Kelsea Ballerini has released her new single ‘First Rodeo’, the latest song to be taken from her forthcoming album PATTERNS out October 25th via Black River Entertainment.
Following her single ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ featuring Noah Kahan, which is closing in on 90 million streams, and the confessional ‘Sorry Mom’, with all the tells of how we fail our parents, ‘First Rodeo’ offers a young woman willing to seek, but speaking to the tentativity that being hurt can create. With a vibey track, a bit of cello and a slightly breathy vocal, Ballerini owns her own experiences and hopes for something worthy of her heart.
“Listen, there’s a reality that an inner monologue post public breakup is, ‘I feel washed up on the heart front. I feel like I don’t know how to do this anymore,'” she says. “But at the end of the day, choosing love is bigger, and the honesty of saying please take it slow and be patient with me can actually be a beautiful and connective moment. ‘First Rodeo’ encapsulates that conversation, and more so, that decision within self to be vulnerable and open and allowing the hope of it all to seep back in.”
To reinforce the tentativity of re-engaging, Ballerini again teamed with Patrick Tracy for a visually rapturous video filmed on the beach, on a vintage carousel, in a luxe hotel room, on a boat and in the arms of a new lover. With an emphasis on golden hour and sunset lighting, there’s a dreaminess to the clip that matches the record’s own wistfulness.