hit the brakes/Oh, and now you got me/Screaming on the phone, I’m screaming on the phone/Wait! Don’t go” and “I’ll think about these nights/Summer of ’24/When we lost count of all the ‘That’s what friends are for’.”
The crown jewel of PATTERNS is perhaps its most underrated track, ‘This Time Last Year.’ A reflection on her recent transformations, it’s a celebration of all the pain, effort, and growth that has brought Kelsea Ballerini to where she is now. She closes the album by singing, “I lost a couple good friends/Untied a couple loose ends/It’s all part of shedding old skin/And starting again/But, baby, baby, look at me now.”
AM I OBSESSED?
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