WATCH: Kelsea Ballerini Laughs Off On-Stage Wardrobe Malfunction: ‘This Is My Retirement Announcement’
Ballerini dubbed the moment “zippergate.”
Kelsea Ballerini; Photo Via Instagram
Kelsea Ballerini never misses the chance to laugh at herself and her latest on-stage snafu was no different.
Ballerini, who is in the midst of her 10-city Heartfirst Tour, has been turning heads with her outstanding new tour production, including several mid-concert outfit changes. During a recent concert, the “Hole In The Bottle” singer suffered a minor wardrobe malfunction and had no idea until fans in the first few rows pointed it out.
“Has my zipper been undone this whole time?” she asked the crowd in a video captured by a concertgoer.
Later, she took to social media to laugh off the embarrassment.
“It’s the fact that I thought they were screaming for the song. It’s the fact that I was serving moves for me,” Ballerini says in her reaction clip, which she dubbed #zippergate.
Her post raked in nearly 200,000 views across TikTok and Instagram as fans showcased their support for being so real.
“Just makes you more relatable as a human,” wrote one Instagram user, while another chimed in with, ”You handled that with such class though.”
Despite the support, Ballerini jokes, “I’m retiring, it’s been a good few years, thanks guys, see you around.“
The Heartfirst Tour recently made headlines after she was surprised on stage by Kenny Chesney to perform their duet, “Half Of My Hometown,” together in Los Angeles.
In addition to Chesney’s surprise live collaboration with Ballerini, Carly Pearce also joined the 29-year-old earlier this month to perform “You’re Drunk, Go Home” for the first time ever.
The East Tennessee native’s tour is in support of her fifth studio album, Subject To Change, which dropped on September 23. The overall theme of the 15-track project is Ballerini coming to realize that sometimes the little things in life are the most important.
“I think one of themes that I am finding is what I think probably a lot of us have found in the last couple of years as we kind of been forced to step back and look at our lives and have a lot of time to do that,” the hitmaker previously shared. “It’s made you look at what you have differently and for me, I’ve started to really appreciate the little things in life a lot more.”
The album features her latest single “Heartfirst,” as well as fan-favorite tracks “What I Have,” “The Little Things,” “Love Is A Cowboy, among others.
“In my younger years, the idea of change scared me. It had proven to be a faceless force that patterned my past with uncertainty. Only in the gift of growth have I learned that in the stark and constant juxtaposition of life, living happens,” she previously explained of the project on Instagram. “That when I unclench my fists, undig my heels and unravel the architecture built by youth, a true metamorphosis can happen.”
She continued, “I’ve been searching somewhere between the broadness of the universe and the simplicity in the little things, reflecting through wiser perspectives, leaning with body weight into matters of the heart, and finding blissful acceptance in the inner cracks I once cursed that now let the light in to grow taller within myself. This is a season of becoming, healing, loving, dancing, and feeling. And like everything, it is subject to change.”
Subject To Change marks the country hitmaker’s first full-length project since the release of her companion albums, kelsea and ballerini, in 2020.
Ballerini’s Heartfirst Tour continues through October 14, where the trek will wrap up at Premier Theater inside Foxwoods Resort Casino.
For tickets and additional information on Kelsea Ballerini’s Heartfirst Tour, visit www.heartfirsttour.com.
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
You may also like
Country Next
Playlist
On Repeat
Get the latest country music news delivered straight to your inbox.
