Kelsea Ballerini embraces her era of potty mouths.

The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer isn’t trying to be provocative or sensational about it. It’s just that she’s grown up now. Sorry, kids – sometimes adults curse.

“I started so young,” she recalls Taste of country evenings host Evan Paul,” and while ‘Love Me Like You Mean It’ it and ‘Dibs’ were being played on country radio, they were also on, like, Radio Disney. And so I was just, I was really – not calculated in that – but, like, protective of that.”

“I’m 31, you know? And so I think especially with (Rolling up the welcome mat), I was like, I just want to write like I talk.

So you’ll find the S-word in the album version of her hit with Noah Kahan, and the F-word in a powerful pop-country anthem called “Wait!”

You will also find a singer who is in complete control of her music and story. A one word review Patterns could be ‘confident’ – heck, even the break-up songs skip the first six stages of grief and land on acceptance!

“I could get deep into the details / I could hide, I could cry until I throw up… but it’s just as simple as we broke up,” she sings during “We Broke Up.”

Looking for self-loathing? You won’t find it here. Hoping to justify your personal downfall by scrolling through an ex’s social media feeds? Keep it moving.

“I think a big part of this record for me is evaluating my patterns – whether it’s me as an individual or me in a relationship – and noticing that I have, dare I say, some little toxic patterns,” says Ballerini.

This does not mean that there is a boundary between Rolling up the welcome mat (February 2023) and Patterns went up steadily for Ballerini. “We Broke Up” references some early struggles in her relationship with boyfriend Chase Stokes, and “Sorry Mom” ​​provides a laundry list of her doubts.

Across the fifteen songs, she remains resolutely committed to what she does best, even if she isn’t rewarded with much rotation on country radio. Like any artist, Ballerini keeps her fans focused, offering three- to four-minute lifelines backed by violin, guitars and sweet harmonies.

No, she hasn’t had a No. 1 hit in her last three efforts, but she just announced her first arena tour. That’s winning by adults.

“I think I care a lot less about what other people think of me,” Ballerini says. “I think I just have a better balance between, ‘Okay, this is my job, and yeah, I love it so much and — I don’t even know what I would be doing if I didn’t do all the stuff.’ but my real life is what nourishes me and what keeps me stable and on track.”

“And that’s where I get my measure of success now.”

“I think a big part of this record for me is evaluating my patterns – whether it’s me as an individual or me in a relationship – and noticing that I have, dare I say, some little toxic have patterns.”

A common thread that runs throughout Ballerini’s work Taste of country evenings: on request interview (listen to it below) is meaningful relationships. She talks at length about her mother and reveals how she and Carly Pearce deliberately want to maintain a bond.

Ballerini saw last month’s People’s Choice Country Awards as a chance to reconnect with Shania Twain, and she even stays in touch with Taylor Swift after all these years. The now pop star was an OG supporter who continues to show Ballerini how it’s done.

“I think when she started swearing on her records, she gave everyone permission to just talk… write the way they talk and write the whole truth,” Ballerini says. “And so, yeah, I was very careful not to say anything on this record just out of shock and awe, but if it felt like it was the right thing to say, I would say it.”

Patterns will be released on October 25th. Tickets for Ballerini’s newly announced arena tour go on sale November 1.