Kelsea Ballerini Celebrates 10 Years of Debut Hit “Love Me Like You Mean It” With New Reimagined Version
Kelsea Set to Host & Perform This New Version Live During the CMT Music Awards This Sunday
This Very Special Rendition Maintains the Magic of the Original Uplifted by Kelsea's Dynamic Voice & Heartfelt Songcraft
Kelsea Leads the Field for the 2024 CMT Music Awards Nominations including: “Video of the Year,” “Female Video of the Year” & “CMT Performance of the Year”
More New Music Coming Soon from Kelsea Ballerini
(Nashville): Earmarking a major milestone, two-time CMA Award-winning and four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum country singer, songwriter and producer Kelsea Ballerini celebrates the 10th anniversary of her debut smash single “Love Me Like You Mean It” with a new Reimagined Version out now.
Listen to “Love Me Like You Mean It (Reimagined)” HERE via Black River Entertainment.
In conjunction with the song’s release, Kelsea is set to perform the song live during the CMT Music Awards, where she will also serve as the show’s host for the fourth year in a row.
About the reimagined version, Kelsea commented, “I can’t believe it’s been ten years since ‘Love Me Like You Mean It’. To say that song changed my life is a massive understatement. It’s a part of who I am and the beginning of my journey as an artist. To celebrate its 10th birthday by sharing this Reimagined Version with my fans feels full circle and is the perfect palate cleanser before new music. I hope everyone loves this, dare I say ‘grown up’ version, as much as I do!”
“Love Me Like You Mean It” initially arrived on July 8, 2014 and effectively introduced Kelsea to the world. It also assured her as a history-making force. Not only did the song go platinum, but it enshrined her as “the first female country music artist on an independent label to top the Billboard Country Airplay Chart ever” and “the first female country artist to top the chart since 2006.” Thus far, it has amassed over 248 million all-time streams, including 40 million YouTube views on the music video—which also earned a CMT Music Awards nomination for “Breakthrough Video of the Year.” Most importantly, it set the stage for the release of her platinum full-length debut LP, The First Time.
Right now, Kelsea is in the studio, creating the follow-up to her acclaimed Rolling Up The Welcome Mat EP. The latter claimed a spot on year-end lists by Billboard and Rolling Stone and garnered both a CMA nomination for “Album of the Year'' and GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Country Album.” Kelsea currently leads the field for 2024 CMT Music Awards nominations including: “Video of the Year,” “Female Video of the Year” and “CMT Performance of the Year.”
Stay tuned for more from Kelsea Ballerini soon. In the meantime, experience “Love Me Like You Mean It” for the first time all over again.
About Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini has consistently made history. With the release of her debut album The First Time (Black River), she became the “only female country artist to hit #1 with the first three consecutive singles from a debut album.” This history-making feat helped earn the honeyed alto a Best New Artist GRAMMY nomination. She has logged five back-to-back Top 10 entries on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, including the platinum-selling The First Time [2015], gold-selling Unapologetically [2017], gold-selling kelsea [2020], ballerini [2020], and SUBJECT TO CHANGE [2022]. With seven #1 singles and 32 certifications from the RIAA to date, her catalog boasts a string of essential smashes such as the double-platinum “Miss Me More” and “Peter Pan,” platinum-selling “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney and “hole in the bottle” with Shania Twain, and gold-selling “I Quit Drinking” with LANY. Among dozens of accolades thus far, she has garnered four GRAMMY® Award nominations, won two ACM Awards, picked up two CMA Awards, took home the iHeartRadio Music Awards honor for “Best New Artist,” and received multiple career nominations from the ACM Awards, American Music Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Awards, and People’s Choice Awards. She earned a nomination for “Female Vocalist of the Year” for the 2023 CMA Awards while her acclaimed Rolling Up The Welcome Mat earned a nod in the prestigious “Album of the Year” category. Kelsea also earned a nomination for “Female Artist of the Year” for the 2023 ACM Awards and the video for her hit single “HEARTFIRST” received a nomination for “Visual Media Of The Year.” She concluded 2021 as the “#3 most-played female artist on country radio” and CMT “Artist of the Year” in addition to picking up “Musical Event of the Year” and “Video of the Year” at the CMA Awards for “half of my hometown.” Kelsea scored a nomination in the category of “Single of the Year” at the 2022 CMA Awards for “half of my hometown,” and she notched a People’s Choice Awards nomination for “Country Artist of 2022.” Kelsea led the field for 2022 CMT Music Awards nominations with three nominations for “Video of The Year,” “Collaborative Video of The Year” and “CMT Performance of The Year.” Not to mention, she snagged a nomination for “Music Event of the Year” for the 2022 ACM Awards as both artist and producer of “half of my hometown.” This marked Kelsea’s first ACM nomination as a producer. Expanding her sphere of influence, she authored her first original book of poetry Feel Your Way Through, and Dolly Parton tapped her to star in the audiobook of Run, Rose, Run. In 2023, Kelsea co-hosted the CMT Awards on CBS nationwide. On top of this, the multi-platinum country superstar was named the newest face of COVERGIRL. She has joined the brand in a multi-year partnership and is set to launch a cosmetic collaboration with the brand in 2023. She was inducted as a member of the famed Grand Ole Opry in 2019. At the time, she notably became the Opry’s youngest member in its nearly 100-year history since being founded in 1925. With these accolades, it is no wonder NPR proclaimed, “Kelsea Ballerini is definitely one of the most influential women in country right now… she’s defining the sound of the genre.” Kelsea’s fourth album, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, arrived on September 23, 2022. The gold-certified first single “HEARTFIRST,” quickly took over airwaves as the “most added song at country radio” the week of its release and earned Kelsea a GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Country Solo Performance.” Kelsea surprised fans with the release of intimate six-song Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (Black River) on February 14, 2023. Welcome Mat, along with an accompanying short film written and directed by Ballerini, marks the multi-platinum star’s most intimate and honest work to date. The project became an instant hit with fans and debuted to universal acclaim from critics including The New York Times, Variety, Rolling Stone and more. On the heels of the Welcome Mat’s success, Kelsea made her Saturday Night Live debut on March 4, 2023. She recently wrapped a stint as special guest on Kenny Chesney’s I Go Back 2023 Tour as well as the sold-out third leg of her exclusive headlining HEARTFIRST Tour. In September 2023, Kelsea graced the cover of TIME Magazine’s 2023 TIME100 Next issue, recognizing the 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. She also earned nominations for two 2023 CMA Awards: “Album of The Year” & “Female Vocalist of the Year.” To top it all off, Kelsea earned a GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Country Album” for her acclaimed Rolling Up The Welcome Mat. Most recently, Kelsea led the field for 2024 CMT Music Awards nominations with 3 nominations, including one for the coveted “Video of the Year.” Kelsea will return to host the 2024 CMT Music Awards, airing live on CBS. This marks the fourth consecutive year she takes the reins for the fan-voted award show. Kelsea Ballerini is ready to continue making history in 2024 and beyond.
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