Kelsea Ballerini | 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, New Jersey - September 12, 2023
Kelsea Ballerini Pulls Off Instant Dress Swap While Performing 'Penthouse' at the 2023 VMAs
Ballerini wrapped up her Heartfirst tour in July and then released her extended EP titled 'Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good)' in August
Kelsea Ballerini brought down the house at the 2023 MTV VMAs, from outside of the venue!
The country singer, who also celebrated her 30th birthday the same day as the show, performed her ballad "Penthouse" toward the end of Tuesday's award show.
During the set, Ballerini was surrounded by fog, lights, string instrumentalists, and a crowd outdoors, as she wore a stunning white dress. But that dress didn't stay on long, as she swapped to a black gown before her grand finale.
After singing the lyrics "And it stings rolling up the welcome mat/Knowing you got half," the musician shocked the crowd with her instant outfit change, which certainly left an impression on her birthday.
It was confirmed that Ballerini, alongside Lil Wayne, Doja Cat and Anitta would be performing at the award show back in August. The artists joined previously announced performers including Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids on stage.
The “Miss Me More” singer’s performance comes weeks after she wrapped up her Heartfirst Tour, which she previously discussed in an interview with PEOPLE last month during her new partnership campaign with Sonic.
"It was incredible," Ballerini says of the concert event, which made various stops across the country. "Just to watch the music evolve, and the connection and the singalongs got louder and bigger throughout the last six months, it's been really pretty crazy."
Ballerini also released an extended version of her Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP titled Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) on Aug. 11,
In a statement, she described Rolling Up the Welcome Mat as the next chapter of her latest album, 2022's Subject to Change, and noted that the six additional songs came about through her writing therapeutically through dark moments.
"These are six songs I wish I had last year. It's about the complexities of the feelings you go through during a massive shift at a young age," she said of the project. "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.”
Several of the songs from the album referenced Ballerini’s divorce from fellow country singer Morgan Evans, which was finalized in November. She has since moved on, confirming she was dating Outer Banks star Chase Stokes on the Call Her Daddy podcast in February.
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