Kelsea Ballerini Praises Taylor Swift’s Political Stance

Kelsea Ballerini has been a friend and fan of Taylor Swift for a long time. So when Swift recently made her first political statement, supporting Tennessee candidate Phil Bredesen in his run for the U.S. Senate, as well as encouraging people to vote during the upcoming elections, Ballerini had nothing but praise for the superstar.

“I think it’s important to use your platform for whatever you feel is important,” Ballerini told Billboard. “I think it’s really cool that she did that, and that’s what she feels is important, because she has a big ol’ platform, so it’s awesome.”

Ballerini admits she might not even be an artist, if not for the influence of Swift.

“I remember watching specifically Taylor, and being like, ‘I gotta play guitar because she plays guitar,’” the “Miss Me More” singer told CMT. “When people say, ‘I learned how to play my guitar,’ or ‘I just wrote my first song,’ at a meet-and-greet, that really matters to me.”

Ballerini just released her collaboration, “This Feeling,” with The Chainsmokers, admitting it was a dream come true to collaborate with the duo.

“I’ve loved the guys for a couple years,” Ballerini explained. “I’ve never really done a collaboration before, and I always was really vocal that I wanted it to be with them. They wrote this song called ‘This Feeling,’ and it’s all about thinking with your heart and not your head, which is what my entire album is about, Unapologetically, and so it felt really parallel to what I already was doing. It just made sense.”

The 25-year-old also lent her voice to a song, “Dance With Me,” on Things That We Drink To, the freshman album by her husband, Morgan Evans, out on Oct. 13.

“It was the first song he ever wrote for me,” Ballerini shared. “It’s so emotional and so sweet. Just the fact that he wanted me to be on his debut record over here is a big deal.”

While both Ballerini and Evans are currently focusing on their own music, she won’t completely rule out a joint project at some point in their future.

“It’s still so early in both of our careers,” she said. “His record comes out Friday … I feel like that’s a good first step.”

Ballerini’s deluxe Unapologetically album will be available on Oct. 26. Pre-order is available by visiting her website.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Rick Diamond