Homecoming Queen?

"Homecoming Queen?"
A long blonde-haired woman wearing a black dress while a ray of sunlight shines on her eyes
Single by Kelsea Ballerini
from the album Kelsea
B-side"Research Hook"
WrittenFebruary 2019 (2019-02)
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2019 (2019-09-06)
GenreCountry
Length2:47
LabelBlack River
Songwriters
Producers
  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Jimmy Robbins
Kelsea Ballerini singles chronology
"Miss Me More"
(2018)		 "Homecoming Queen?"
(2019)		 "The Other Girl"
(2020)
Music video
"Homecoming Queen?" on YouTube

"Homecoming Queen?" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Kelsea Ballerini. It was released through Black River Entertainment on September 6, 2019, as the lead single from her third studio album, Kelsea (2020). Written and produced by Ballerini and Jimmy Robbins with additional writing from Nicolle Galyon, the country ballad explores vulnerability beneath an outwardly perfect image through the metaphor of a homecoming queen.

"Homecoming Queen?" was noted for its emotional honesty and stripped-back acoustic arrangement, although some felt the song's delivery did not fully realize its intended message. Commercially, it reached the top 20 of the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in the United States, was certified platinum by Music Canada and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and received a gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

Background and release

According to Ballerini, "Homecoming Queen?" was inspired by a period in which she felt "really insecure" despite appearing confident to others. She said that the song encourages listeners to "be yourself" and acknowledge their emotions rather than feeling pressured to appear perfect. Written with Jimmy Robbins and Nicolle Galyon during a songwriting retreat in February 2019, the song originated after Galyon suggested the title "Homecoming Queen" as a metaphor for people presenting only their "best selves", according to Ballerini. She then developed the central lyric, "Even the homecoming queen cries", describing the writing session as feeling like "a therapy session".[1]

Ballerini described "Homecoming Queen?" as her "most emotional" single to date and said it was about "zipping up the mess". Explaining the title, she said that although she had never been a homecoming queen herself, the phrase serves as a metaphor for someone who appears "polished from the outside looking in".[2] In an interview with The Tennessean, Ballerini revealed that "Homecoming Queen?" heralded "a new, more emotionally vulnerable phase of her career", focusing on stripped down musical production and songwriting.[3][4]

Ahead of its release, Ballerini revealed details about "Homecoming Queen?" during a question-and-answer session on Twitter on September 3.[2] Three days later, the song was released to digital by Black River Entertainment,[5] serving as the lead single of her third studio album, Kelsea (2020).[6][7] The compact disc features "Research Hook" as a B-side track.[8] The alternative version of "Homecoming Queen" was later included in Ballerini's first remix album, Ballerini (2020).[9]

Composition and reception

Ballerini co-wrote the song with Robbins and Galyon. Robbins produced and recorded the track, while Dan Grech-Marguerat handled mixing and additional programming. Charles Haydon Hicks and Luke Burgoyne served as assistant mixing engineers. The song was mastered by Dave Kutch, and Mike "Frog" Griffith was the production coordinator.[10]

A country ballad,[11] "Homecoming Queen?" is a gentle, predominantly acoustic track.[12][13][14] As noted by Rolling Stone's Jon Freeman, its lyrics explore the emotional struggles hidden beneath an outwardly perfect image, encouraging the song's "titular character" to embrace vulnerability instead of masking her feelings.[12] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country similarly interpreted the song as centering on someone who appears to "have it all together" while concealing inner pain, highlighting its "confessional" lyrics and "stripped-down acoustic guitar" arrangement.[15]

Justin Cober-Lake of Spectrum Culture viewed "Homecoming Queen?" as one of Kelsea's "biggest missteps". Although he praised its concept of exploring vulnerability behind a carefully maintained façade, he felt that Ballerini's performance sounded "interrogat[ive] rather than demonstrat[ive]", arguing that her delivery occasionally undermined the song's intended empathy.[16]

Commercial performance

"Homecoming Queen?" debuted at number 82 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of September 21, 2019, before leaving the next week.[17] It re-appeared at number 89 on the week of November 23 and reached number 83 until the week after.[18][19] After re-entering at number 87 on the week of January 11, 2020, it reached number 76 on the week of February 8[20][21] and peaked at number 65 on the week of April 4, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.[22][23] It has sold 70,000 copies in the United States as of February 2020,[24] and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on May 13.[25]

