Kelsea + Kahan: GRAMMY Nominees for Wildly Vulnerable "Cowboys Cry Too"

(Nashville)-- Four-time GRAMMY nominee Kelsea Ballerini can now make it five. Receiving her first "Best Country Duo/Group Performance" nomination for “Cowboys Cry Too” with two-time GRAMMY-nominated multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter Noah Kahan. The pair’s inherent chemistry and willingness to probe people’s most vulnerable emotions connected with the GRAMMY voters in a palpable way.

Having come together with a “Stick Season” mash-up performance at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards, Kahan and Ballerini recognized each other’s curiosity about the faltering places most of us face – and decided to collaborate further. That collaboration sees the 2024 "Best New Artist" GRAMMY nominee coming into the emerging country music superstar’s world to co-write a song that leaves space for grief, doubt and raw feelings.

“I’m just so proud of the heart of this song, and the vulnerability it celebrates and stands for,” Ballerini says of the duet that debuted at No. 27 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, was most added its first week, as well as amassing 12 million streams. “I believe a lot of people wish they could drop their armor, admit when they’re hurt or scared -- and not feel like a failure for owning very human emotions.

“When Alysa (Vanderheym) and I were writing this last fall, there was a real feeling of freedom celebrating the scope of feelings. Noah adding his perspective and lyricism made it a different level, and I’m so grateful he added his magic and made this song what it is."

The New York Times offered, “With string-band fiddle and mandolin set amid an arena-country march, Ballerini and Kahan praise vulnerability as a different form of toughness, one that’s not encouraged by family or culture,” People raved, “the artists bare it all, talking emotional suppression and stoic fathers, noting it’s OK to pour one out from time to time – ‘cause cowboys cry too’,” and American Songwriter praised the “beautifully crafted country song that hits all the right notes, from the fiddle to acoustic guitar;” AS also cited the duet’s power, “While this song could have worked with just Ballerini, Kahan’s verses punch it up and give it a new point of view. This expands the song beyond a single mindset, making it universally understood.”

Kahan embraced the process, saying, “It’s the writers who are willing to go to the awkward places that inspire me. Kelsea is one of those, and I knew if we could find something we both believed to sing, it would expand how we look at the way we live, what society decides and we should reject. ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ is everything I believed our collaboration could be.”

With Kahan’s vocal produced by Gabe Simon, Billboard notes that in spite of earlier collabs with Kacey Musgraves and others, the record, which features John Osborne on lead guitar, “(Kahan} has never sounded as comfortable picking up the cowboy hat as he does here.”

Both artists are TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Next and Saturday Night Live veterans, as well as all-genre GRAMMY "Best New Artist" nominations for following music instead of formats. “Cowboys Cry Too” shows the fluidity with which both Ballerini and Kahan inhabit their songs, delivering on their strengths as citizens of a global world that recognizes the critical need for a space that allows people to find shelter from the storm.

About Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini has consistently made history. With the release of her debut album, The First Time, she became the only female country artist to hit #1 with the first three consecutive singles from a debut album. This history-making feat earned her 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 33 certifications from the RIAA to date, her catalog boasts a string of essential smashes.

Among dozens of accolades thus far, Ballerini has garnered five GRAMMY 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. Ballerini was also 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.

Expanding her sphere of influence, Ballerini authored her first original book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through (2021), and Dolly Parton tapped her to star in the audiobook of Run, Rose, Run (2022). This same year, the multi-platinum country superstar was named the newest face of CoverGirl. She entered into a multi-year partnership and launched a cosmetic collaboration with the brand in 2023.

Ballerini’s fourth album, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, arrived in 2022. The gold-certified first single, “HEARTFIRST,” earned her a GRAMMY nomination for “Best Country Solo Performance.” She went on to surprise fans five months later with the release of the intimate six-song Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which earned her a GRAMMY nomination for “Best Country Album.” Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, along with an accompanying short film written and directed by Ballerini, marked the multi-platinum star’s most honest work to date and led to her Saturday Night Live debut, universal acclaim from critics including The New York Times, Variety, Rolling Stone, as well as the honor of gracing the cover of TIME Magazine.

Kelsea Ballerini's critically acclaimed studio album PATTERNS debuted on October 25th (Black River) and earned her the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and #4 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums. On the album she enlisted "Best New Artist" GRAMMY nominee Noah Kahan to appear on the tender and beautifully crafted - and CMA awards nominated “Musical Event of the Year” and GRAMMY-nominated "Best Country Duo/Group Performance" - single “Cowboys Cry Too,” following the pair’s incandescent performance on the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards. Most recently, she announced her 36-date KELSEA BALLERINI LIVE ON TOUR that will take Ballerini to arenas across the country, kicking off January 2025.

In addition to her new music, Ballerini currently serves as the face of COVERGIRL and Pantene and recently announced she is set to serve as Coach on Season 27 of NBC’s The Voice, premiering in Spring 2025.

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.”

About Noah Kahan

GRAMMY® nominated Vermont singer & songwriter Noah Kahan has exploded from his New England roots into the global mainstream. At the core of his music are vulnerable lyrics and an unfiltered yet relatable honesty, as the critically acclaimed artist pens songs straight from the heart and cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor. Throughout his career, Kahan has become globally renowned for his singular mix of Folk, Americana, and Rock, landing more than seven billion streams and a 4x Platinum Certification for his hit single "Stick Season." His widely adored Double Platinum-Certified album Stick Season and its breakthrough single are inspired by his hometown of Strafford, Vermont and earliest musical inspirations and songwriting heroes—from Paul Simon to Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)—conveying a vivid representation of what he loves, fears, and struggles with most passionately. He followed up the album's massive global success with his sold-out "Stick Season Tour" and two extended versions of the record—Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) and Stick Season (Forever), which both surpassed sales of the original and featured new singles “Dial Drunk” and “Forever,” as well as collaborations with the likes of Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile, Hozier, Gregory Alan Isakov, Gracie Abrams, Sam Fender, and Lizzy McAlpine. Kahan’s latest “We’ll All Be Here Forever World Tour” saw him performing in sold-out stadiums and arenas around the globe, including two sold-out nights at Boston's iconic Fenway Park. The shows were livestreamed to benefit his mental health initiative The Busyhead Project, which has raised over $2.5 million dollars to date to expand access to mental healthcare and fight the stigma around mental health. His live album, Live From Fenway Park, was released following the career-defining shows as the final installment of the Stick Season chapter.

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