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From left: Sandbox Entertainment Group's Jason Owen; Kelsea Ballerini; and Black River Entertainment's Gordon Kerr. (Photo credit: Robby Klein // courtesy of Black River Entertainment)
From left: Sandbox Entertainment Group's Jason Owen; Kelsea Ballerini; and Black River Entertainment's Gordon Kerr. (Photo credit: Robby Klein // courtesy of Black River Entertainment)

Kelsea Ballerini renews with longtime record label & Pegula-owned Black River Entertainment

Submitted

Wed, Feb 7th 2024 05:30 pm

Press Release

Kelsea Ballerini leads with her heart, and it has served her well since her launch with Black River in 2013. She made country music history with the success of her first three consecutive chart-topping hit singles. It's that mutual trust in herself and her team that has led the four-time Grammy-nominated and multiple CMA Award-winning artist to continue with Gordon Kerr and Black River as she heads into the next chapter of her career.

During her more than 10-year journey with Black River, the Grand Ole Opry member has secured an impressive seven No. 1 singles and 32 certifications from the RIAA. Ballerini has logged five back-to-back Top 10 entries on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, with a catalog boasting a string of essential smashes, such as the double-Platinum “Miss Me More” and “Peter Pan,” Platinum-selling “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney, "hole in the bottle” with Shania Twain, and Gold-selling “I Quit Drinking” with LANY.

"It is with great pleasure and true excitement that Black River continues to partner with Kelsea as well as Jason Owen,” Black River Entertainment President and CEO Kerr said. “I find myself constantly blown away by Kelsea’s artistic vision and musical excellence. And to know Jason as my friend and brother in music is nothing short of humbling and electrifying all at the same time. What a team we make, what history we write, what a story we tell!"

Sandbox Entertainment Group founder and CEO Owen said, “Over the past few years, Gordon has become a dear friend to me, and he and the Black River team remain the best partners to Kelsea and Sandbox for so many reasons. Black River isn’t afraid to take risks, always leaning in with us on ideas that challenge the status quo, including with this groundbreaking recording agreement that rightfully honors Kelsea’s art and her impact in the marketplace.”

Read more about Ballerini's renewed deal with Black River Entertainment at Variety.com, where they exclusively broke the news early this morning.

A two-time ACM Award and CMA Award winner, Ballerini has multiple career nominations from the ACM Awards, American Music Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Awards, and People’s Choice Awards under her belt – most recently earning a nod in the prestigious 2023 CMA Awards Album of the Year category. With four Grammy nominations, including a nomination for the Best Country Album at the 66th Grammy Awards with “Rolling Up The Welcome Mat,” Ballerini’s list of remarkable accomplishments continues to grow.

The release of her deeply personal “Welcome Mat” and accompanying short film in 2023 led Ballerini to her “Saturday Night Live” debut, universal acclaim from critics including The New York Times, Variety and Rolling Stone, and the honor of gracing the cover of TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Next issue. The 2021 CMT Artist of the Year and No. 3 most-played female artist on country radio (2021) was named the newest face of COVERGIRL in 2023, proving the author, songwriter and global superstar is ready to launch into 2024 and beyond.

More About Kelsea Ballerini

Ballerini has consistently made history. With the release of her debut album “The First Time,” she became the only female country artist to hit No. 1 with the first three consecutive singles from a debut album. This history-making feat helped earn the honeyed alto a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. She has logged five back-to-back Top 10 entries on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, including the Platinum-selling “The First Time” (2015), Gold-selling “Unapologetically” (2017), Gold-selling “kelsea” (2020), “ballerini” (2020), and “SUBJECT TO CHANGE” (2022).

With seven No. 1 singles and 32 certifications from the RIAA to date, her catalog boasts a string of essential smashes such as the double-Platinum “Miss Me More” and “Peter Pan,” Platinum-selling “half of my hometown” feat. Kenny Chesney and “hole in the bottle” with Shania Twain, and Gold-selling “I Quit Drinking” with LANY. Among dozens of accolades thus far, she has garnered three Grammy Award nominations, won two ACM Awards, picked up two CMA Awards, took home the iHeartRadio Music Awards honor for Best New Artist, and received multiple career nominations from the ACM Awards, American Music Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Awards, and People’s Choice Awards.

Most recently, she earned a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year for the 2023 CMA Awards while her acclaimed “Rolling Up The Welcome Mat” earned a nod in the prestigious Album of the Year category. Ballerini also earned a nomination for Female Artist of the Year for the 2023 ACM Awards and the video for her hit single “HEARTFIRST” received a nomination for Visual Media Of The Year. She concluded 2021 as the third-most-played female artist on country radio and CMT “Artist of the Year,” in addition to picking up Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year at the CMA Awards for “half of my hometown.”

