Kelsea Ballerini On Hosting The CMT Awards Again, First CMT Memory With Keith Urban & More | Billboard News

Kelsea Ballerini shares how she’s having fun hosting the CMT Awards again this year, her first CMT Awards memory being getting to meet Keith Urban, her different fashion looks award show, performing an updated version of one of her first hits “Love Me Like You Mean It” 10 years after it’s been released and more!

Kelsea Ballerini
When I was in high school I had just moved to Nashville. We waited outside the barricade at the CMT Awards when they were still in Nashville. We just waited for artists to come over because we wanted to take pictures and meet them and, I remember Keith Urban came over and I have a picture with him as a fan. Just like one of the craziest moments of my life. It feels very full circle obviously to go from, like the kiddo outside the barricade to now being the host of the show.

Tetris Kelly
From fan to host Kelsey Ballerini is the queen of the CMTs.

Kelsea Ballerini
It’s springtime and it’s it’s a party it’s a party that’s what it’s supposed to feel like a big celebration so the clothes definitely mirror that and, I’m a girly girl and like part of hosting is having fun with the fashion and playing and doing the quick changes and all that so I think all in there’s seven looks.

Tetris Kelly
You know when Kelsey hits the stage and Austin she’s gonna bring the looks but she’s not just blessed the stage with fashion she’s gonna give a throwback performance to remember.

Kelsea Ballerina
Someone was like hey “Love Me” is a decade old next summer and I was like that doesn’t feel real.

Kelsea Ballerina
I wanted to find a way to say thank you and also challenge myself to to like reconstruct it as a 30 year old. How I would sing it now sounds very different than how 19 year old me recorded it and it was really fun to to figure that out and I’m proud of it and it’s also very much so a reflection of the new music to come.

Tetris Kelly
It all goes down Sunday on CBS

Stefanie Tanaka

Billboard