Kelsea Ballerini is nominated for a CMA Award this year for Female Vocalist of the Year, a category she shares with Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood. While Ballerini would love to win the trophy, which would mark her first-ever CMA Award, she insists it’s not quite her time.
“I feel like hopefully there will be a year where I feel like maybe it might be this year, but it’s not this year,” Ballerini told ABC News Radio. “It’s not time for me yet. Every year, things seem to grow in a positive direction, so we’ll see.”
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While Ballerini is a huge fan of all of the fellow nominees, she does have a pretty strong gut reaction for who she thinks will be crowned the winner.
“I think it’s Carrie’s,” Ballerini predicted. “She put out a beautiful album [Cry Pretty], she’s working her tail off. She’s about to have a baby and she’s still working her tail off! And if you’re actually going on vocalists, she’s just the queen. I think it’s her year!”
Ballerini might not think she’ll end the day as a winner of a CMA Award, but she still has plenty to celebrate about 2018.
“I started the year with a headlining tour, which is just something that feels really special to me, to have people in the room that connect with an album enough to sit there with you for two hours,” she said. “That was amazing.
“And then opening for Keith Urban … and learning from him,” she continued, referring to his recently-concluded Graffiti U Tour. “And then doing the coaching on The Voice, and doing a single with The Chainsmokers and releasing my third single off my record. It’s just been crazy!”
Ballerini’s collaboration with The Chainsmokers, “This Feeling,” was a huge accomplishment for Ballerini, who has been a fan of the duo for a long time.
“I’ve literally said for like two years now, my dream collab is to work with these guys,” Ballerni told Beats 1 Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “I love that they write their stuff. They’re songwriters, which I relate to so much and respect a whole lot. I love their stuff. I’ve covered it for a couple concerts too which is really fun. Last year, I was opening for a country band, namely Lady Antebellum, and I covered ‘Closer,’ and then I did an Instagram cover of ‘Paris.’ So yeah, super fanning.”
The 2018 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Astrid Stawiarz
