Half of My Hometown

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"Half of My Hometown"
Single by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney
from the album Kelsea
ReleasedApril 19, 2021 (2021-04-19)
GenreCountry
Length3:52
LabelBlack River
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Jimmy Robbins
  • Ross Copperman[1]
Kelsea Ballerini singles chronology
"Hole in the Bottle"
(2020) 		"Half of My Hometown"
(2021) 		"I Quit Drinking"
(2021)
Kenny Chesney singles chronology
"Knowing You"
(2021) 		"Half of My Hometown"
(2021) 		"Everyone She Knows"
(2022)

"Half of My Hometown" (stylized in all lowercase letters) is a song recorded by American country music artists Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney. It was released to country music radio on April 19, 2021, as the fourth single from Ballerini's third studio album Kelsea.[2] Ballerini co-wrote the song with Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally, and Jimmy Robbins. An alternate recording of the song is also included on Ballerini's first remix album, Ballerini.[3]

The song won both Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year at the 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards and was nominated for Single of the Year at the 56th CMA Awards.

Content[edit]

"Half of My Hometown" describes the conflicting emotions of a person who feels conflict between staying in their hometown, or leaving it in favor of an improvement.[4][5] Ballerini recorded vocals for this song immediately after writing it and some demo vocals were retained in the final edit.[6] The song makes references to Knoxville, Tennessee - the hometown of both artists - inspiring the decision to enlist Chesney to feature on the track.[6][7] Chesney says he "couldn't say 'yes' fast enough" after hearing the song.[5]

Critical reception[edit]

In a review for Kelsea on AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Chesney's inclusion on the song "seems designed to reinforce [Ballerini's] country roots."[8] Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone labelled the song a "heartwarming acoustic anthem," in his review of Kelsea.[9] Cillea Houghton of Sounds Like Nashville wrote that "the starlet takes on a more serious tone with the observational "half of my hometown"," and called the song "a standout moment" on the album.[10] An unnamed reviewer for Off the Record UK wrote that "the addition of Chesney's distinctive vocal is the masterstroke here to make it the standout track on the record," and adds that "it is both catchy and full of nostalgia."[11]

Music video[edit]

The video was directed by Patrick Tracy. It features Kelsea picturing an alternate life where she stayed in Knoxville, Tennessee instead of pursuing her dream as a country star interspersed with clips of her performance of the song with Chesney at the ACM Awards.

Live performances[edit]

Ballerini and Chesney performed the song together at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 18, 2021, one day before releasing the song to radio.[4] The performance served as the single's live debut.[12] Ballerini performed during the live finale part 2 of The Voice season 20, Kenzie Wheeler performed Chesney's vocals of the song.

Accolades[edit]

Year Ceremony Category / Nominated Work Result Ref.
2021 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards Musical Event of the Year Won [13]
Video of the Year Won
57th Academy of Country Music Awards Music Event of the Year Nominated [14]
2022 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards Single of the Year Nominated [15]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kelsea (booklet). Kelsea Ballerini. Black River. 2020. BRE2020-04-CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (September 2, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini To Release New Project 'ballerini' On Sept. 11". MusicRow. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Parton, Chris (April 19, 2021). "Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney Send 'Half of My Hometown' to Country Radio". Sounds Like Nashville. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Crone, Madeline (April 15, 2021). "Kelsea Ballerini & Kenny Chesney Honor Their Shared East Tennessee Roots on "half of my hometown"". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Stefano, Angela (April 21, 2021). "The Story Behind Kelsea Ballerini's Kenny Cheseny Duet". The Boot. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  7. ^ Dowling, Marcus (April 7, 2021). "Kelsea Ballerini Partners With Kenny Chesney for New Single, "Half of My Hometown"". CMT. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kelsea - Kelsea Ballerini | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  9. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (March 20, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini Is Her Own Kind of Country on 'Kelsea'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  10. ^ Houghton, Cillea (March 18, 2020). "Album Review: Kelsea Ballerini's Self-Titled Album". Sounds Like Nashville. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "REVIEW: Kelsea Ballerini's Kelsea Moves away from Nashville". Off the Record UK. March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  12. ^ Ginsberg, Gab (April 18, 2021). "Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney Celebrate Their 'Hometown' at the 2021 ACM Awards". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Final Nominees For "The 55th Annual CMA Awards" To Be Announced Thursday, Sept. 9". CMA Awards 2021 | Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 8|7c on ABC. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  14. ^ Leimkuehler, Matthew. "ACM Awards 2022: A list of winners". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  15. ^ KIK (2022-09-07). "Lainey Wilson leads 56th CMA Awards noms; Chris Stapleton, Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde not far behind". KIK-FM 100.7. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  16. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  17. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "Country Airplay – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  22. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  23. ^ "Radio Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Half of My Hometown". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
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