Kelsea Ballerini Flips Morgan Evans’ Lyrics During SNL Performance of ‘Blindsided’

During her eagerly awaited debut on Saturday Night Live, Kelsea Ballerini performed two songs from her acclaimed Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP, ‘Penthouse’ and ‘Blindsided’.

Towards the end of the latter, Ballerini introduced a brand new verse, which replied to a number of lines in her ex-husband's recent divorce-inspired song, ‘Over For You’.

Ballerini dismissively crooned, “You would've searched the whole world over / Yeah, sure, okay”, in response to Evans’ lyric, “I would've searched the whole world over for you / Took a flight through the night”.

‘Over For You’ expresses Morgan Evans’ surprise at Ballerini's decision to end the marriage, and the original version of ‘Blindsided’ already serves as a response to Evans (“I know the truth is hard to hear, but it wasn't hard to find / Baby, were you blindsided, or were you just blind?”).

The new verse elevates the directness of the song, with Ballerini's live rendition adding a new level of intensity to ‘Blindsided’.

Alongside this, the country star also treated the SNL audience to an evocative performance of ‘Penthouse’, which was a much-loved staple of her recent shows in the UK.

@hollercountry “I definitely never thought I would play any of these live,” @Kelsea Ballerini surprises UK fans with a song from her latest EP, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, on her #HEARTFIRST Tour 💔🥲 #kelseaballerini #musictok #countrymusic ♬ original sound - Holler

The context within which Kelsea Ballerini's Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP arrived inevitably bolstered its emotional weight and resonance.

The freshly added SNL verse has once again taken this up a notch, and adds a new edge to the already-incisive ‘Blindsided’.

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