Kelsea Ballerini Is Ready for Another Round on New Single ‘First Rodeo’

Kelsea Ballerini gets knocked down in love but chooses to get back on the bull with her new single, “First Rodeo.” The record arrives alongside a serene music video that finds the country musician embracing the endings and beginnings that sunsets can represent. “First Rodeo” marks the latest release from Ballerini’s upcoming studio album Patterns, out Oct. 25.

“The visuals are meant to show the emotion, duality, feelings, and landscape of this record,” Ballerini shared in a statement. Throughout the video, the singer swings by the beach, takes a boat ride, lounges in a hotel room, and more as she settles comfortably into someone’s arms. “First Rodeo” narrates the journey that brought her back to being open to love after going through a breakup.

“There’s a reality that an inner monologue post-public breakup is, ‘I feel washed up on the heart front. I feel like I don’t know how to do this anymore,'” Ballerini said in a statement. “But at the end of the day, choosing love is bigger, and the honesty of saying please take it slow and be patient with me can actually be a beautiful and connective moment. ‘First Rodeo’ encapsulates that conversation, and more so, that decision within self to be vulnerable and open and allowing the hope of it all to seep back in.”

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Patterns marks Ballerini’s first studio album since sharing her fourth record, Subject to Change, in 2022. Last year, she dropped the EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat with seven new songs. Earlier this year, she previewed Patterns with the singles “Sorry Mom” and “Two Things,” as well as her Noah Kahan duet, “Cowboys Cry Too.”

“As much as it’s personal and my own art and life, it’s kind of at the point now that it turns into a shared relationship… where it becomes a different meaning to everyone,” Ballerini said. “Truly, that’s why I can’t wait to play this record live and see how it all connects outside of my own journey. Until then, I feel like ‘First Rodeo’ is the perfect final taste of the storyline and heart of Patterns.”