Kelsea Ballerini Says Chase Stokes Was Alongside Entire Making of New Album PATTERNS

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes had plans for the ultimate 2024 Halloween couples costume for Heidi Klum’s iconic annual party: Moo Deng the pygmy hippo and Pesto the penguin… but reality set in. New York City is having an unnaturally warm fall, and full animal garb seemed pretty involved, now that Ballerini thought about it. She’s also got other things to focus on at the moment, like her new album PATTERNS, out today, October 25, and a sold-out one-night stint at Madison Square Garden on the 29th.

“I felt good about Pesto, but then I just felt like it was going to be very sweaty and moist,” Ballerini tells Teen Vogue backstage before a Spotify album release party at The Carlyle Hotel, where she celebrated with fans and played songs from the album. “[Chase and I are] both in such a full sprint right now. We’re running in these parallels. Let’s just dress up and go have so much fun for a night and be out of work mode a little bit.” Instead, you’ll see Ballerini and Stokes, who went public with their relationship in 2023, go as Sandy and Danny from Grease — red heels and the iconic leather jacket.

The Knoxville, Tennessee, singer-songwriter says Stokes, who is currently promoting the new season of Outer Banks, was one of the first people to hear every new song as she was making PATTERNS. “He heard it as it was happening,” Ballerini says. “This is the first time that I’ve gotten to make a record where he’s been a part of the whole process. He would be Facetiming into the studio with the musicians. It was really fun to bring him alongside for the whole process, and be [not only] such a beautiful part of the life of this record, but of the process too.”

During the Spotify event, Ballerini did a Q&A with Cassie DiLaura where she talked about writing the song “How Much Do You Love Me?” which she calls “the softest song on the album.” According to Ballerini, Stokes came downstairs and asked what she was writing on guitar. She told him straight up, “This is a love song for you.”