Kelsea Ballerini premiered the stunning visual for “Emerald City,” a vulnerable track that appears on her latest EP, while wrapping up her tour dates in Australia over the weekend.

Ballerini, 32, opens up about feeling “kind of jealous, kind of insecure,” in “Emerald City.” The singer uses the color green to symbolize her “shade of envy” as she struggles with comparison, and seeks support and reassurance that green actually makes her “your Emerald City”: “Never known this shade of envy/ Just tell me I’m your Emerald City.” Ballerini, who recently nodded to Wicked during her “Emerald City” performance, brought “Emerald City” to life with director Patrick Tracy (whose previous work with Ballerini includes the 20-minute short film for her deeply-personal EP, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat).

The 2026 Grammy nominee released “Emerald City” on her 6-track EP, Mount Pleasant, last month. The project also included “I Sit In Parks,” “People Pleaser,” “587,” “The Revisionist” and “Check On Your Friends.” Ballerini previously said the EP is “a chapter of heavy self examination, longing, and stepping further into who I am as a 32 year old woman.” Some fans pointed out that the title takes on the same name as a town in South Carolina that serves as a filming location for Outer Banks, which stars the singer-songwriter’s ex-boyfriend, Chase Stokes. “Emerald City” stirred speculation that the song is about Stokes’ co-star and ex-girlfriend, Madelyn Cline; however, Ballerini isn’t opening up about her personal life any time soon.

Earlier this month, Ballerini responded to some questions from fans on her Instagram story. One of them wrote, “How are YOU?!? You heal a lot of us, what do YOU need?” Ballerini replied: “Thank you for saying this and asking. I’m in a steady and happy place right now. Truly excited for this Australia tour and the holidays. If I had one favor, it would be honoring that I’m trying to make my personal life personal for now. Unless it comes from me, it’s not from me. And that is really important in protecting my peace right now.”

“In feeling so seen by fans and music lovers in my more recent music that has felt more emotionally peeled back and sometimes uncomfortably honest, I felt encouraged to let it all out in the safest way I know how,” Ballerini said when she released Mount Pleasant. “From the body clock crash outs, to the ‘who the f*** am I outside of who people tell me I am?,’ to the admission and ick of comparison and jealousy, to making peace with the past, to the urgency of checking on your friends and yourself into the future. Mount Pleasant is a place, a feeling, an uphill journey, and an idea of what’s to come. Welcome to the park ❤️”

Watch the “Emerald City” music video here:

Gavin Adcock

Steelhouse Omaha

Friday, February 28th

8pm

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