Swimsuit

Kelsea Ballerini Charms the Crowd at Saturday’s SI Swimsuit Launch Event

The country singer/songwriter had the whole SI Swimsuit family singing along.

Mara Milam

Night One of the SI Swimsuit 2022 Launch Party

On Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla, SI Swimsuit continued its launch week celebration with an intimate Kelsea Ballerini concert. The outdoor concert wrapped up a day of poolside panel discussions, livestreams and meet and greets with the SI Swimsuit team and Pay With Change partners. To kick off the day, Maybelline Brave Together sponsored a panel discussion on mental health awareness led by SI Swimsuit models Kate Bock, Camille Kostek, Marquita Pring and Tanaye White, moderated by media personality Joy Taylor. Additional panel discussions were held throughout the day on subjects like motherhood, personal branding and the importance of building strong communities of women, sponsored by Pay With Change partners Frida Mom, CELSIUS and Nine West. The SI Swimsuit models quickly swapped their poolside day looks for evening evening attire and gathered to walk the red carpet before a show from Ballerini.

Kelsea Ballerini at Saturday’s SI Swimsuit launch event.

Ballerini, a Knoxville, Tenn., native, has numerous chart-topping hits. She was joined on stage by two acoustic guitarists and performed hits including “Miss Me More,” “Hole in the Bottle” and “This Feeling.” She had the whole crowd tearing up with “Half of My Hometown” and then brought the crowd back up with a second performance of “Miss Me More” requested by SI Swimsuit rookie Olivia Ponton. Ballerini adorably responded, “I already played that one—but O.K. because I follow you on TikTok.”

Kelsea Ballerini singing to Olivia Ponton front and center.

Kelsea Ballerini singing to Olivia Ponton front and center.

The dancing and sing-alongs continued the empowering buzz present throughout the entire day.

MJ Day, Katie Austin, Christen Harper, Olivia Ponton, Kate Bock, Brooks Nader and Josephine Skriver.

MJ Day, Katie Austin, Christen Harper, Olivia Ponton, Kate Bock, Brooks Nader and Josephine Skriver.

Kelsea Ballerini on stage at Saturday’s SI Swimsuit launch event.

The crowd on hand to hear Kelsea Ballerini at Saturday’s SI Swimsuit launch event.

Kelsea Ballerini singing in the crowd next to Katie Austin at Saturday’s SI Swimsuit launch event.

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Mara Milam
MARA MILAM

Mara Milam is the deputy digital editor at SI Swimsuit. The California based multimedia content producer and editor joined the “swim team” in March of 2020. Mara is a lover of all things travel and wellness and is passionate about elevating the voices and stories of people often not heard.

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