Kelsea Ballerini is entering a new, more emotionally vulnerable phase of her career with the release of her new single, "Homecoming Queen?" The singer-songwriter focuses on simple songcraft and stark emotion on the first song fans have heard from a forthcoming third album.

The track focuses on a stripped-down acoustic guitar figure, keeping the focus on Ballerini's voice and lyrics that offer up a very confessional mood. Though the lyrics ostensibly tell the story of a homecoming queen who feels like she can't show the world her true, vulnerable self, one can't help but feel that Ballerini is drawing on her own life.

"But what if I told you the world wouldn't end / If you started showing what's under your skin / What if you let 'em all in on the lie? / Even the homecoming queen cries," she sings in a stunning chorus.

Ballerini says via Twitter that she wrote the single on Feb. 21, and in a separate tweet, she reveals that she worked with Nicolle Galyon and Jimmy Robbins on the song.

Ballerini has not revealed the details of her upcoming third studio album, but she has shared that she worked with a wide array of collaborators including Ryan Tedder, Julia Michaels, and Ed Sheeran. Though Ballerini is happily married to country singer Morgan Evans now, she tells Nashville's Tennessean newspaper that for the new album, “I’m writing the most heartbreaking songs I’ve ever written because I understand what went wrong before now. I think the older I get … the more confident I feel about writing that kind of stuff. I write my songs, and I play guitar, and I write about what I’m going through. I’m just really excited to clean the slate again."

29 Songs From Women in Country That Demand Attention:

Kelsea Ballerini's "Homecoming Queen?" Lyrics:

Hey homecoming queen / Why do you lie / When somebody's mean? / Where do you hide? / Do people assume / You're always alright? / Been so good at smiling / Most of your life

Pre-Chorus
Look damn good in the dress / Zipping up the mess / Dancing with your best foot forward / Does it get hard / To have to play the part? / Nobody's feeling sorry for ya

Chorus
But what if I told you the world wouldn't end / If you started showing what's under your skin / What if you let 'em all in on the lie? / Even the homecoming queen cries

Hey homecoming queen / How's things at home? / Still walking on eggshells / When that curtain's closed / Did your daddy teach you / How to act tough? / Or more like your momma? / Sweep it under the rug

Second Pre-Chorus
Look damn good in the dress / Zipping up the mess / Dancing with your best foot forward / Did you want the crown / Or does it weigh you down / Nobody's feeling sorry for ya

Second Chorus
What if I told you the world wouldn't end / If you started showing what's under your skin? / What if you let 'em all in on the lie? / Even the homecoming queen cries / Yeah, what if I told you the sky wouldn't fall? / If you lost your composure, said to hell with it all / Not everything pretty sparkles and shines / And even the homecoming queen cries / Oh yeah / Even the homecoming queen cries

Hey homecoming queen / Why do you lie? / When somebody's mean / Where do you hide?

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