“Peter Pan”
Kelsea Ballerini
Written by Kelsea Ballerini, Jesse Lee, and Forest Glenn Whitehead
After Taylor Swift ran fairy tale metaphors into the ground, it’s understandable that the young ladies that followed her would have to expand their literary horizons.
So we have Kelsea Ballerini using the story of “Peter Pan” to illustrate how her beau is a “lost boy” that doesn’t want to grow up and take responsibility by committing to a relationship.
That’s the song. Nothing more, nothing less. She sings it capably and it’s as inoffensive as a Disney movie, but without the personality and vivaciousness needed to make it memorable.
I give credit to Ballerini for being able to break through in the male-dominated landscape of country radio, but to my ears, it sounds like she’s snuck under the radar because her music is so quietly mundane that they might not even know she’s there.
Grade: B-
Kelsea Ballerini is the new Taylor Swift. Not sure if that’s a good thing. Another pop artist who is using Country Music to sell her stuff. I don’t mind if she wants to be an artist, but she isn’t all that Country. Neither is Maren Morris, for that matter.
I will say this song is better than her first two singles which were literal light weight pop country song thats while positive didn’t hold up to well.
I have decided that if good music is music I’ll like it. So this song as a whole I’d grade a B+.
Kelsea Ballerini clearly wants to be Taylor Swift, but she’s also clearly oblivious to why Swift got so popular in the first place. All of Ballerini’s singles have been so obviously written by the Nashville songwriting machine, and every trace of personality or genuine emotion is stripped away. That may net you hits, but it won’t net you the kind of fan base Swift achieved (Heck, look at twenty one pilots, who are flying high based on the same super-personal writing style).
Also, Greg M, I’m with you on Maren Morris. She’s got the same problems. No personality.
After years of wanting country radio to support another female artist it’s sad to me that the one they picked to support is Kelsea. I’ve often seen people try to compare her to Taylor but that’s only if you miss what made Swift such a force in the industry. Her songwriting always had those little details that made them universal. Kelsea just doesn’t have much to say. Peter Pan is the best song on the album but being generous it’s a C+.
Always glad to see the ladies do well but preferably the ones I like. I’m not a fan of KB or MM.
Just a couple of weeks ago, this song was #1 on both the Billboard airplay chart and overall country songs chart. However, Billboard released their new charts today and the song has fallen off both charts. Country radio continues to be a mystery.