Kelsea Ballerini Reacts to CMA Awards Snub: ‘Something Beautiful Will Come’ From Disappointment

The 2020 CMA Awards nominations were announced on Tuesday, and Kelsea Ballerini was one name that was nowhere to be found this year. The “Miss Me More” singer, who has been consistently nominated at major country award shows for several years, used Twitter to express her disappointment, noting that the last time she was snubbed, she wrote her recent single “Homecoming Queen?” in response.

“last time this happened, I wrote homecoming queen the next day about the feeling. something beautiful will undoubtedly come from the current disappointment,” Ballerini tweeted before congratulating those who were nominated. “nonetheless, congratulations to my friends & peers that got nominations. proud to be a part of the country family, always.” After fans shared their support for singer in response, Ballerini shared a follow-up tweet in which she thanked them and teased a new project.

“Ugh. I really love you guys. And deeply appreciate you,” she wrote. “And am grateful beyond words that you’re in my corner, today and always. I’ve been working hard the last few months on something I’ve never been more proud of. You’re picking up on it. Let’s continue our story…”

The 26-year-old further clued fans in to an upcoming release, posting a video of herself wearing a gold necklace that read “Ballerini” and responding to several fans in the comments with snowflake and fire emojis. On her Instagram Story, she posted another clip of herself zooming into the necklace as a slow piano ballad played in the background, the video cutting off just as the voice on the song took a breath to sing.

Ballerini’s latest release was her third album, kelsea, which was released in March. “Homecoming Queen?” was that project’s lead single, which was followed by Ballerini’s duet with Halsey, “The Other Girl,” and her current single, “Hole in the Bottle.” “Homecoming Queen?” is one of Ballerini’s most honest songs to date and discusses the inner struggle of someone who appears to have it all.

“It’s really about allowing yourself to feel,” she told CMT.com. “And that can be happy and that can be sad. Either way, it’s okay. For me, being someone who overshares a lot of their life, I do get scared sometimes to maybe show that I’m having a bad day or show that comments hurt my feelings sometimes. Everyone’s human. It’s important for people to know that we’re all allowed to break down, we’re allowed to have bad days, and we don’t always have thick skin.”