Homecoming Queen? Explained

Homecoming Queen?
Type:single
Cover:Kelsea Ballerini - Homecoming Queen?.png
Alt:A long blonde-haired woman wearing a black dress while a ray of sunlight shines on her eyes.
Artist:Kelsea Ballerini
Album:Kelsea
Genre:Country pop
Label:Black River
Prev Title:Miss Me More
Prev Year:2018
Next Title:The Other Girl
Next Year:2020

"Homecoming Queen?" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini, released on September 6, 2019, as the lead single from her third studio album Kelsea, which was released on March 20, 2020.[1] Ballerini co-wrote the song with Jimmy Robbins and Nicolle Galyon.[2] "Homecoming Queen?" peaked at numbers 14 and 17 on both the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts respectively. It also reached number 65 on the Hot 100 chart. It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 70,000 copies as of February 2020. The song achieved similar prominence in Canada, reaching number 15 on the Country chart and number 35 on the All-Format chart. The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Shane Drake, features Ballerini in a dressing room as she goes from a glamorous image to a more stripped down look. An alternate recording of the song is also included on Ballerini's first remix album, Ballerini.[3]

Background

In an interview with The Tennessean, Ballerini revealed that "Homecoming Queen?" – the lead single from her new album – heralded "a new, more emotionally vulnerable phase of her career," focusing on stripped down musical production and songwriting.[4] [5]

Commercial performance

"Homecoming Queen?" debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 21, 2019 before leaving the next week.[6] It reappeared at number 89 the week of November 23 and reached number 83 until the week after.[7] [8] After reappearing at number 87 on the week of January 11, 2020, it reached number 76 the week of February 8.[9] [10] It peaked at number 65 the week of April 4, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks.[11] [12] The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on May 13, 2020. It has sold 70,000 copies in the United States as of February 2020.[13]

Music video

The music video for "Homecoming Queen?" was directed by Shane Drake and premiered on September 6, 2019.[14] In the video, Ballerini is shown performing the song from a chair in her dressing room as the camera pans around her, as she goes "from glam to just raw and real," trading in her pink dress and full makeup that she performed in for a stripped down look without makeup.

Live performance

On March 25, 2020, Ballerini performed the song on CMT Crossroads as a duet with Halsey.[15]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2019–2020)Peak
position
Canada All-Format (Billboard)[16] 35
Canadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[17] 40
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[18] 33
US Country Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[19] 2
US Country Streaming Songs (Billboard)[20] 20
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[21] 7
US Rolling Stone Top 100[22] 64

Year-end charts

Chart (2020)Position
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[24] 58
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[25] 44

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini Announces New Single, 'Homecoming Queen?'. Taylor. Blake. September 3, 2019. iHeart Radio. January 5, 2020.
  2. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Kelsea Ballerini Gets Real in "homecoming queen?" Premiere. https://web.archive.org/web/20191203173502/http://www.cmt.com/news/1811380/exclusive-kelsea-ballerini-gets-real-in-homecoming-queen-premiere/. dead. December 3, 2019. Bonaguro. Alison. Country Music Television. September 6, 2019. September 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini To Release New Project 'ballerini' On Sept. 11. MusicRow. Nicholson. Jessica. September 2, 2020. February 15, 2022.
  4. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini's New Single 'Homecoming Queen?' Turns an Honest New Page. Billy Dukes. September 6, 2019. Taste of County. October 21, 2019.
  5. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini celebrates milestones, excited to 'clean the slate' with new music. Cindy Watts. August 19, 2019. The Tennessean. October 21, 2019.
  6. The Hot 100: September 21, 2019. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  7. The Hot 100: November 23, 2019. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  8. The Hot 100: November 30, 2019. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  9. The Hot 100: January 11, 2020. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  10. The Hot 100: February 8, 2020. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  11. The Hot 100: April 4, 2020. Billboard. April 30, 2020.
  12. Web site: Homecoming Queen? by Kelsea Ballerini. aCharts.co. April 30, 2020.
  13. Web site: Bjorke. Matt. Top 30 Country Digital Downloads: February 25, 2020. Roughstock. February 25, 2020. February 26, 2020. February 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200229042331/http://roughstock.com/news/2020/02/44145-top-30-country-digital-downloads-february-25-2020. dead.
  14. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Kelsea Ballerini Gets Real in "homecoming queen?" Premiere. https://web.archive.org/web/20191203173502/http://www.cmt.com/news/1811380/exclusive-kelsea-ballerini-gets-real-in-homecoming-queen-premiere/. dead. December 3, 2019. Alison Bonaguro. September 6, 2019. Country Music Television. November 5, 2019.
  15. Web site: Top Moments From CMT Crossroads: Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini. https://web.archive.org/web/20200327020746/http://www.cmt.com/news/1819447/top-moments-from-cmt-crossroads-halsey-kelsea-ballerini/. dead. March 27, 2020. Country Music Television. March 25, 2020. April 25, 2020.
  16. Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canada All-Format) . . January 5, 2020.
  17. Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales) . . December 31, 2019.
  18. Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. September 16, 2019. September 14, 2019.
  19. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini Chart History. . January 5, 2020.
  20. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini Chart History. . January 5, 2020.
  21. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini Chart History. . January 5, 2020.
  22. Top 100 Songs. Rolling Stone. September 6, 2019. January 3, 2020. December 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191229055645/https://www.rollingstone.com/charts/songs/2019-09-06/. dead.
  23. Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 6, 2019.
  24. Country Airplay Songs – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 3, 2020.
  25. Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 3, 2020.