Ballerini scored a nomination in the category of Single of the Year at the 2022 CMA Awards for “half of my hometown,” and she notched a People’s Choice Awards nomination for Country Artist of 2022. Ballerini led the field for 2022 CMT Music Awards nominations with three nominations for Video of The Year, Collaborative Video of The Year and CMT Performance of The Year. Not to mention, she snagged a nomination for Music Event of the Year for the 2022 ACM Awards as both artist and producer of “half of my hometown.” This marked Ballerini’s first ACM nomination as a producer.

Expanding her sphere of influence, she authored her first original book of poetry, “Feel Your Way Through,” and Dolly Parton tapped her to star in the audiobook of “Run, Rose, Run.” In April 2022, Ballerini co-hosted the CMT Awards on CBS.

On top of this, the multi-Platinum country superstar was named the newest face of COVERGIRL. She joined the brand in a multiyear partnership and is set to launch a cosmetic collaboration with the brand.

She was inducted as a member of the famed Grand Ole Opry in 2019. At the time, she notably became the Opry’s youngest member in its nearly 100-year history since being founded in 1925.

With these accolades, it is no wonder NPR proclaimed, “Kelsea Ballerini is definitely one of the most influential women in country right now … she’s defining the sound of the genre.”

Ballerini’s fourth album, “SUBJECT TO CHANGE,” arrived on Sept. 23, 2022. The first single “HEARTFIRST,” quickly took over airwaves as the most added song at country radio the week of its release and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Ballerini earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance for “HEARTFIRST.” Kelsea surprised fans with the release of intimate, six-song “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” on Feb. 14, 2023. “Welcome Mat,” along with an accompanying short film written and directed by Ballerini, marks the multi-Platinum star’s most intimate and honest work to date. The project became an instant hit with fans and debuted to universal acclaim from critics.

On the heels of that success, Ballerini made her “Saturday Night Live” debut on March 4. She recently wrapped a stint as special guest on Kenny Chesney’s “I Go Back 2023 Tour,” as well as the sold-out third leg of her exclusive headlining “HEARTFIRST Tour.” In September, Ballerini graced the cover of TIME Magazine’s 2023 TIME100 Next issue, recognizing the 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. She also earned nominations for two CMA Awards: Album of The Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.

Most recently, Ballerini earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album for “Rolling Up The Welcome Mat.”

More About Black River Entertainment

Underneath the Black River Entertainment umbrella is a family of state-of-the-art recording studios, a multi-Grammy Award-winning publishing company, a management company, and a record label. Black River Records' roster of artists includes Ballerini, Pryor Baird, Scotty Hasting and MaRynn Taylor.

Black River Publishing is home to many talented songwriters and artists and has received numerous awards and accolades in the 12 years since its inception. These accolades include 36 No. 1 songs, six of which are certified Gold, 10 certified Platinum, six double-Platinum, four triple-Platinum, one certified six-times-Platinum, and two Grammy awards: Best Country Song with Kacey Musgraves' "Merry Go 'Round" (2013) and Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song with for KING & COUNTRY's "God Only Knows" (2019).

Black River Publishing's roster includes Black River recording artists: Baird and Taylor; artist-writers: McCall Chapin, Hannah Kerr and Bryan Simpson; songwriter/producers: Dan Wilson, and Jason Earley; songwriter/producer/artist Blake Ruby; and the Grammy-winning songwriter/producer/artist Josh Kerr. Additionally, Black River's catalogs include hit-songwriter/Black River recording artist Ballerini; artist-writers Abby Anderson, Josh Wilson and Anna Vaus; hit songwriters Doug Johnson, Forest Glen Whitehead, Jacob Davis, and Grammy-winning songwriter Josh Osborne. For more information about Black River Publishing, visit blackriverent.com/publishing.

Owned and operated by Black River Entertainment, the historic Sound Stage and Ronnie's Place studios are located on Nashville's famous Music Row. These studios have set the standard that legendary artists/musicians/producers have appreciated since the late 1960s. Artists from multiple genres have cut hits in these studios, including Ballerini, Lee Brice, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Alice Cooper, Rodney Crowell, Casting Crowns, 50 Cent, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Sam Hunt, KC and The Sunshine Band, Korn, Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Craig Morgan, Musgraves, Parton, PHISH, Kid Rock, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Taylor Swift, The Cadillac Three, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Chris Young.

Part of the Pegula's sports and entertainment company portfolio, which includes the NFL's Buffalo Bills – the AFC East champions for the fourth consecutive year – NHL's Buffalo Sabres, AHL's Rochester Americans, NLL's Buffalo Bandits, and Rochester Knighthawks, LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo Marriott at LECOM Harborcenter, KeyBank Center, and New Era Field, Black River Entertainment and its entities are based in Nashville.

For more information, visit blackriverent.com and follow on Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram.

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