“What I Love Most About Kelsea is Her Joy For Life”: Noah Kahan Pays Tribute to Kelsea Ballerini with Heartwarming Speech in Nashville

During the Variety Power of Women Nashville event last night (Thursday, May 1st), Noah Kahan delivered a moving speech celebrating his close friend, Kelsea Ballerini.

Ballerini was receiving the Variety Power of Women Nashville Award, in recognition of the ‘Baggage’ singer-songwriter's trailblazing work within the music industry, as well as outside of Music City through her Feel Your Way Through charitable fund.

Earlier in the week, Noah Kahan and Kelsea Ballerini spent time together at Dollywood. The duo have become close friends since teaming up for ‘Cowboys Cry Too’, one of the many highlights from Ballerini's 2024 Patterns record, with the track capturing Kahan and Ballerini's commitment to removing the taboo around mental health.

Kahan began, “I'm so honoured to be here celebrating all the powerful women here, and I'm particularly excited to introduce my friend, Kelsea. This last week, Kelsea and I were asked to leave Guy Fieri’s Flavor Town, in downtown Pigeon Forge, Tennessee”.

He went on, “It was after a long day of riding rollercoasters and eating foot-long corn dogs at Dollywood, where Kelsea spent time as a child growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee. As we were shamefully leaving the restaurant, I started to worry about writing the speech and how to truly capture Kelsea’s spirit, and describe this person who I’ve been so fortunate to come to know and to call a friend and a collaborator”.

Kahan endearingly gushed, “As we stumbled laughing out of those pearly gates into the abandoned parking lot. I realised that what I love most about Kelsea is her joy for life. Getting to see her kindness up close to everyone she meets is when I started to realise what a special person she is. It’s very rare to meet someone who can write so beautifully about their life, their relationships, their memories, who also treats everyone she meets like they’ve known each other for years”.

The ‘Northern Attitude’ hitmaker underlined how Kelsea Ballerini's warmth and generosity has moved him to adjust his own approach to life, “It's a kindness that extends to her partner, her friends, random strangers and corn-dog salesmen, and I believe above all her fans. Her dedication to the people that love her is unwavering and inspires me to find more kindness within myself. She's never been afraid to speak her mind and to advocate for what she believes in”.

Kahan toasted the impact of Ballerini's mental health organisation, “Through her work in the mental health space, particularly through the Feel Your Way Through [Fund], Kelsea has raised over $700,000 for nonprofits centred around healing people suffering with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues”.

He expanded, “Her dedication to what she believes in is what I think really sets her apart. As someone that's struggled with my own mental health for many years, it's really encouraging to see someone who is an artist with such talent and such demands, dedicate so much of her time and heart to this cause, and I hope that every artist can look to Kelsea as an example of how to access the kindness that we hold in our heart and to share it with the world. It really does make a huge difference”.

The Vermont native concluded with a sweet, heartfelt message to Ballerini, “Thank you, Kelsea you make a difference to a lot of people, I'm really grateful to be your friend, and I'm honoured to present you with the Variety Power of Women Nashville Award”.

Then, when Ballerini took the stage, the ‘Penthouse’ crooner joked, “Thank you, Noah. I really do think singing ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ is the only reason that straight men that were dragged to my tour by their girlfriends and wives were able to endure my very glittery, emotional 90-minute show every night. So I owe you forever...!”

On a more serious note, Kelsea Ballerini then tipped her cap to Noah Kahan's own efforts in the mental health space, “One of the reasons I’m lucky enough to call Noah a friend is because of our shared love of Guy Fieri and our belief in the value of destigmatising mental health and helping facilitate conversations, resources and community around it. That’s the heart of our song, his foundation, The Busyhead Project, and the Feel You Way Through Fund I started in 2021”.

As she accepted the prestigious accolade, Kelsea Ballerini reflected on the journey that has brought her this far, with Ballerini touching on the various challenges that face women attempting to break through into Nashville's country music scene.

Elsewhere during the ceremony, which took place at Nashville Yards, Reba McEntire, Mickey Guyton and Sheryl Crow also received Variety Power of Women Awards.

Lady A's Hillary Scott introduced McEntire, Breland paid homage to his ‘Cross Country’ duet partner and mentor, Guyton, while Maren Morris did the honours for Crow. The star-studded event marked the inaugural celebration of its kind in Music City, with other instalments of the Variety Power of Women luncheon taking place in Los Angeles.

For more on Kelsea Ballerini, see below: