Kelsea Ballerini Jokes She 'Strongly' Feels She'll Have to 'Fight' Fellow Voice Coach Adam Levine (Exclusive)

• Kelsea Ballerina has a busy summer ahead of her between finishing her upcoming album and further training Vote
• She filled PEOPLE in during an event for her collaboration with Original Donut Shop Coffee in Nashville during CMA Fest
• “We’re really close. And the first single is right around the corner,” the country star teased of her new music

CMA Fest put Kelsea Ballerina a little more pep in her step — and in her mug.

Before her stadium set last Friday night, the country star caught up with PEOPLE at Harriet’s Nashville, where Ballerini teamed up with The Original Donut Shop Coffee to launch her own limited-edition blend.

“Other than my cup of black coffee to wake up to, my go-to is always coffee, a little oat milk, and vanilla,” she said of developing Ballerini Blend, a medium roast coffee that quickly sold out on Keurig.com. (Fans can still enter to win a prize pack that includes capsules on Instagram here .) “I wanted to put the two together. Why can’t it happen in the morning? It’s a lucky cup.”

Ballerini, 30, certainly appreciated the caffeine boost on June 7, when she returned to the CMA Fest stage after missing the festival — save for a brief appearance at Spotify House — in 2023 for her HEARTFIRST tour.

“I haven’t played anything since Welcome Matt yet,” she replied when asked what was on tonight’s set list, referring to her Grammy-nominated surprise EP in February 2023. “I’m doing ‘Blindsided’ and ‘Penthouse,’ and I’m really excited to see how many people are ready to scream ‘Yeah, of course , okay’ — or how many people are really confused by it.”

(Luckily, she had nothing to worry about—the crowd knew that ad-lib, as well as many others.)

Kelsea Ballerini performs at CMA Fest in Nashville on June 7, 2024.

Jason Kempin/Getty

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With CMA Fest in retrospect, Ballerini is looking toward a new project — her next album, which she said is almost done, but will need a little more time in the studio this week. “Half of it is mixing and half is finishing the vocals and overdubbing,” she explained. “We are really near completion. And the first single is just around the corner.”

Describing a busy summer schedule already looming, Ballerini said she tried to stay ahead of the curve with this release.

“We recorded everything. A million things! I feel like this is kind of ahead of anything that I could be where it’s, OK, I’ve had all this time to work on the record and now that it’s taken shape, to be able to bring it to life visually and have time for real plan a real show. It’s a really nice feeling to have it all laid out and not rush it so much.”

Kelsea Ballerini celebrates her new mix Ballerini at Harriet’s Rooftop on June 7, 2024 in Nashville.

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

Ballerini also put a lot of thought into the album itself – how she wants this new offering to feel, look and sound. “I was really, really nervous about how to proceed Welcome Matt, just because it changed my life and my career so much,” she told PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how to… where do I go from here?’ It was such a specific experience that I’m not in anymore, and it took me a few months to figure out what that felt like.”

In the end, “I took the truth-telling and the integrity of my songwriting and just moved it into this chapter of life,” she said. “It’s being 30 and being in a relationship and being a friend and being a daughter, and feeling like an adult but still feeling like a kid — all those nuances and really writing about it from that same place of honesty. And now I feel myself that I am ready to follow it.”

Adam Levine returns to Vote! The singer joins Season 27 alongside Kelsea Ballerini, Michael Buble and John Legend

However, first the musician turns on the red spot. Ballerini will be the newest coach in the spring of 2025 Vote, joining John Legend and Michael Bublé, along with Adam Levine in his comeback season. He starts shooting in Los Angeles next month.

“I’m so excited. I’m excited because it’s just a new adventure,” she said. “I’ve been on set in different capacities over the years, but to really take on that coaching role — it’s going to really stretch me and it’s going to be a new opportunity.”

Kelsea Ballerini performs at CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on June 7, 2024.

Jason Kempin/Getty

Now 10 years into her own career, Ballerini called the timing of the show in her life “perfect.”

“I’ve learned so much, but I’m still actively learning and I still have so many goals and milestones to reach. It’s a really interesting place to be — to be able to be a coach and be like, ‘Hey, I’m still learning with you, so I can tell you what I know, but I’m still figuring it out.’ I really feel like I just want to be a sister more than a coach.”

When asked who he considers his toughest Vote to be a competitor, Ballerini answered without hesitation.

“I feel strongly that I’m going to have to fight Adam Levine,” she joked. “I know it’s a big deal that he’s coming back, but yeah – I feel like we’re going to be friends. Just kidding. I did get some pep talks from Blake about taking him down, though!”

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Source: HIS Education