Feb 11, 2017 at 3:00 pm

Kelsea Ballerini: Best New Artist of Grammys 2017 Countdown!

Our Best New Artist of the 2017 Grammy Awards countdown continues today with country star Kelsea Ballerini!

The 23-year-old Tennessee-bred singer-songwriter signed a recording deal with Black River Entertainment at the age of 19. Kelsea hit it strong right out the gate with her 2014 debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It.” The song soared all the way to number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Kelsea the first solo female country music artist to score a number one hit with her debut single since Carrie Underwood did so with “Jesus, Take the Wheel” in 2006.

“Love Me Like You Mean It” was followed by “Dibs” and “Peter Pan” from her debut album The First Time, released in May of 2015. Both singles managed to top the Country Airplay chart making Kelsea the first solo female act to have three consecutive number one hits since Wynonna Judd accomplished the same feat in 1992.

This past Christmas, Kelsea announced her engagement to longtime love Morgan Evans, who is set to join her at the 2017 Grammys.

In case you missed it, check out Kelsea looking pretty in pink for the new cover of Billboard magazine.

We’ll be highlighting all the Best New Artist nominees before they go head-to-head at the big show on Sunday (February 12) on CBS. Be sure to tune in – JustJared.com we’ll be live-blogging the entire show as well!