"Homecoming Queen?" peaked at number 14 on the US Hot Country Songs and number 17 on the US Country Airplay charts,[26][27] while reaching number 64 on the US Rolling Stone Top 100 chart.[28] Internationally, the song peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Canada Country chart and number 34 on the Canada All-Format chart,[29][30] as well as number 33 on New Zealand's Hot Singles chart.[31] It also reached number 40 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart.[32] On the year-end Billboard charts, the song ranked at number 88 on the 2019 Hot Country Songs chart[33] before placing at numbers 44 and 58 on the 2020 Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay year-end charts, respectively.[34][35] It was later certified platinum by Music Canada and gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[36][37]

Music video

The music video for "Homecoming Queen?" was directed by Shane Drake and premiered on September 6, 2019.[7] It features Ballerini seated in a chair as the camera circles around her. Throughout the video, she alternates between a glamorous appearance—wearing a bright pink outfit with matching boots and lipstick—and a more natural look in gray sweats without makeup. The clip concludes with Ballerini breaking down in tears.[38]

Ballerini later said the video's cinematography was achieved through a series of practical changes made between takes as the camera revolved around her, with elements of the set and her appearance gradually changing. She also revealed that the tears in the closing scene were genuine, explaining that Drake had encouraged her to revisit the emotions that inspired the song.[39]

Live performance

Halsey smiling while holding a microphone, wearing a multicolored patterned shirt and styled with long, wavy dark hair with bangs, against a draped purple curtain background
Halsey (pictured in 2019) performed "Homecoming Queen?" with Ballerini on CMT Crossroads in 2019 and 2020.

On October 11, 2019, Ballerini performed "Homecoming Queen?" with American singer Halsey during the taping of the 70th episode of CMT Crossroads at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville.[40][41] She then performed it at Listening Room in Nashville six days later[42] and at the 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 13.[43] Introduced as part of the ceremony before transitioning into an all-star rendition of Little Big Town's "Girl Crush",[44] it was highlighted by Jason Lipshutz of Billboard for its "nuanced" delivery,[45] while The Boot staff depicted the performance as "simple and stunning".[46] On December 31, she played the song at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.[47]

Ballerini performed "Homecoming Queen?" on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 6, 2020,[48] and on CMT Crossroads as a duet with Halsey again on March 25.[49][50][51] During the performance on ACM Presents: Our Country on April 5, she acknowledged that the event was taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[52] In 2025, Ballerini played "Homecoming Queen?" as part of her tour at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay as a duet with a singer from her team on season 27 of The Voice, Angie Rey. That duet came 19 days after they had performed a duet on the song "Penthouse" during the season premiere on February 3, 2025.[53]

