Kelsea Ballerini Is Ready to Roll Up the Welcome Mat for Good with an Expanded Version of Her Heartbreaking EP

Months after Kelsea Ballerini released Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, a six-song EP where she poured her heart out and opened up about her divorce, she’s ready to shut that chapter in her life — but she won’t do it without offering her fans that same closure.

During a fan gathering at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the country music star revealed that she will be releasing an extended version of the EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) on Aug. 11.

“So, this project is no longer mine. It is very much so ours. That has happened, I have felt it happen, I have watched since February at every show. From Manchester playing ‘Penthouse’ for the first time to Phoenix where I just ended my tour. I realized that because of that, I needed to listen,” the “Blindsided” singer, 29, told the audience. “There’s more to the story. ‘Leave Me Again’ was never the last song.”

During the event, where she answered questions about Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (A Short Film), Ballerini played the “full” version of “Interlude” that will be included on the EP and performed “Penthouse (Healed Version).”

Ballerini originally released Rolling Up the Welcome Mat on Valentine’s Day. In a statement, she described Rolling Up the Welcome Mat as the next chapter of her latest album, 2022’s SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

“When I listen to SUBJECT TO CHANGE, I hear a lot of self-reflection and turmoil. This is the deep dive into that turmoil,” she said. “I was writing by myself for most of the project, and it was nice to trust myself again.”

She then noted that her musical origins stemmed from writing therapeutically through dark moments. “The only way I’ve been able to handle my life since I was 12 was to write about it. Ironically, I started writing music because my parents got divorced; that was my therapy,” continued Ballerini’s statement.

“These are six songs I wish I had last year. It’s about the complexities of the feelings you go through during a massive shift at a young age,” she said of the project. “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat was how I processed everything. It’s the way I got my feelings out of my body and heart and put them to music — which is the purest way I could’ve handled it.”

Ballerini’s divorce from fellow country singer Morgan Evans was finalized in November. In February, she revealed she was dating Outer Banks star Chase Stokes and recently they hit the six-month mark in their relationship.

In an interview with Stylecaster in early July, Ballerini said that their relationship has been “great” thus far.

“We’re very similar. We’re both Labrador Retrievers in human form. It doesn’t take much conversation to be on the same page, which is nice,” she explained.

[via]