Kelsea Ballerini says Chase Stokes was involved in the entire creation of new album PATTERNS

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

“I had a good feeling about Pesto, but then I just had a feeling it was going to be really sweaty and moist,” Ballerini says TeenVogue Backstage before a Spotify album release party at the Carlyle Hotel, where she celebrated with fans and performed songs from the album. “(Chase and I) are both in such a full sprint right now. We move in these parallels. Let's just get dressed up, have a night of fun and get out of work mode for a bit.” Instead, see Ballerini and Stokes, who went public with their relationship in 2023, as Sandy and Danny Fat – red heels and the iconic leather jacket.

The singer-songwriter from Knoxville, Tennessee, says Stokes, who is currently promoting the new season of Outer Banks, was one of the first people to listen to each new song as she composed PATTERN. “He heard it when it happened,” Ballerini says. “This is the first time I’ve made a record where he’s part of the whole process. He would go into the studio via Facetiming with the musicians. It was really fun having him there throughout the whole process and being such a wonderful part of (not only) the life of this record, but the process.”

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