How Many Tattoos Does Lady A’s Charles Kelley Have?

Charles Kelley of the band Lady A has racked up so many tattoos over the years that even he has lost count of how many he has. In a new video shared to TikTok, he received a bit of help as he added up all the different pieces of artwork he has including the cheery tattoo where the cherries are replaced with golf balls, a compass, a seahorse, and several floral designs, to name a few.

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How many tattoos do y’all think Charles has? Let us know in the comments! 😉🤘@Charles Kelley #LadyA #rockstar

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Kelley Lost Count Of His Tattoos

Kelley guessed he had around 18, but at the end of the clip, he realized that he has a total of 30 tattoos across both his arms, his chest, and his leg. However, in a more recent post, the country star revealed that he has since another two tattoos bringing the total to 32. Both of the new pieces appear on his hand, one being a drawing of a bird with its wings spread open and the other holding a great significance to the current chapter of his life as it includes the date June 30, 2022, written in red, serving as a clear reminder of the day he began his journey with sobriety.

“If I ever reach for a drink again I’ll have this sobriety date starring me back in the face,” Kelley wrote on Instagram.

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The country singer got his first tattoo back in 2009 to commemorate the rise of his career alongside his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood. Quoting the Beatles’ Blackbird, the phrase “All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise,” was inked on his arm. 

“It says ‘All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.’ It’s from ‘Blackbird,’ a song by the Beatles,” he previously told The Boot. “We had just had such an amazing year. All these things had started to happen and I had such an interesting journey. I felt like my whole life had been leading up to this.”

This marks one of two tattoos Kelley has that was inspired by The Beatles, with the second being the symbol of The Flower of Life in honor of the iconic group’s song “Across the Universe.”

“I had a Beatles song, a little mantra that every time I got stressed out I would sing to myself ‘nothing’s gonna change my world, nothing’s gonna change my world,’” Kelley explained at the time during an episode of Lady A TV. “That is a song called ‘Across the Universe,’ … and this Flower of Life represents kind of the universe and how we’re all connected.”

A Monarch Butterfly To Represent His Spirituality

Kelley has yet to share the meaning behind each of his 30 tattoos, but another one that holds a deep significance to his life is the relatively large monarch butterfly tattoo that appears on his left bicep. The art he acquired in 2018 includes a dark outline of the image filled in with bright yellow and orange coloring. 

When asked about the reasoning behind this design, Kelley explained that correlated with his mission of “Getting in touch with my spirituality on a deeper level finally. Going through changes,” he wrote on social media along with the butterfly emoji.

Then in 2021, he added to the growing collection on his arms with a brightly colored blooming rose on his left forearm as he told EXTRA in 2021, represents the “strength and change” that they had gone through as a band in the past year. 

While Lady A’s Dave Haywood has yet to open up about any ink he may have, Hillary Scott has openly shared that she has two tattoos. One is a music note on her right foot and the other is number 14 on her right wrist, to commemorate the age in which she was destined to pursue her passion for music. 

As Charles Kelley continues to gain new life experiences, the number of tattoos he currently has will likely increase.

Lady A currently has four shows booked across April and June of 2024. Their next performance is scheduled to take place at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, CT on April 5.

The remaining dates include stops in Myrtle Beach, SC for the Carolina Country Music Fest on June 6, the Kick’n Up Kountry Music Festival on June 14, Karlstad, MN for the Kick’n Up Kountry Music Festival on June 14 and a visit to the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, MO on June 20.