As she announces the tracklisting of her upcoming Patterns album, Kelsea Ballerini is painting a picture of what might be her most intimate and self-reflective project to date.
Fans already knew that Patterns features her Noah Kahan duet, “Cowboys Cry Too,” and the recently-released “Sorry Mom.” Now, Ballerini has shared the whole 15-song list, complete with a title track to kick off the album.
Another song, “Baggage,” ties into the album’s cover art. When Ballerini first announced Patterns, she also revealed the cover: A windswept photo of herself on a beach, sitting on top of a mountain of suitcases.
Patterns follows Ballerini’s Grammy-nominated Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, an album that cemented her status as a story-driven, searingly authentic songwriter. That album was largely inspired by Ballerini’s 2022 divorce. In the time that’s elapsed since, the singer has begun a relationship with Outer Banks star Chase Stokes — but she cautioned fans to expect more than just love songs on her next release.
Instead, she said, Patterns is a more general reflection on life and learning, inspired by what the word “pattern” means to her.
“What’s a pattern? It’s, like, a reoccurring sequence of the first thing you reach for, ’cause it’s closest,” she reflected in her album announcement. “It’s the first thought you think, or first feeling you feel, or first response you say, first choice you make.”
In this album, she’s examining the patterns in her own life — determining which serve her, and which are better set aside.
“I think that we make patterns so they don’t make us,” she concludes.
Patterns is due out on Oct. 25.
Kelsea Ballerini, Patterns Tracklist:
1. “Patterns”
2. “Sorry Mom”
3. “Baggage”
4. “First Rodeo”
5. “Nothing Really Matters”
6. “How Much Do You Love Me”
7. “Two Things”
8. “We Broke Up”
9. “Wait!”
10. “Beg for Your Love”
11. “Deep”
12. “Cowboys Cry Too” (feat. Noah Kahan)
13. “I Would, Would You”
14. “This Time Last Year”
15. “Did You Make it Home?” (Outro)
Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!
PICTURES: See Inside Kelsea Ballerini’s Dazzling Nashville Farmhouse
Kelsea Ballerini is taking fans inside the dazzling modern farmhouse that she now calls home in Nashville. The singer’s new residence is filled with colorful furniture and bold-print wallpaper that she calls “maximalist,” but it’s also set on a piece of land big enough for her dog, Dibs, to have some room to roam.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker