Kelsea Ballerini’s New Album, ‘Patterns,’ Is on Its Way

Kelsea Ballerini officially announced her fifth studio album, Patterns, in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday (Aug. 8).

The project, which will arrive this fall, features Ballerini's previously-released Noah Kahan duet, "Cowboys Cry Too," as well as a new song called "Sorry Mom," due out on Friday.

Patterns is Ballerini's first release since Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, and she says her new project will continue that project's trend of self-reflective honesty.

But RUTWM was a divorce album, chronicling in searing detail her split from ex-husband Morgan Evans. This time around, she says, she's focusing on growth in general — but not specifically her love life.

"There's a lot of narrative of learning how to go from fighting with something or with someone, to fighting for something or for someone," the singer explains. "And there's a lot of that journey for the whole record."

Fans might be expecting a batch of love songs about Ballerini's boyfriend, Outer Banks star Chase Stokes, but that's only part of the story.

"I think that people probably expect this really happy-go-lucky, love, mushy, gushy record from me. That's not the case," she goes on to say. "And I'm really proud of that. It would have been easy to, I think, just collect the really beautiful parts of my life that I've dusted off and found the last couple of years. But that's not the fullness of my experience."

Ballerini teased her new project earlier this week with a video, voiced over with her reflections on what the word "pattern" means to her.

"What's a pattern? It's, like, a reoccurring sequence of the first thing you reach for, 'cause it's closest," she reflects. "It's the first thought you think, or first feeling you feel, or first response you say, first choice you make."

Over time, it seems, Ballerini has been examining the patterns in her own life – which serve her, and which are better set aside.

"I think that we make patterns so they don't make us," she concludes.

Ballerini also shared the cover art for her project: A cinematic snapshot of her on a beach, sitting on a massive pile of suitcases.

The singer also says that "Sorry Mom" – which is one of the first snippets of the album that fans will hear — is a reflection on the singer's relationship with her mother. "The first line is, 'Sorry, mom, I smelled like cigarettes.' You know, it's the things that your mom really doesn't want to hear," she explains.

"But then you get to the chorus and the meat of it and the heart of it, and it's a letter of thanks to my mom for raising me the way she did," Ballerini continues.

Patterns will be out on Oct. 25.

Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!