Kelsea Ballerini appeared on The Tonight Show to showcase her recent song, “Patterns.” Performing with back-up singers and a live band, Ballerini sang while perched on a pile of luggage as a sunset illuminated the stage behind her.
“Patterns” comes off the musician’s new LP of the same name. It marks Ballerini’s first studio album since sharing her fourth record, Subject to Change, in 2022. Earlier this year, she previewed Patterns with the singles “Sorry Mom” and “Two Things,” as well as her Noah Kahan duet, “Cowboys Cry Too.”
Ballerini sat down with host Jimmy Fallon to chat about Patterns, as well as performing a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden and meeting her boyfriend Chase Stokes by sliding into his DMs. She explained that she got to use a hydraulic lift to make her entrance at MSG, which was exciting because she’d seen Britney Spears use one years ago.
“So I always wanted one,” she told Fallon. “From the biggest dream as a little kid. So motion. So dramatic.”
As for Stokes, who stars on Outer Banks, Ballerini confirmed that it was her who made the first move.
“I was kind of newish-ly single and I have a lot of friends that live in Charleston and they were like, ‘Hey do you know Chase Stokes?’ And I was like, ‘I know of him.’ But let me tell you why I’ve never told this story. I think it was 2021. I was on a flight. It was like a 5 a.m.-er. Ungodly hour. I was getting ready to fall asleep and there was this young girl who came up to the person sitting behind me and was just like freaking out, fan-girling. And I heard him be so lovely to her and give her so much time and attention and intention.”
She peered through the hole in her seat and saw it was Stokes, but didn’t meet him then. “It was just a beautiful thing to see,” she said. “He’s a good, good man.” It wasn’t until a few years later that she reached out to him and they started dating. “It’s funny how the universe works out,” Ballerini told Fallon.
Ballerini will be on the road in support of Patterns in 2025. The 30-city, three-month arena trek is scheduled to kick off Jan. 21, 2025 at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’ll stretch all the way through February and March, wrapping March 30 at the Ball Arena in Denver. MaRynn Taylor and Maisie Peters will provide support throughout the run.
