Kelsea Nicole Ballerini born September 12 1993 is an American country pop singer and songwriter She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014 releasing her debut studio album the following year The First Time Her second studio album Unapologetically followed in 2017 Ballerinis first two albums have accounted for seven charted songs on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts She has four No 1 singles on the latter starting with her debut single Love Me Like You Mean It which made her the first female artist to send a debut single to the top of that chart since Carrie Underwood in 2006 It was followed by Dibs and Peter Pan whose peaks also made her the first female country artist to send her first three singles to the top of that chart since Wynonna Judd Ballerinis fourth No 1 single is Legends Her third and fourth studio albums Kelsea and Ballerini were both released in 2020