Unapologetically

2017 studio album by Kelsea Ballerini
Unapologetically
Studio album by
Kelsea Ballerini
ReleasedNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)
Recorded2017
GenreCountry pop
Length41:31
LabelBlack River
Producer
  • Jason Massey
  • Forest Glen Whitehead
  • Jimmy Robbins
  • The Chainsmokers
Kelsea Ballerini chronology
The First Time
(2015) 		Unapologetically
(2017) 		Kelsea
(2020)
Singles from Unapologetically
  1. "Legends"
    Released: June 7, 2017
  2. "I Hate Love Songs"
    Released: March 12, 2018
  3. "Miss Me More"
    Released: October 15, 2018

Unapologetically is the second studio album by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released on November 3, 2017. Ballerini announced the album's title and release date on July 25, 2017.[1] In August, the album's track listing was first revealed to fans during a four-day check-in event over the mobile app Swarm.[2]

A deluxe edition of the album with four new bonus tracks was released on October 26, 2018.[3]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Legends," was first released on June 7, 2017,[4] and went for adds at country radio on July 10, 2017. It became Ballerini's fourth number one hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week dated February 24, 2018.

"I Hate Love Songs" was released on March 12, 2018 as the album's second official single.[5] It reached a peak of number 25 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

"Miss Me More" was released as the third single from the album on October 15, 2018.[3] It reached a peak of number 2 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

Promotional singles

The album's title track, "Unapologetically", was released as a promotional single on August 11, 2017, the day the album became available for pre-order on iTunes.[6] The second promotional single, "High School", was released on September 22, 2017.[7] The third and final promotional single, "Miss Me More", was released on October 20, 2017.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.3/10[9]
Metacritic74/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Paste8.1/10[13]

At review aggregation website Metacritic, Unapologetically has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Paste writer Robert Ham spoke about Unapologetically, "it’s more country by reputation—and the artful twang in Ballerini’s voice—than in sound. But within the album, the songs eschew lovesick notions and bitter revenge fantasies", noting that, "Unapologetically gains in strength as it goes along, mirroring Ballerini’s push away from a particular lover and towards the welcoming arms of a new beau."[13] Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin placed two songs from the album on his top 10 list of Ballerini's best songs: "Legends" at number three and the title track at number four.[14]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result
2019 Grammy Award[15] Best Country Album Nominated

Commercial performance

Unapologetically debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 with 44,000 album-equivalent units, including 35,000 pure album sales.[16] It is her highest peak on the chart of her four albums.[16] The album has sold 156,700 copies in the United States as of October 2019.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kelsea Ballerini, with additional co-writers as noted, except "Landslide" (written by Stevie Nicks) and "This Feeling" (written by Alexander Pall, Andrew Taggart and Emily Warren)

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Graveyard"
3:46
2."Miss Me More"
3:12
3."Get Over Yourself"3:20
4."Roses"2:57
5."Machine Heart"3:09
6."In Between"3:29
7."High School" 3:55
8."End of the World"
3:28
9."I Hate Love Songs"
3:11
10."Unapologetically"
  • Lindsey
  • Whitehead
3:38
11."Music"
3:23
12."Legends"
  • Lindsey
  • Whitehead
4:03
Total length:41:31
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Fun and Games"
  • McAnally
  • Whitehead
3:00
14."I Think I Fell in Love Today" 2:32
15."Landslide" (live from Nashville) (Fleetwood Mac cover) 3:17
16."This Feeling" (The Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini) 3:17

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[19]

  • Kelsea Ballerini - lead vocals
  • Ross Copperman – drum programming
  • Zach Crowell – acoustic guitar
  • Jennifer Denmark – background vocals
  • Kris Donegan – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • David Dorn – keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer, synthesizer strings
  • Fred Eltringham – drums
  • Nicolle Galyon – background vocals
  • Lee Hendricks – bass guitar
  • David Hodges – acoustic guitar
  • Evan Hutchings – drums
  • Hillary Lindsey – background vocals
  • Jason Massey – brass arrangements, drum programming, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, organ, string arrangements, background vocals
  • Rob McNelley – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Lindsey Rimes – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, drum programming, string arrangements, background vocals
  • Jimmy Robbins – acoustic guitar, piano, drum programming
  • Adam Shoenfeld – electric guitar
  • Derek Wells – electric guitar, steel guitar
  • Forest Glen Whitehead – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, mandolin, background vocals
  • Nir Z. – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 12
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[21] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 18
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[23] 5
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 50
UK Country Albums (OCC)[26] 1
US Billboard 200[16] 7
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[27] 3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2017) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[29] 87
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] 44
Chart (2018) Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[31] 38
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[32] 16

Certifications

Certifications for Unapologetically
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (July 25, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini Announces New Album 'Unapologetically' & Details the Self-Discovery Journey Behind It". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  2. ^ Whitaker, Sterling (August 5, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini Reveals Cover for Sophomore Album 'Unapologetically'". Taste of Country. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Lisa Konicki (September 25, 2018). "Kelsea Ballerini Reveals Next Single "Miss Me More" and Brings Deluxe Album To Fans [Listen]". One Country. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Gugala, John (June 26, 2017). "Hear Kelsea Ballerini's Wistful New Song 'Legends'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Single Releases : MusicRow". MusicRow. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  6. ^ McKenna, Brittney (August 11, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini Details New Album 'Unapologetically,' Shares Title Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  7. ^ Bruner, Raisa (September 21, 2017). "Country Star Kelsea Ballerini on Her Songwriting Breakthrough in 'High School'". Time. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Asserts Her Independence on New Song, 'Miss Me More' [Listen]". Taste of Country. October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  9. ^ "Unapologetically by Kelsea Ballerini reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Reviews for Unapologetically by Kelsea Ballerini". Metacritic. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  11. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Unapologetically - Kelsea Ballerini". AllMusic. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  12. ^ Levy, Joe (November 9, 2017). "Review: Kelsea Ballerini's Latest Crosses Country-Pop Boundaries". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Ham, Robert (November 1, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini: Unapologetically Review". Paste. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  14. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (August 21, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  15. ^ "Nominees". Grammy.com. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  16. ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (November 12, 2017). "Sam Smith's 'The Thrill of It All' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  17. ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 21, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: October 21, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  18. ^ "Unapologetically (Deluxe Edition) by Kelsea Ballerini on iTunes" – via itunes.apple.com.
  19. ^ "Unapologetically - Kelsea Ballerini - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Kelsea Ballerini – Unapologetically". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  21. ^ "ARIA Report (Issue #1446)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-13. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  22. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  23. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  26. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  27. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  28. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  29. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  30. ^ "Top Independent Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  31. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  32. ^ "Top Independent Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Unapologetically". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Studio albums
  • The First Time (2015)
  • Unapologetically (2017)
  • Kelsea (2020)
  • Subject to Change (2022)
EPs
Remix albums
  • Ballerini (2020)
Singles
Featured singles
  • "This Feeling"
Related articles
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group