“Better Luck Next Time” by Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini’s “Better Luck Next Time” sees the singer rejoicing over the dissolution of a romance she was engaged in, i.e. a breakup. At the beginning of the song she depicts her ex as “one-sided”, which reads as if he was overly-selfish, as well as being possessive. However, the source of Kelsea’s joy is not only due to losing an unfavorable lover, for throughout their two years together she has discovered herself. Or as she put it in her own words, she “got (herself) together” and “got a new attitude”.

And through the midst of it all, although it is never stated outright, the implication is that her ex still wants to be romantically involved with her. But instead Ballerini is telling him, as the title states, “better luck next time”. Or put differently, Kelsea is “so over” this dude and actually does not desire to see him again, ever.

So yes, she is obviously walking away from this relationship with a chip on her shoulder. But she does not regret it taking place, as she has come away a better person for it. Indeed the primary writer of the track, Darius Coleman, has stated that it is “about a girl (he knows) who was cheated on”. And in that regard, it is apparent that this lady did not walk away from that relationship in shambles.

Writers of “Better Luck Next Time” 

There are seven cowriters of this song. They are:

• Taylor Sparks
• Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic)
• Shane McAnally
• Ester Dean
• Andrew DeRoberts
• Kelsea Ballerini
• Darius Coleman

 However, it is Coleman who gets the most credit for its composition. And why? Because he originally penned it as a contestant on Songland. FYI, Songland is reality TV show where aspiring songwriters compete to get their songs recorded by guest celebrity artists.

As the winner of the episode of Songland, which aired on 11 June 2019, Darius Coleman’s “Better Luck Next Time” was recorded by country music star Kelsea Ballerini – thus this track.

Song was modified

Although Kelsea chose Darius’ song as the winner amongst the four finalists, “Better Luck Next Time” still went through significant modifications (thus the various co-writers) before becoming as we know it today.

Why Ballerini recorded “Better Luck Next Time”

One of the reasons Ballerini chose this song, in addition to her having an emotional reaction to it, is that she wanted to do “something different”. In other words, she wanted to do R&B as opposed to the country music she’s famous for.

Production and release

DeRoberts and Tedder also co-produced it in addition to co-writing it. “Better Luck Next Time” was released as a single by Ballerini on 10 June 2019.