Legends (Kelsea Ballerini song)

"Legends" is a song by American country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini for her second studio album, Unapologetically (2017).[1][2] Ballerini co-wrote the track with Hillary Lindsey, and Forest Glen Whitehead. The song was released as a digital single on June 7, 2017 and impacted American country radio on July 10, serving as the lead single for the album.

"Legends"
Single by Kelsea Ballerini
from the album Unapologetically
ReleasedJune 7, 2017 (2017-06-07)
GenreCountry pop
Length3:57
LabelBlack River
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Forest Glen Whitehead
  • Jason Massey
Kelsea Ballerini singles chronology
"Yeah Boy"
(2016)		 "Legends"
(2017)		 "I Hate Love Songs"
(2018)
Music video
"Legends" on YouTube

"Legends" reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay and number 10 on the Hot Country Songs charts, while also reaching number 68 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. The song also peaked at number three on the Canada Country airplay chart. Ballerini promoted the song with a performance at the 2017 CMT Music Awards and an accompanying music video directed by Jeff Venable that details the development of a relationship that ends in tragedy. Later that year, Ballerini also performed the song at the 2017 CMA Awards with country legend Reba McEntire.[3]

Content

"Legends" is a midtempo country pop ballad with bittersweet lyrics that reflect on a past love.[4] While Ballerini wrote the song "from the perspective of a breakup," she also considers it a message to her fans for their continued support.[1] Critics praised the song's mature songwriting, with Billy Dukes of Taste of Country writing that "Legends" is "a rare country song that looks back on the end of a relationship with a gratitude... that what they had was wonderful, but it needed to end."[5] Musically, the song expands upon the country-pop stylings of Ballerini's debut album with "dramatic" orchestral elements.[5]

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country complimented Ballerini on her maturity and wrote that the song "does something she didn't always do on songs from The First Time," meaning that "it's a complete effort, with everyone in the room committed to a shared vision."[5] Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Legends" at number three on his top 10 list of Ballerini's best songs.[6]

Commercial performance

"Legends" debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of June 24, 2017 as the week's hot shot debut.[7] It peaked at number one for the week of February 24, 2018 earning Ballerini her fourth number one hit on that chart.[8] On the same week, the song also debuted at number 41 on the Hot Country Songs chart[9] and peaked at number ten for the week of February 24, 2018.[10] On the week of December 16, the single debuted at number 98 on the Hot 100 chart before leaving the next week.[11] It reappeared on the chart at number 99 the week of December 31,[12] peaked at number 68 the week of February 24, 2018 and remained on the chart for twelve weeks.[13] On February 26, 2018, "Legends" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for moving 500,000 units in sales and streams.[14] It has sold 171,000 copies in the US as of March 2018.[15]

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Jeff Venable and premiered June 29, 2017.[16] Inspired by the 2016 comedy-drama series, This Is Us, the video shows the progression of a young couple's relationship from meeting through marriage and the birth of their son.[17] In a tragic twist, the father is revealed to have died in a car crash on the child's seventh birthday.[18] At the end of the video, the son is seen in the present day graduating from high school giving his mother the same one-finger wave his father used to.[18] Kelsea's performance scenes were filmed on the cliffs of Big Sur, California.

Charts
Chart (2017–18) Peak
position
Canada Country (Billboard)[19] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 68
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[8] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 10

Year-end charts
Chart (2017) Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[21] 76
Chart (2018) Position
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[22] 43
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[23] 62

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000 / 171,000[15]

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States June 7, 2017 Digital download Black River [24]
July 10, 2017 Country radio [25]
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References
  1. Gugula, Jon (June 7, 2017). "Hear Kelsea Ballerini's Wistful New Song 'Legends'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  2. Dukes, Billy (July 25, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini's 'Unapologetically' Album: Everything You Need to Know". Taste of Country. Townsquare Media. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  3. "Kelsea Ballerini and Reba McEntire Perform Duet of 'Legends' at the 2017 CMAs". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  4. Stecker, Liv (June 7, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini Drops 'Legends', First Single From Sophomore Album [LISTEN]". The Boot. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. Dukes, Billy (June 7, 2017). "ToC Critic's Pick: Kelsea Ballerini, 'Legends' [Listen]". Taste of Country. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  6. Dauphin, Chuck (August 21, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  7. "Country Airplay: June 24, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  8. "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  9. "Hot Country Songs: June 24, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  10. "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  11. "The Hot 100: December 16, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  12. "The Hot 100: December 31, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  13. "Legends by Kelsea Ballerini". aCharts.co. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  14. "American single certifications – Kelsea Ballerini – Legends". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  15. Bjorke, Matt (March 13, 2018). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Sales Chart: March 13, 2018". Roughstock. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  16. "Legends - Kelsea Ballerini". Vevo. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  17. Tracy, Brianne (June 30, 2017). "Kelsea Ballerini Depicts Life, Love and Loss in Heartbreaking New Music Video for 'Legends'". People. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  18. "Kelsea Ballerini Makes Waves With "Legends"". Soundcheck Entertainment. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  19. "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  20. "Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  21. "Hot Country Songs - Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  22. "Country Airplay – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  23. "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  24. "Amazon.com: Legends: Kelsea Ballerini: MP3 Downloads". Amazon Music. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  25. "Single Releases : MusicRow". MusicRow. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
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