Kelsea Ballerini Tells Teen Vogue She’s Loyal To Country Music

Fans have loved Kelsea Ballerini like they mean it, giving her a monumental year in 2015. She blew up the charts with two dynamic singles and became everyone’s new favorite country cutie when Taylor Swift invited her on stage during Swift’s 1989 Tour in Nashville.

Taking the country (and girl) world by storm, Ballerini sat down recently with Teen Vogue to talk Taylor, touring and her true thoughts about her music roots. She highlighted upon what she calls her, “mountaintop moments,” of 2015, which included the surprise guest appearance on Swift’s tour. Admitting she is a total Swiftie, Ballerini described the experience as, “unreal,” and now calls upon Swift for a shoulder to lean on.

Ballerini also discussed her love of all music and confessed she listens to anyone from “Shania to Drake to Destiny’s Child to Hannah Montana.” Those influences fall into place for her music and separate her from the other artists by giving her the pop edge to her country twang. Nonetheless, Ballerini embraces the mix that country music has to offer in this day and age.

“I love that on country radio, you can hear a George Strait song and the next is Sam Hunt. I love that there’s such a variety. It’ll help us grow as a genre,” she said to Teen Vogue.

No matter what comes, though, Ballerini plans to stick to the genre that put her on the map and set her on the path to success.

“I want to stay where I am,” she said. “I’m stoked to be a country artist. I have a huge appreciation for music in general, but my roots are country.”