Kelsea Ballerini<\/strong><\/a> is ready to move into a new era, ending her whirlwind year with Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good),<\/em> a new version of her viral breakup EP. She tells Us Weekly<\/em> that the rerelease is dedicated to the fans who embraced the \u201creally delicate\u201d songs \u2014 inspired by her divorce from Morgan Evans<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 and made them their own.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything about this rerelease is very much so for the people that have connected to this music since it came out in February. Because when I put out this project, I did it relatively quietly,\u201d the 29-year-old singer says, noting that she was still focused on her 2022 album, Subject to Change<\/em>, when she originally dropped the six-song EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.<\/em><\/a> \u201cEverything about the way that the music has connected [with people] has been really unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballerini, who spoke to Us<\/em> while promoting her partnership with Sonic, adds that the only way she\u2019s gotten to \u201chonor the music is by playing it live,\u201d kicking off with \u201cBlindsided\u201d on Saturday Night Live <\/em><\/a>in March \u2014 during which she tweaked the lyrics as another apparent nod to Evans\u2019 split track<\/a> \u201cOver for You,\u201d in which he sings about \u201csearching the whole world\u201d over for her. While the songs have been heavily analyzed by fans, Ballerini has made it clear that she\u2019s not interested in more examinations of the music.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not mine anymore, it\u2019s just not. Like, it\u2019s very much so an \u2018ours\u2019 thing. And so [the fans have] been very vocal from the very beginning \u2014 as soon as I played \u2018Blindsided\u2019 on SNL<\/em>, they were like, \u2018We need the \u2018Yeah, Sure, Okay\u2019 version,\u2019\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd then when I started singing \u2018Penthouse\u2019 live<\/a>, it kind of just changed and evolved every night. And then one day, on a whim, I just changed one word and it took on a whole new life and they were like, \u2018We need that version.\u2019 It\u2019s called \u2018The Healed Version.\u2019 I never made that up! That was them.\u201d<\/p>\n In \u201cPenthouse (The Healed Version),\u201d Ballerini sings, \u201cI kissed someone new last night \/ And now I don\u2019t care where you\u2019re sleeping, baby.\u201d The original lyrics stated, \u201cI kissed someone new last night \/ But now I don\u2019t know where you\u2019re sleeping, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just got to a place where the songs and what they were about \u2014 obviously, that will always be a chapter of my life<\/a> that I will bookmark with that album \u2014 but I don\u2019t have those feelings<\/a> toward it anymore,\u201d she tells Us<\/em>. \u201cNow, it\u2019s just this thing that has connected me to people and I wanna be able to say thank you by giving them what they\u2019ve asked for through this music. So that\u2019s why I\u2019m so excited about it. My only feeling toward it is gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Another tweak on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)<\/em> is the extended version of \u201cInterlude,\u201d which is only 45 seconds on the OG version.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were putting together the songs in \u2026 order and I was like, \u2019It\u2019s too quick to go from \u2018Penthouse\u2019 to \u2018Blindsided.\u2019 \u2026 There has to be a bridge here to get you emotionally from A to B,\u201d she tells Us<\/em>, adding that she was \u201cword vomiting\u201d over the track. \u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly how \u2018Interlude\u2019 full-length is as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballerini notes that it was \u201cdifficult\u201d to make a track that didn\u2019t follow the traditional format into a full-length song. \u201cIt went through several different versions. \u2026 But it\u2019s very much so still a stream of consciousness,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The new EP, out August 11, includes a new song titled \u201cHow Do I Do This,\u201d which she tells Us<\/em> is \u201cabout the first date after\u201d a breakup.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the nerves of going into a very unknown world,\u201d Ballerini says. \u201cAnd, to me, I felt like since I hadn\u2019t really gotten to share my story in my perspective on what had happened in my life yet, that needed to come second. That is part two. I felt like I really wanted to talk about, you know, the breakup, and let that kind of live in one piece. And then if I ever decided to do what we\u2019re doing now \u2014 Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)<\/em> \u2014 then that would be kind of the extension of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballerini goes on to reference boyfriend Chase Stokes<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd especially now, I\u2019ve been in a new relationship for a while now, and people have seen that,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I feel like it\u2019s a really appropriate time to catch everyone up and to be able to move the narrative from the past to the present.\u201d<\/p>\n Before she can officially move on to the present, however, Ballerini is channeling her inner teenager by reinventing Sonic\u2019s Ocean Water.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really obsessed with how certain tastes and smells and songs bring you back to certain memories in your life. And Ocean Water for me reminds me of my first two years of high school,\u201d she explains. \u201cWhen I still lived in Knoxville, [Tennessee], I had friends that could drive and there was a Sonic, like, 0.3 miles from my high school. And so that was our treat after school [or] if we got to leave during lunchtime, before a game, before study sessions, all that stuff \u2014 it was always Sonic and it was for me, always Ocean Water.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballerini \u201cremixed\u201d the drink, adding Lime and Blue Raspberry flavors. \u201cIt just tastes like a tropical summery treat and it\u2019s delicious,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m very excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballerini adds that Sonic is still \u201ca pillar in my life,\u201d but instead of her high school friends, she goes to the chain with her band on long bus rides or before they arrive at a venue. As for what else she orders, Ballerini says it \u201cdepends on what mood I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love the tots, I love the popcorn chicken. And I love a chili dog,\u201d she tells Us<\/em>. \u201cI gotta be honest. Every now and again, when I\u2019m in a mood, I will get a chili dog.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Kelsea](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Kelsea-Ballerini-to-Move-the-Narrative-With-New-Version-of-Divorce-Album-2.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini<\/span> Matt Baron\/BEI\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n