The Emotional Reason Kelsea Ballerini Has "Love" Tattooed on Her Rib Cage—Twice
Here's everything fans need to know about Kelsea Ballerini's tattoos.
With The Voice's Blind Auditions wrapping up, Coach Kelsea Ballerini has been busy assembling the best collection of singers she can in hopes of ultimately winning Season 27 in her first attempt.
While watching Ballerini's on the show, fans may have gotten a few glimpses of her tattoos. In a 2024 interview with Pop Sugar, the country queen explained, in detail, the significance of all her tattoos. And there's a really sweet reason why she has the word "love" inked on her rib cage—twice.
"It says, 'Love Love,' and it's my mom and my dad's handwriting," Ballerini explained.
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Ballerini's parents sent her letters coinciding with the release of her first single, 2014's "Love Me Like You Mean It," and the star saw an opportunity for one of the most meaningful tattoos ever.
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"It said, 'Love, Mom; Love, Dad,'" she said. "And so, I was in New Orleans when the song went number one, and I took the 'Love's' from the letters, and I put them side by side on my ribs."
Not every tattoo has an extra-special reason for existing on Ballerini's body. As many people know, sometimes the best tattoos directly result from a wild night out. Such is the case for Ballerini's small wrist tattoo.
"This one is, it's a square peg and a round hole, and it's from a song from my first record," she admitted. "And honestly, I got it with a group of 12 people drunkenly after I played my first headline show up at the Troubadour. So that's that."
Kelsea Ballerini's tattoos
The country superstar has more than just those two tattoos. Here are her other four pieces of ink:
- On her left wrist, she has the phrase "How sweet the sound" tattooed in cursive, a reference to the iconic song "Amazing Grace."
- On her left hip, she tattooed a small wave.
- On her right forearm, she has a tattoo she calls "Mountain with a View," a nod to her 2023 hit song.
- On her back, Ballerini has a gorgeous tattoo of a hummingbird, which she calls her "favorite."
- The star and her boyfriend, actor Chase Stokes, also have matching Virgo tattoos.
All in all, Ballerini has seven tattoos, and fans wouldn't be surprised if she added more to her collection in the years to come!
John Legend praises Kelsea Ballerini's recruiting skills
So far in Season 27, Ballerini has been exceeding expectations as a Coach — and building one heck of a team in the process! Even John Legend has taken notice.
"She really does a great job of selling herself in the Blinds," Legend explained during an episode. "It's funny because as Artists who make records and tour and all that stuff, we have to sell ourselves, but it's different when you're, like, 'Please pick me as your Coach'… But Kelsea just came in here and was able to do it right away."
