Wikipedia

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat is the second extended play (EP) by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released on February 14, 2023, by Black River Entertainment.[2][3] Accompanied by a short film of the same name, the project was nominated for Album of the Year at the 57th Annual CMA Awards and Best Country Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
EP by
Kelsea Ballerini
ReleasedFebruary 14, 2023 (2023-02-14)
GenreCountry[1]
Length15:54
LabelBlack River
Producer
  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Alysa Vanderheym
Kelsea Ballerini chronology
Subject to Change
(2022) 		Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
(2023) 		Patterns
(2024)
Singles from Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
  1. "Blindsided"
    Released: March 13, 2023

On August 1, 2023, Ballerini announced that she was releasing an extended version of the EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) on August 11, 2023.[4][5]

Background

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In March 2016, Ballerini began dating Australian country singer Morgan Evans, and the two were married in 2017. On August 29, 2022, Ballerini announced that she and Evans were divorcing. On November 3, 2022, it was revealed that Ballerini and Evans had reached a settlement agreement and their divorce was finalized on November 15, 2022.[6][7]

On February 13, 2023, Ballerini announced through her social media that she would be releasing Rolling Up the Welcome Mat as a surprise release that night, coinciding with Valentine's Day.[8] It was described by the singer on her social media:[9]

"I was writing by myself for most of the project, and it was nice to trust myself again," Ballerini writes. "Ironically, I started writing music because my parents got divorced; that was my therapy. Rolling Up The Welcome Mat was how I processed everything. It's the way I got my feelings out of my body and heart and put them to music, which is the purest way I could've handled it."

— Ballerini on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]

Chris Willman of Variety found the choice of making an album about her divorce "unexpectedly savvy" as a "parcel all that pain into a dam-burster of a side project with no commercial expectations, no press and no holds barred". Willman wrote that even if it was a "volume of historical annotation", the songs did not "always feel so strictly autobiographical that they lack for cleverness", with "very little [that] sounds singularly country genre".[11]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the lyrics as "a number of intimate details of their union, along with a rolling series of self-insights" not finding them, however, "intense". Erlewine wrote that the album "offers clean, uncluttered comfort" not in line with his conception in "a place of pain", as her divorce was.[10]

The album was named the 98th best album of 2023 by Rolling Stone, prizing the "clear narrative" of the tracks, producing a "succinct post-divorce diary, leveling up her songwriting in the process on brutal confessionals".[12]

Year-end rankings

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Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2023
19
[13]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2023
98
[14]

Film

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The release of the EP was accompanied by a 20-minute short film acting as a visual album for the EP, written by Ballerini and co-directed by Patrick Tracy.[15] The film portrays a woman, played by Ballerini, going through the stages of grief and acceptance to the end of a marriage and an impending divorce.

Promotion

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On March 4, 2023, Ballerini sang "Blindsided" and "Penthouse" on Saturday Night Live.[16]

Track listing

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Rolling Up the Welcome Mat track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mountain with a View"Kelsea Ballerini2:57
2."Just Married"Ballerini3:18
3."Penthouse"
  • Ballerini
  • Alysa Vanderheym
3:03
4."Interlude"
  • Ballerini
  • Vanderheym
0:45
5."Blindsided"
  • Ballerini
  • Vanderheym
2:50
6."Leave Me Again"Ballerini2:58
Total length:15:54
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) track listing[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mountain with a View"Kelsea Ballerini2:57
2."Just Married"Ballerini3:18
3."Penthouse (Healed Version) [Live]"
  • Ballerini
  • Alysa Vanderheym
4:20
4."Interlude (Full Length)"
  • Ballerini
  • Vanderheym
2:19
5."Blindsided (Yeah, Sure, Okay)"
  • Ballerini
  • Vanderheym
2:47
6."Leave Me Again"Ballerini2:58
7."How Do I Do This"
  • Ballerini
  • Vanderheym
2:51

Personnel

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  • Kelsea Ballerini – lead vocals, production (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1–5)
  • Alysa Vanderheym – production, digital editing, (all tracks), programming (1–5), background vocals (1, 5), engineering (4, 6)
  • Andrew Mendelson – mastering
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing
  • Mike Stankiewicz – engineering (1–3, 5)
  • Zach Kuhlman – engineering assistance (1–3, 5)
  • Andrew Darby – mastering assistance
  • Jacob Friga – mastering assistance
  • Luke Armentrout – mastering assistance
  • Taylor Chadwick – mastering assistance
  • Charles Haydon Hicks – mixing assistance
  • Luke Burgoyne – mixing assistance

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ Willman, Chris (February 15, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Delivers Country Music's Most Single-Minded D-I-V-O-R-C-E Record Ever With Rolling Up the Welcome Mat: Album Review". Variety. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Chua, Jeremy; FitzPatrick, Hayley (August 2, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini announces extended 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,' asks fans for 'a favor'". ABC News. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Houghton, Cillea (August 3, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini to Release 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)'". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Avila, Daniela (August 2, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Is Ready to Roll Up the Welcome Mat for Good with an Expanded Version of Her Heartbreaking EP". People. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Roland, Tom (August 15, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini and the Public/Private Discomfort Of Drawing From Personal Issues". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Daniela, Avila; DeSantis, Rachel (November 3, 2022). "Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans Reach Settlement Agreement 2 Months After She Filed for Divorce". People. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Ryzik, Melena (March 20, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Is Ready for Lift Off". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Freeman, Jon (February 14, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Surprise Releases New EP and Short Film". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  9. ^ K. Dowling, Marcus (February 14, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini reveals new EP, 'Rolling Up The Welcome Mat' discussing divorce". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (February 14, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Willman, Chris (February 15, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Delivers Country Music's Most Single-Minded D-I-V-O-R-C-E Record Ever With 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Watts, Cindy (February 14, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Releases Surprise Ep And Mini Movie, Calls "Rolling Up The Welcome Mat" Her "Healing Journey"". CMT. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Freeman, John (March 4, 2023). "Kelsea Ballerini Drops New Divorce-Inspired Lyrics in Smashing SNL Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  17. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Instagram". Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  19. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 27 February 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1721. Australian Recording Industry Association. February 27, 2023. p. 10.
  20. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  22. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  23. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  24. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
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