The Other Girl (song) explained

The Other Girl
Type:single
Cover:Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey - The Other Girl.png
Artist:Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey
Album:Kelsea
Genre:Country pop
Label:Black River
Length: (single version)
Chronology:Kelsea Ballerini
Prev Title:Homecoming Queen?
Prev Year:2019
Next Title:Hole in the Bottle
Next Year:2020

"The Other Girl" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song performed by American singer-songwriters Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey. It was released to country radio in the United States on April 20, 2020, as the second single from Ballerini's third studio album Kelsea (2020).[1] Ballerini and Halsey co-wrote the song with Ross Copperman and Shane McAnally. It was released to pop radio formats in June 2020. The track received positive reviews from music critics who praised the lyrical storytelling and both women's performances. In the US, "The Other Girl" peaked at numbers 19 and 52 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, respectively. It also reached number 95 on the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. For promotion, Ballerini and Halsey performed the song live on the American television show CMT Crossroads on March 25, 2020.[2] The song won a CMT Music Award for Performance of the Year, marking both artists' first award at the ceremony. An alternate solo recording of the song is also included on Ballerini's first remix album, Ballerini.[3]

Critical reception

Chris Parton of Sounds Like Nashville described the song as a "shimmering slice of futuristic country pop."[4] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote that the songwriters "practice exquisite word economy in drawing the setting and plot of this story, plus all the envy, anger, hurt that comes with it."[5] Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that "both women have shown extraordinary versatility with previous genre-crossing collaborations," and cited "The Other Girl" as an example of the "increasingly blurred line between pop and country."[6]

Chart performance

"The Other Girl" peaked at number 19 and 52 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, respectively, becoming the first single of Ballerini's career officially promoted to country radio to miss the top 40 on the latter. It also reached number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Other Girl" also received crossover promotion to pop formats, and reached number 18 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart and number 34 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart.

Live performance

Ballerini and Halsey performed "The Other Girl" on their episode of CMT Crossroads, which first aired March 25, 2020.[7] The duo then performed the song at the 2020 CMT Music Awards. This performance won the award for Performance of the Year at the following CMT Music Awards in 2021, marking both Ballerini's and Halsey's first win at the award show.

Track listing

Digital download[8]

  1. "The Other Girl (with Halsey) [The Other Mix]"  - 3:23
  2. "The Other Girl (with Halsey)"  - 3:21

Awards and nominations

!Year!Organization!Award!Result
2021CMT Music AwardsCMT Performance of the Year

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2020)Peak
position
Canadian Hot Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[9] 19
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[10] 18

Year-end charts

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
United StatesApril 20, 2020Country radioBlack River[12]
Various[13]
United StatesJune 8, 2020Hot adult contemporaryThe Orchard[14]
June 9, 2020Contemporary hit radio[15]

Notes and References

  1. News: Casey. Jim. Kelsea Ballerini Goes to Country Radio With New Single, "The Other Girl," Featuring Halsey [Listen]]. June 8, 2020. Nash Country Daily. April 21, 2020.
  2. News: CMT.com Staff. Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini Perform "The Other Girl" on CMT Crossroads. https://web.archive.org/web/20200608220019/http://www.cmt.com/news/1819284/halsey-kelsea-ballerini-perform-the-other-girl-on-cmt-crossroads/. dead. June 8, 2020. June 8, 2020. CMT. March 20, 2020.
  3. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini To Release New Project 'ballerini' On Sept. 11. MusicRow. Nicholson. Jessica. September 2, 2020. February 15, 2022.
  4. News: Parton. Chris. Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey Search for Truth in 'the other girl'. June 8, 2020. Sounds Like Nashville. April 20, 2020.
  5. News: Dukes. Billy. Listen: Kelsea Ballerini Gets Dark With Halsey + 'The Other Girl'. June 8, 2020. Taste of Country. March 26, 2020.
  6. News: Wass. Mike. Kelsea Ballerini & Halsey Join Forces For "The Other Girl". June 8, 2020. Idolator. March 20, 2020.
  7. News: CMT.com Staff. Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini Perform "The Other Girl" on CMT Crossroads. https://web.archive.org/web/20200608220019/http://www.cmt.com/news/1819284/halsey-kelsea-ballerini-perform-the-other-girl-on-cmt-crossroads/. dead. June 8, 2020. June 8, 2020. CMT. March 20, 2020.
  8. Web site: Kelsea Ballerini: the other girl (with Halsey) [the other mix]]. Google Play. June 8, 2020.
  9. Kelsea Ballerini Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales). Billboard. June 8, 2020.
  10. Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. March 30, 2020. June 8, 2020.
  11. Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 3, 2020.
  12. Web site: Single Releases. MusicRow. 4 January 2013 . April 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200401043702/https://musicrow.com/calendars-2/single-releases/. April 1, 2020.
  13. Web site: the other girl (with Halsey). KelseaBallerini.com. April 2020 . June 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200608215341/https://www.kelseaballerini.com/album?albumId=38. June 8, 2020.
  14. Web site: Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases. All Access. June 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200603003617/https://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases. June 3, 2020.
  15. Web site: Top 40/M Future Releases. All Access. June 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200603003514/https://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases. June 3, 2020.