Taylor Swift influenced NSFW songs on Patterns

Kelsea Ballerini welcomes her potty training era.

The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer doesn’t try to provoke or appear sensational. It's just that, well, she's an adult now. Sorry, kids—sometimes adults curse.

“I started so young,” she remembers Taste of country nights host Evan Paul, “and while 'Love Me Like You Mean It' and 'Dibs' were played on country radio, they were also played on Radio Disney, for example. And so I was just, I was really – not calculated in it – but somehow we protect it.”

“I’m 31, you know? And that's why I think particularly with (Roll up the welcome mat), I just thought I’d just like to write the way I talk.”

So you'll find the S-word in the album version of her hit with Noah Kahan and the F-word in a powerful pop-country anthem called “Wait!”

You will also find a singer who takes full care of her music and her narration. A one word review from Pattern could be “confident” – hell, even the breakup songs skip the first six stages of grief and land on acceptance!

“I could delve deep into the details/I could hide, I could cry until I throw up…but it's as simple as how we broke up.” She sings during “We Broke Up.”

Looking for self-loathing? You won't find it here. Are you scrolling through an ex's social media feeds in hopes of justifying your personal fate? Keep moving.

“I think for me this record is all about evaluating my patterns of behavior – whether it's about me as an individual or about me in a relationship – and noticing that I, dare I say, have a few “I have small, toxic patterns,” says Ballerini.

That shouldn't be the boundary between them Roll up the welcome mat (February 2023) and Pattern Things were steadily improving for Ballerini. “We Broke Up” alludes to some early problems in her relationship with boyfriend Chase Stokes, and “Sorry Mom” provides an extensive list of her concerns.

Across all 15 songs, she remains steadfastly true to what she does best, even if it doesn't reward her with heavy rotation on country radio. Like any artist, Ballerini keeps her fans in focus, offering three to four minute lifelines backed by violin, guitars and sweet harmonies.

No, she hasn't scored a No. 1 hit in her last three attempts, but she just announced her first arena tour. This is the victory of adults.

“I think I care a lot less about what other people think of me,” Ballerini says. “I think I just have a better balance between being like, 'Okay, this is my work, and yeah, I love it so much and – I don't even know what I would do if I didn't do all the things. ' I’m okay – but my real life is what nourishes me and keeps me stable and on the right path.”

“And that’s how I recognize my success now.”

“I think for me a big part of this album is evaluating my behavioral patterns – whether it's about me as an individual or about me in a relationship – and realizing that I have, dare I say it, a few little, toxic ones have patterns.”

A common thread that runs through the entire Ballerini area Taste of Country Nights: On request Interview (hear it below) are meaningful relationships. She talks at length about her mother and reveals how dedicated she and Carly Pearce are to maintaining a bond.

Ballerini saw last month's People's Choice Country Awards as a chance to reconnect with Shania Twain, and she even stays in touch with Taylor Swift after all these years. Today's pop star was an OG fan who continues to show Ballerini how it's done.

“I think when she started insulting her records, I think she gave everyone permission to just talk… to write the way they talk and write the whole truth,” Ballerini says. “And so I was very careful not to say anything on this record just out of shock and awe, but if I felt like it was the right thing to do, I would say it.”

Pattern will be released on October 25th. Tickets for Ballerini's newly announced arena tour will be available starting November 1st.