Personnel

Credits were adapted from Tidal.[10]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Gold 35,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Platinum 80,000‡
United States (RIAA)[25] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Fields, Taylor (September 6, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Sheds Tears in Emotional 'Homecoming Queen?' Music Video". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Black, Lauren Jo (September 3, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Announces New Single, 'Homecoming Queen'". Country Now. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  3. ↑ Dukes, Billy (September 6, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini's New Single 'Homecoming Queen?' Turns an Honest New Page". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ Watts, Cindy (August 19, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Celebrates Milestones, Excited to 'Clean the Slate' with New Music". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 15, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Homecoming Queen?". Apple Music (US). September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on February 14, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Blake (September 3, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Announces New Single, 'Homecoming Queen?'". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Bonaguro, Alison (September 6, 2019). "Exclusive: Kelsea Ballerini Gets Real in 'Homecoming Queen?' Premiere". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. ↑ Homecoming Queen? (CD liner notes). Kelsea Ballerini. Black River Entertainment. 2019.
  9. ↑ Nicholson, Jessica (September 2, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini To Release New Project Ballerini On Sept. 11". MusicRow. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Homecoming Queen". Kelsea Ballerini. Tidal. September 6, 2019. Credits. Archived from the original on July 25, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Kelsea Ballerini Strips It Down with 'Homecoming Queen?': Stream It Now". Billboard. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on August 18, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Freeman, Jon (September 6, 2019). "Hear Kelsea Ballerini's Plaintive New Song 'Homecoming Queen'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  13. ↑ Whitaker, Sterling (September 7, 2019). "Here Are the Lyrics to Kelsea Ballerini's 'Homecoming Queen?'". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on February 9, 2026. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  14. ↑ Stefano, Angela (September 6, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Stuns, Simply, With New Single 'Homecoming Queen?' [Listen]". The Boot. Archived from the original on May 9, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  15. ↑ Dukes, Billy (September 6, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini's New Single 'Homecoming Queen?' Turns an Honest New Page [Listen]". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on March 13, 2026. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  16. ↑ Cober-Lake, Justin (April 23, 2020). "Spectrum Culture Review". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  17. ↑ "The Hot 100: September 21, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ "The Hot 100: November 23, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  19. ↑ "The Hot 100: November 30, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  20. ↑ "The Hot 100: January 11, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  21. ↑ "The Hot 100: February 8, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  22. ↑ "The Hot 100: April 4, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Homecoming Queen? By Kelsea Ballerini". aCharts.co. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  24. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (February 25, 2020). "Top 30 Country Digital Downloads: February 25, 2020". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "American single certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Homecoming Queen?". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  26. 1 2 "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  27. 1 2 "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  28. 1 2 "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  29. 1 2 "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  30. 1 2 "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canada All-Format)". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 10, 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  31. 1 2 "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 16, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  32. 1 2 "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 21, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  33. 1 2 "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  34. 1 2 "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  35. 1 2 "Country Airplay Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  36. 1 2 "Canadian single certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Homecoming Queen?". Music Canada. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  37. 1 2 "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2025 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  38. ↑ Hermanson, Wendy (September 8, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Cries in Raw 'Homecoming Queen?' Video". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  39. ↑ Stecker, Liv (September 20, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini's 'Homecoming Queen?' + 11 More New Music Videos You've Got to See [Watch]". The Boot. Archived from the original on February 9, 2026. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  40. ↑ Aniftos, Rania (October 3, 2019). "Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini to Team Up for CMT Crossroads 70th Episode". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  41. ↑ Taylor, Blake (March 13, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini And Halsey Team Up For 'Homecoming Queen?' Performance". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on July 15, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  42. ↑ Despres, Tricia (October 19, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Gives Surprise Acoustic Performance in Nashville [Watch]". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  43. ↑ Hermanson, Wendy (November 13, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Performs Emotional, Acoustic 'Homecoming Queen?' at 2019 CMAs". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on March 5, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  44. ↑ Hudak, Joseph (November 13, 2019). "CMA Awards 2019: Kelsea Ballerini Leads All-Women 'Girl Crush'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  45. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (November 13, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Plays 'Homecoming Queen', Then Leads All-Star 'Girl Crush', At 2019 CMA Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 16, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  46. ↑ "Kelsea Ballerini Delivers Emotional 'Homecoming Queen?' at 2019 CMA Awards [Watch]". The Boot. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on May 13, 2026. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  47. ↑ Krol, Jacklyn (December 31, 2019). "Kelsea Ballerini Bids Goodbye to 2019 with 'Homecoming Queen?' and 'Club' on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on March 6, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  48. ↑ Reichard, Ryan (February 10, 2020). "See Kelsea Ballerini's Vulnerable Live 'Homecoming Queen?' on Kimmel". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on February 10, 2026. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  49. ↑ Mamo, Heran (March 12, 2020). "Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini Strum Together for Heartfelt 'Homecoming Queen?' Performance". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  50. ↑ "Top Moments From CMT Crossroads: Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini". Country Music Television. March 25, 2020. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  51. ↑ Nelson, Jeff (March 12, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini Teams Up with Pal Halsey for 'Homecoming Queen?' Performance on CMT Crossroads". People. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  52. ↑ Gracie, Bianca (April 5, 2020). "Kelsea Ballerini Performs Touching Rendition of 'Homecoming Queen?' At ACM Presents: Our Country". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  53. ↑ Fisher, Kelly (February 24, 2025). "Watch 'The Voice' Coach Kelsea Ballerini Share Heartfelt Moment With 'Team Kelsea' Artist On Stage In Florida". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on February 24, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  54. ↑ "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
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