With chart-topping hits like “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed” and “‘Til You’re Gone,” the accolades piled up for legendary country singer Barbara Mandrell. Winning back-to-back Entertainer of the Year trophies in the early ’80s, Mandrell capped off her illustrious music career in 1997 with one final performance at the Grand Ole Opry. Since then, her public appearances have been few and far between. Tonight, the “Fast Lanes and Country Roads” singer once again graced the Grand Ole Opry with her presence when she introduced country-pop sensation Kelsea Ballerini during NBC’s Opry 100: A Live Celebration. The younger woman put her own spin on one of Mandrell’s signature songs.
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Kelsea Ballerini’s Opry 100 Performance Has Fans in a Frenzy
As country music’s Promised Land celebrated a century of unforgettable performances during Wednesday’s (March 19) Opry 100: A Live Celebration, Kelsea Ballerini paid tribute to Barbara Mandrell’s indelible mark on the genre.
After an introduction from the legend herself, Ballerini, 31, said, “It is an honor and great pleasure to sing Barbara Mandrell’s signature song with you tonight.” Then she delivered a moving rendition of Mandrell’s 1981 hit “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
After she belted the final note, Ballerini and Mandrell shared a sweet embrace onstage.
Joining the Opry in 1972, Mandrell has been a member for more than half of the venerated institution’s lifespan. “You have to marvel at the variety of entertainers who have been Opry members or performers on the Opry stage,” she said ahead of the event. “(Since the program’s inception), each generation of popular artists all have a special tie to how the Opry has celebrated the art of live entertainment.”
Kelsea Ballerini Reminisces on Her Own Opry Invitation
Her Opry 100 performance was far from Kelsea Ballerini’s first time to grace Nashville’s hallowed stage. Recently, The Voice season 27 coach reflected on her own invitation with her Battle Advisors, Grammy-winning country quartet Little Big Town.
“I was performing the same night as you at the Grand Ole Opry, and then you guys asked me to sing ‘Girl Crush’ with you,” the “Dibs” singer recalled. “And I’ll never forget, the last chorus of ‘Girl Crush,’ on the Grand Ole Opry stage, I’m already like shaking in my boots, you asked me to join the Opry in four-part angelic harmony.”
In the clip below from 2019, singer Karen Fairchild leads her bandmates in a lyric change: Hate to admit it but / Kelsea Ballerini…you wanna join the Opry?
“It was one of the most important and cherished moments of my career,” Ballerini said.
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ABA
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