Kelsea Ballerini on why getting her first tattoo was liberating

Tattoos often hold special meaning, and that rings true for Kelsea Ballerini.

The Knoxville native signed her record deal when she was 19, and admits that she soon “panicked,” thinking that if she were ever to get a tattoo one day, that people would assume that she was out of control. But rather than letting others’ preconceived notions get the best of her, Kelsea took matters into her own hands and got her first tattoo in 2014, the line “how sweet the sound” from the classic hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” on her left forearm.

“I had this whole thing in my head and I went to the tattoo shop and I got a tattoo the day before my first ever photo shoot. It was my way of going ‘I need to find a way to be consistent. I need to find a way to keep it as real as I can from day one of this public facing journey that I’m hopefully going to be on,'” she explains to Aerie about the rationale behind getting the special tat.

Kelsea’s ink collection has since expanded to three tattoos, one on her ribcage that features the word “love” written twice in her mother and father’s handwriting, and a square inside a circle placed just below her wrist in honor of her song, “Square Pegs.”