If you were a young girl in Nashville around 2010 with a sparkly guitar and a penchant for writing about boys who broke your heart, you had a target on your back. Not a bad one, necessarily. But a heavy one. Everyone was looking for the "next" version of the girl who had just set the world on fire.
The industry was obsessed.
Kelsea Ballerini was 14 years old when she walked into a record label office, poured her soul into a song called "Flawless," and waited for the magic to happen. Instead, she got a reality check. The executive looked her dead in the eye and told her, "There’s already a Taylor Swift."
Ouch.
That kind of comment could crush a kid. It almost did. But the relationship between Kelsea Ballerini and Taylor Swift didn't end with a bitter rivalry or a "single white female" trope. It actually turned into one of the most consistent, low-key supportive friendships in the music industry. Honestly, it's kinda refreshing. In a world of PR-stunt squads and manufactured drama, these two have managed to maintain a genuine bond that has survived label shifts, massive world tours, and very public divorces.
The Tweet That Changed Everything
Most people think these two met at some glitzy awards show. They didn't.
It started with a tweet. In 2015, Taylor was at the peak of her 1989 era—basically the center of the musical universe. Kelsea was just a girl on an independent label trying to get "Love Me Like You Mean It" on the radio. Then, Taylor posted: "Driving around with the @KelseaBallerini EP on repeat.. SO lovely."
Kelsea has gone on record saying that moment changed her career. Period. It wasn’t just a shoutout; it was a permission slip for the industry to take her seriously. Before that tweet, people saw her as a "Taylor clone." After that tweet, they saw her as Taylor’s peer.
There’s a massive difference.
That "Undeniable" Advice
Success in Nashville is weird. It’s a small town with big opinions. Early on, Kelsea was struggling with the "independent label" stigma. She was the underdog. During a hangout, she asked Taylor for advice on how to handle the "no’s" and the gatekeepers.
Taylor told her: "You have to become undeniable."
Think about that. It’s not "be better" or "be louder." It’s "be so good they literally cannot ignore you." It’s a philosophy that Kelsea clearly took to heart. You can see it in how she pivoted from the sparkly pop-country of her debut to the raw, visceral storytelling of Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. She stopped trying to be the "polished" version of herself that media trainers suggested and started being the human version.
The Eras Tour "Super Bowl" Moment
Fast forward to March 2023. Kelsea is headlining her own sold-out show in Atlantic City. Most artists are laser-focused on their own setlist, their own lighting cues, their own fans. Not Kelsea.
She literally stopped her concert.
"Can I level with you for a minute?" she asked the crowd. "Is anyone stalking the Eras Tour? Has it started?" She needed to know if "Cruel Summer" made the cut. When the fans screamed yes, she lost it. She called it her "Super Bowl."
It turns out, she’d been texting Taylor earlier that day, trying to get the tea. Taylor, being Taylor, was "cheeky" and wouldn't give her a straight answer. Kelsea finding out in real-time with her fans is probably the most "relatable Swiftie" thing a famous person has ever done.
Wine, Cats, and No-Fly Zones
The thing about Kelsea Ballerini and Taylor Swift is that they aren't constantly posting about each other. That’s usually the sign of a real friendship in Hollywood. We see the highlights:
- Drinking wine on the couch (classic).
- Baking and hanging out with Meredith, Olivia, or Benjamin (the cats).
- The 2024 Grammys, where they were spotted puckering up for photos and dancing to Miley Cyrus.
But they also protect each other. When Kelsea went through her very public split from Morgan Evans, she didn't use her friendship with Taylor as a shield or a weapon. She handled her "tortured poet" era on her own terms, though you can definitely hear the influence of Taylor’s "write through the pain" ethos in those tracks.
Why the Comparison Still Happens (and Why It’s Wrong)
People still try to pit them against each other or claim Kelsea is "following the blueprint." Sure, they both moved from country to pop-adjacent sounds. They both write about their personal lives with surgical precision.
But if you listen to Ballerini’s latest work, like the album Patterns, you hear a different voice. She’s more conversational, more self-deprecating in a Nashville-specific way. Taylor is the North Star, yes, but Kelsea is navigating by her own compass now.
She’s even talked about how she had to "differentiate" herself. It wasn't about being better than Taylor; it was about being different enough that the "There’s already a Taylor Swift" guy would look like an idiot. Spoiler: He does.
How to Support Both Artists Without the Drama
If you’re a fan trying to navigate the fandoms, here are a few ways to appreciate the "big sis/lil sis" dynamic:
- Listen for the "Easter Eggs" in the storytelling, not just the production. Both artists value the lyric above all else.
- Watch the 1989 World Tour footage. Kelsea joined Taylor on stage in Nashville years ago to sing "Love Me Like You Mean It." It’s a time capsule of where it all began.
- Check out Kelsea’s 2024 Grammy look. It was a subtle nod to the "Lavender Haze" / Midnights aesthetic without being a direct copy.
- Stop the comparison. Appreciate that Taylor opened the door so that Kelsea could walk through it and build her own house.
The reality is that Taylor Swift doesn't see Kelsea as a threat, and Kelsea doesn't see Taylor as a competitor. They’re just two women who know exactly how hard it is to be a songwriter in a room full of men who think they know better.
Next time you hear a Ballerini track on the radio, remember: she isn't the "next" anyone. She’s just Kelsea. And Taylor would be the first person to tell you that.
Actionable Insights for Fans
To truly dive into this musical lineage, start by listening to Kelsea Ballerini's Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP immediately followed by Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department. You will hear the shared DNA of "confessional songwriting" while noticing the distinct ways each woman handles grief. If you're looking for more, go back to the 2015 archives on X (formerly Twitter) to see the original interactions that started the "undeniable" era of Kelsea's career.