Kelsea Ballerini has dropped her latest heartfelt single, “Love Is A Cowboy,” alongside a picturesque visual. This song follows the release of her breezy summer anthem “Heartfirst,” which marked her first new music of 2022, both of which will appear on her just-announced new album, Subject To Change.
Co-written by Ballerini alongside Jesse Frasure and Parker Welling, this tender ballad takes listeners on a romantic journey through a traditional sound that relates back to her roots.
“I feel so giddy, proud and lucky to share this next season together,” she wrote on social media.
After hinting at new music for weeks, fans quickly took to social media to express their excitement for the new song.
“I’m so ready for this era,” one fan wrote. “This announcement made my day,” said another.
Sitting in the middle of what resembles a dreamy painting with a wheat field and warm sunset, Ballerini delivers a powerful performance in the simple, yet elegant music video while sporting a white fringe ensemble. The sun slowly sets throughout the video, leaving the singer in front of a dark sky featuring hints of beautiful pink and blue streaks peaking out.
“It makes your heart feel like wild horses in your chest / Trying to catch, it’s like tryna tame a wild, wild west / And when I’m with him, it’s like ropin’ the wind / Love is a cowboy,” she sings in the chorus.
This week, Ballerini also announced her forthcoming album, Subject to Change, with a release date of Sept. 23. “Heartfirst” will serve as the leading track off this new project.
“In my younger years, the idea of change scared me,” Ballerini said on social media, describing the growth she experienced while making this project. “It had proven to be a faceless force that patterned my past with uncertainty. Only in the gift of growth have I learned that in the stark and constant juxtaposition of life, living happens — that when I unclench my fists, undig my heels, and unravel the architecture built by youth, a true metamorphosis can happen.”
“I’ve been searching somewhere between the broadness of the universe, and the simplicity in the little things, reflecting through wiser perspectives, leaning with body weight into matters of the heart, and finding blissful acceptance in the inner cracks I once cursed, but now let the light in to grow taller within myself. This is a season of becoming, healing, loving, dancing, and feeling. And like everything, it is subject to change,” she added.
The “Dibs” singer dropped hints regarding the album earlier this month through an impromptu Q&A session on TikTok. When one fan questioned if the track list of the album would lean more country-pop or more traditional country, Ballerini responded that it’s influenced by strong female country artists.
“I will say the sound of this hypothetical record, is definitely different from anything I have ever done. It is heavily influenced by — I would say ’90s music in general, but definitely ’90s female country,” she explained.
Ballerini’s next performance is set for July 30 in Plymouth, MN.
