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Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘Half of My Hometown’ was written in the water

By Gayle Thompson Sep 7, 2021 | 7:53 AM


John Shearer / Getty Images for Amazon Music

Kelsea Ballerini‘s current single, “Half of My Hometown,” a duet with Kenny Chesney, is currently in the Top 30, and quickly climbing the charts. The song was written by Kelsea, along with Jimmy RobbinsRoss CoppermanShane McAnally and Nicolle Galyon, while they were all on a writing retreat in Florida.

“Kelsea rented a house, and we all flew down there to just hangout for a couple of days and write songs,” Jimmy recalls to CMT. “This was one of those songs that wouldn’t have happened anywhere else. We went to dinner the night before, and somebody just said it. The line came out. Wine was involved in dinner, which was helpful, and with the whole trip, really.”

The next day, while they were relaxing, the song quickly came out.

“We were actually sitting in the pool,” Jimmy says. “Nicolle got video of it; we were sitting in the pool and I’m playing guitar. We wrote the whole song in the pool.”

Once the writers started working on “Half of My Hometown,” it didn’t take long to have a finished product. 

“I think probably within an hour the song was written, and then an hour later we had the demo,” Jimmy shares.

“Half of My Hometown” is on Kelsea’s eponymous 2020 album.

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