Kelsea Ballerini Covers ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ [Watch]

Kelsea Ballerini has been topping the charts with her pop-country anthems "Love Me Like You Mean It," "Dibs" and "Peter Pan," but the Tennessee native also has her feet planted deep within country music's roots.

At a recent show in Atlanta, Ballerini delivered an impressive cover of George Jones' "Tennessee Whiskey." The stripped-down number had the "Yeah Boy" singer seated center stage on a stool beside two band members with an acoustic guitar and banjo. The slowed performance with light musical accompaniment showcased Ballerini's soulful vocals as the audience sang along with her. Watch her performance above.

Taste of Country caught up with Ballerini before her performance on Nov. 12, and the singer opened up about her next album, saying it will be bolder and more honest. She adds that this is because it was songs like “Secondhand Smoke” about her parents' divorce that fans gravitated toward most on her debut album, The First Time.

“We made this album with no names attached to it and it was me and my friends being creative, naive and free,” she says of The First Time. “I think that’s what makes it so beautiful. I’m able to celebrate this as a first for me but a first for everyone. It’s been really cool to celebrate that together.”

Ballerini has written with Nashville hitmakers Hillary Lindsey, Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne and Luke Laird for her upcoming project. She tells Taste of Country “Unapologetically,” which she co-wrote with Lindsey, was “really freeing” to write, while another track, “Graveyard,” was written when she was in a dark place.

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 Kelsea Ballerini Talks About Her Next Album