Kelsea Ballerini roped boyfriend Chase Stokes into making an appearance in her “First Rodeo” music video.
Ballerini, 31, released the visual on Thursday, October 17, which featured Stokes, 32, as her onscreen love interest. While Stokes’ back was largely to the camera throughout the video, he and Ballerini put on a loved-up display as she reflected on finding someone special after past heartbreak.
“I rode off into the sunset / The red dust hadn’t been kicked up yet / Thought I knew all of the ropes / Thought I could ride like a pro / Never knew I’d have a round two / I fell off, babe, but I found you,” she sings in the chorus of the new track, which is featured on her upcoming album, Patterns. “Take my heart, but take it slow / ‘Cause this ain’t my first rodeo.”
The lyrics highlight the feeling of meeting The One. “Let ‘em run, baby, don’t you hold your horses back / Love’s the wild, wild west, ain’t gotta tell me that,” she sings. “But when you put your arms around me, I don’t mind / You make me forget about the last time.”
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Before the video was released, Ballerini teased the vision behind it. “This song is probably the first love song I wrote for this record,” she said in a TikTok video this month. “I was so ready to update my life and this song is really the only callback to anything in the past. It is really just to inform the song. … Then it brings you into meeting somebody and knowing you are a little fragile and a little scared but at the end of the day, you love love and want to give it a shout.”
Ballerini has used her music to offer a glimpse into her personal life both before and after her divorce from ex Morgan Evans. She announced their split in August 2022 after nearly five years of marriage.
“Friends, I’ve always tried my best to share my life with you in a real and vulnerable way, while also protecting layers of my personal life as they unfold,” she wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “This is now public record so I wanted you to hear from me directly that I am going through a divorce.”
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She concluded: “This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth, and effort that ultimately has come to an end. It’s hard to find the words here … but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons. With very active schedules coming up, please be mindful that we are both fragile, actively healing, and showing up the best we can.”
Ballerini delved deeper into her life post-split on her 2023 EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which included tracks such as “Penthouse,” “Leave Me Again,” “How Do I Do This” and more. She moved on with Stokes in early 2023, and their romance served as the inspiration for Patterns.
“I’m really proud of the art that he’s inspired,” Ballerini told People earlier this month. “And I’m really proud to be with someone who’s a truth-teller in his own art too. And to be aligned in that way and to share parts of our relationship and that kind of stuff, so openly and willingly, is really beautiful.”
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Stokes has also publicly gushed about their connection, recently referring to Ballerini as his “best friend.”
“I truthfully think when you find somebody who’s not just somebody you love and adore, but is also your best friend, you’ve kind of got the best of both worlds,” he said on the Today show. “And she’s not just a great person, but everything that you see — whether it be on social media or when she’s on stage — is exactly the person she is when she’s not doing those things.”
Patterns drops October 25.
