Kelsea Ballerini on ‘Yeah Boy’ and Secret New Duet: The Ram Report

“Yeah Boy” is the latest single released from Kelsea Ballerini’s debut album, The First Time, as the singer-songwriter watches its predecessors make country music history. With her ballad, “Peter Pan” topping the charts this week, the Tennessee native is the first female country artist ever to have the first three singles from a debut album hit Number One. Additionally, as the song sits on top of both the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, she’s also the first female to top those two lists simultaneously.

Ballerini’s “Yeah Boy,” which she co-wrote with Keesy Timmer and Forest Glen Whitehead, will be the final radio release from her debut album, closing it out with a fun, flirtatious bang. “We went back and forth on whether to do another single from the album or do something new,” she tells Rolling Stone Country. “We just felt like ‘Peter Pan’ moved up [the charts] a lot quicker than we expected it to – which is such a blessing. . . But “Yeah Boy” captures that fun youthfulness, and I thought it would be good to circle back and end on that note.”

Ballerini wraps her run as an opener on Rascal Flatts’ Rhythm & Roots tour this weekend. She’ll embark on her own headlining tour, beginning October 21st in Houston and ending with a two-night Las Vegas gig with Cam. In between her travels, the 23-year-old singer will put the finishing touches on her next album.

“I have a ton of songs, I’m just right now trying to figure out what exactly it is that I want to say,” she reports. “After I finish the Flatts tour, I have a whole month to really dig into it.”

Ballerini’s sophomore album will have at least one duet — but she’s keeping her singing partner secret for now. She’s also hoping a second collaboration works out for the album, to make up for lost time.

“I’ve always wanted at least one collaboration on every album, and I didn’t have one on the last album,” she says, “So I want to double up on this one!”