Kelsea Ballerini: ‘LA’ Is ‘Most Vulnerable Thing I’ve Shared’

Kelsea Ballerini opens up on her new song "LA." The country star calls the track "the most vulnerable thing I've publicly shared," in fact.

"I've got a love-and-hate relationship with LA," Ballerini sings to open the new tune, which readers can can hear above. She sings about the general social discomfort so many people feel in public situations, amplified by the glitz, glamour and celebrity-driven culture of Los Angeles.

"Sometimes it feels like it's all real / But nothin' here is as it seems / I ask myself, does it feed my soul or my anxiety?" Ballerini sings in the song's bridge. "Carpet's red, ego's fed, but it's myself that I have to face ..."

In an Instagram post, Ballerini explains that she wrote "LA" alone, sitting on a bathroom floor in Los Angeles, "feeling equal parts like somebody and like nobody, surrounded and completely alone, inspired and terrified, on top of the world and filled to the brim with anxiety." She'd left her guitar on her tour bus, so the song began as a stream-of-consciousness-style poem.

"As soon as I got to the bus a few days later it became this," Ballerini adds. "It’s not cool to talk about not feeling cool. But it’s honest. And I’m really proud of every word of it."

"LA" is the third song that Ballerini has shared from her forthcoming third studio album, Kelsea. She dropped "Homecoming Queen?", the first single from the project, in September, and has also shared "Club," a mid-tempo anthem for all those who have more fun staying in than going out.

Kelsea is due out on March 20.

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