Kelsea Ballerini eyes spring for new album: “This one’s just like, ‘Here you go, try and figure this out!'”

Black River EntertainmentKelsea Ballerini just scored the highest debut of her career so far with her new single, ‘homecoming queen?’ — but it sounds like we may have to wait a bit longer more new music from the “Miss Me More” hitmaker.

She tells the British publication Music Week that her third album won’t be out until next spring, though her record company hasn’t yet nailed down a date. However, Kelsea’s already recorded ten songs for the project, and reveals she’s really thought through her approach to the material.

“The first 10 songs are the ones that are singles or that feel mainstream and good for radio,” she tells Music Week. “I want to get those all mixed and mastered and then be like, ‘OK, I want to do a weird song and a song that is going to crush live but will never be a radio single.’ I can play with the rest of it!’”

Overall, the Knoxville, Tennessee native says “there’s just a lot going on” sonically on her third record.

“There’s a lot more country,” she explains. “There’s also a lot more country pop. We have a song with horns, we have a song with a string quartet. We have two collaborations.”

Kelsea expects that ultimately, this album will be very different than her last one.

“Unapologetically was a concept record — top to bottom, if you listened to it, it told a story,” she explains. “This is opposite of that. It’s quite liberating — this one’s just like, ‘Here you go, try and figure this out!’”