Kelsea Ballerini is bringing us into the nostalgic world of Mount Pleasant. On Wednesday night, the country queen brought a Lana Del Rey-esque swing to the CMA Awards as she performed her recent EP’s lead single, “I Sit in Parks.” Dressed in a sparkly red gown, Ballerini sat barefoot in a flower and weed-lined park swing, gently rocking as she held on and sang. “Did I miss it? By now, is it/a lucid dream? Is it my fault?/for chasing things? A body clock,” she sang. As she stepped off the swing and finished the song, visuals of rain poured behind her, soaking her hair. “So I sit in parks checkin’ benchmarks/Tarryn’s due in June, the album’s due in March.” Ballerini dropped “I Sit in Parks” as the lead single of Mount Pleasant earlier this month. The EP followed her 2024 LP, Patterns, and its deluxe edition. “I have always made records whether songs, EPs or albums to capture a moment in time,” Ballerini said in a statement when announcing her EP. “Mount Pleasant is a collection of six songs I’ve written throughout the summer, marking a chapter of heavy self-examination, longing, and stepping further into who I am as a 32-year-old woman.” Ballerini is up for one CMA Award this year: Female Vocalist of the Year, alongside Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, and Lainey Wilson. Last year, she took the stage alongside Noah Kahan for a duet of “Cowboys Cry Too.” Ballerini is a two-time CMA Award winner, both for “Half of My Hometown” with Kenny Chesney, back in 2021. Trending Stories Over the summer, Ballerini told Rolling Stone she would be taking a break from music. “I can’t make a shitty album,” she said back in June. “I need to take a breath and cook a meal and, like, learn to play tennis or something, and then pick up a guitar.” Along with Ballerini, Langley, Moroney, Lambert, Luke Combs, Riley Green, Zach Top, Old Dominion, and BigXThaPlug are also scheduled to perform at this year’s awards show. Lainey Wilson is hosting the 2025 CMA Awards from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/kelsea-ballerini-performs-i-sit-in-parks-cma-awards-1235466009/