Kelsea Ballerini

When Kelsea Ballerini launched her career, she made a promise to herself: include one solo write on every album. As she readies her fourth fulllength, Subject to Change, out Sept. 23 on Black River Entertainment, she assures she has kept her word. “It keeps me accountable to not always rely on a co-writer,” says Ballerini, who won her first Country Music Association Awards, published a book of poetry and scored her fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in the past year. While she’s always writing between projects, she says that there comes a time “to gather all the demos and figure out the theme. When I was listening through the first 80 songs I had, there was a lot of juxtaposition and change captured.” Another recurring concept? The little things in life. “I have a Jeep. I drive every day. I like cooking and making pasta for my friends. I zoomed in what makes me happy and human.”