Kelsea Ballerini has earned another No. 1 hit with her latest single, “Legends,” which hit the top of the Mediabase Country and Billboard Country Airplay charts this week.
“I can’t believe ‘Legends’ is my fourth #1!” Ballerini said in a statement. “Country radio. Fans. Co-Writers. Band. Crew. Team. All I can say is THANK YOU. As one of the first songs I wrote for Unapologetically, the song really captures my journey of loss, life, love, and truly is the heartbeat of this record. Seeing radio embrace this story has meant the world to me.”
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The achievement makes Ballerini the first female country artist to hit No. 1 on Billlboard’s Country Airplay chart with the debut singles from both their first and second albums — the last woman to achieve this was Carrie Underwood in 2007.
Ballerini’s debut single, “Love Me Like You Mean It,” peaked after its original release in 2014, and subsequent singles “Dibs” and “Peter Pan” also went to No. 1.
“Legends” is the lead single from the 24-year-old’s sophomore album, Unapologetically. Ballerini wrote the track with Forest Glen Whitehead and Hillary Lindsey.
The singer told Nash Country Daily that she wanted to show listeners a different side of herself with “Legends.”
“It’s the first single from the second record, so it’s super intimidating,” she shared. “It’s definitely a song that isn’t like Dibs and isn’t like “Yeah Boy.’ It’s a little different for me and a little more grown-up. And it’s a mid-tempo story-song. It was just important for us to put out something that was a little bit different, a little more mature, so I’m really proud of it.”
As for her next single, the success of “Legends” has given the star a bit of confidence when it comes to choosing from her catalog.
“I think it’s just reassuring [getting the No. 1],” Ballerini said. “And it also gives us confidence looking forward to whatever is next—we can take a risk, we can try different things and see what works.”
Photo Credit: Black River Entertainment
