Kelsea Ballerini Celebrates ‘Miss Me More,’ Explains How It Paved the Way for ‘homecoming queen?’

Kelsea Ballerini recently released her most vulnerable single to date with “homecoming queen?,” and the superstar says her latest release wouldn’t have been possible without the song that came before it: her powerful breakup anthem “Miss Me More.”

Ballerini opened up about the two songs during her recent No.1 party celebrating “Miss Me More.”

While standing next to her “Miss Me More” co-writers, David Hodges and Leland, and surrounded by friends, family and members of the Nashville music community, Ballerini got emotional when discussing the chart-topping hit.

“The comments I’d get in meet and greets were like, ‘Oh my gosh, ‘Dibs’ is like me and my boyfriend’s song, or ‘Love Me Like You Mean It’ is the song that I’m playing for the guy I like right now,” the singer/songwriter explained. “I love having those songs that are kind of like the soundtrack of people’s love stories and crushes.”

She said things changed when she released “Miss Me More.”

“This was the first song where people would come up to me and be like, ‘This helped me get through a divorce, this helped me get through an abusive relationship, this helped me get through a really dark season in my life,’” she shared. “As a songwriter, just to be able to be in meet and greets and hear people give me their testimony …”

Ballerini stopped talking as her emotions overcame her. As tears welled up in her eyes, she continued, “I wouldn’t have had the confidence to put out ‘homecoming queen?’ if I didn’t put [‘Miss Me More’] out first.”

Prior to the big celebration, Ballerini spoke with reporters in more detail about how co-writing “Miss More More” changed her views on songwriting. She said the song “just kind of made me open up to be a little bit more emotional … It made me realize that that deeper meaning in a song is worth a lot.”

Ballerini truly embraced that lesson when writing her current single alongside Nicolle Galyon and Jimmy Robbins. The emotional track is all about showing your true self and realizing it’s okay to reveal your insecurities, even when it’s not easy to do so.

Fans can find ‘homecoming queen?’ on Ballerini’s third studio album, which is expected to be released in 2020.