How Kelsea Ballerini Introduced Runway Design to the CMT Tunes Awards

Kelsea Ballerini is all set for her manner instant. For place supporters, the chart-topping 27-calendar year-old singer is a household identify, but very last evening as she hosted the yearly CMT Audio Awards, Ballerini appealed to the catwalk group by using daring outfits from designers like LaQuan Smith and Elie Saab. The playful palette of candy shades, chosen by Ballerini and stylist Molly Dickson, included to the evening’s spirited vibe and allowed the star to stage exterior her consolation zone. “We needed to lean into shiny pops of color to seize the summertime party-esque really feel of the demonstrate,” shared Ballerini write-up-celebration. “Fashion is another imaginative outlet and way of expressing myself. The way I gown relies upon on the day and the mood I’m in—that’s the pleasurable of it all.”

Enjoying emcee experienced Ballerini emotion exceptionally upbeat. The gig was a particular option to rejoice the talents of her friends and showcase a different facet of her persona. “Hosting allows me be a fan as nicely as an artist,” says Ballerini. “I get to do what I do, then don a ill outfit to introduce astounding artists’ performances and stand side phase starry-eyed and fake I’m still sixteen. I appreciate nurturing that section of me and just currently being surrounded by the audio I discover inspiring.”

A longtime watcher of the CMTs, Ballerini uncovered herself reminiscing when she was having completely ready to strike the stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. “I grew up acquiring inspiration in video clips on CMT and MTV,” she states. “Celebrating that art form and visual extension of tunes is thrilling, [and] currently being a element of Nashville’s audio group has been a heat hug. Web hosting a clearly show I grew up watching is a entire-circle moment, a little something I will don’t forget for a extended time.” The event’s emphasis on the audience extra to that feeling. “This is the only award exhibit in state tunes that is voted on by the admirers, so it feels special,” says Ballerini. “The farther I venture into my profession, the a lot more I recognize how the romance with the admirers is every thing.”

As a handle to her fanbase, Ballerini identified time to debut a brand new music, ‘I Quit Drinking’ with LANY frontman Paul Klein. The pair done the soulful ballad on a rooftop with Ballerini in an electric blue robe with metallic sparkle. Just a person of the 5 looks she wore that night, the star had fun maintaining the audience at property on its toes by shifting each individual other industrial split. “I like demonstrating a selection of distinctive designs and textures in a one particular-night snapshot like this.” Ballerini’s change from acid yellow Elie Saab pantsuits to scarcely there Raisa Vanessa minidresses, and a pastel sequin vintage quantity certainly retained things fascinating. 

Even though her outfits various in silhouette and mood, every experienced a tactile ingredient that kept items exciting. Ballerini’s most daring of the night? A shiny patent LaQuan Smith catsuit that manufactured her glance like a futuristic Barbie. A accurate departure, Ballerini admits she’s in no way worn everything like it prior to. “It felt really 90s, and I normally feel robust and hot switching it up from a standard gown and going for a trousers moment—especially when it’s sizzling pink.”

Considerably like the iconic crossover artists who eschewed outdated thoughts about how a state star ought to costume, Ballerini does not brain shaking issues up. “[Nashville] is surely a hub of western dress in and Southern-encouraged tendencies and tends to be far more conservative,” she clarifies. “ I have generally been affected by gals like Shania Twain that have pushed boundaries not only sonically, but also by means of their design and style.”