Kelsea Ballerini‘s third album, kelsea, was released on March 20th 2020…and then the world shut down.

Kelsea marked the anniversary of the release with this message to her fans, “my little album that could, kelsea, was released two years ago today. the lifespan of this record has been QUITE the journey.”

“to be honest, when it came out the week the world shut down, i emotionally disconnected from it. i took it as a sign to check my ego. i spent the first few months of it’s life grieving the loss of what i had hoped we’d share together, and wondering if and how creatively i would bounce back. but then, like you’ve through every season, you showed up for me and this album. you didn’t let me move on or let me feel like it wasn’t good enough.”

“And now, two years later and simply because of you, it is the record and ‘era’ that I’m the most proud of. It has two radio number ones, two gold, and two platinum songs on it.”

“But, way way more importantly it taught me patience, humility, and to expect the unexpected. to loosen up my grip on what it is I think is going to happen, and just enjoy the ride while I’m on it. i’ve always written and sung about the freedom of feeling our feelings, but this is the album that made me walk the walk.from the bottom of my everneedy and overemotional heart, thank you.with this happy birthday post, the ‘kelsea’ chapter is now over.and for what’s next…who knows what’ll happen…aint that always kind of magic?”

Before she completely closed the book on the kelsea album era, Ballerini made sure to share this video with fans – it’s a performance of her song “needy” – watch it here…

Photo Courtesy of Kelsey Ballerini