After Little Big Town invited Kelsea Ballerini to join the Grand Ole Opry on March 5, Carrie Underwood inducted the Tennessee native on April 16 in front of a packed Opry House.
Carrie presented Kelsea with her Opry trophy, saying, in part, “The Grand Ole Opry is the heart and soul of country music.”
After recounting her first visit to the Opry as a fan, her 2015 Opry debut and subsequent Opry appearances, Kelsea held her award close and said, “Grand Ole Opry, thanks for seeing something in me and for believing that I’ll always love you like I do because I do, and I will.”
Kelsea and Carrie then teamed up for a duet of Trisha Yearwood’s 1992 hit, “Walkaway Joe.”
Earlier in the night, Keith Urban made a surprise appearance to deliver congratulations to Kelesea and to perform “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” Later in the show, Vince Gill surprised the audience yet again by joining Del McCoury Band during the group’s portion of the show.
Watch Carrie induct Kelsea below.
Watch @carrieunderwood induct @KelseaBallerini into the @opry, saying “The Opry is the heart and soul of country music…” pic.twitter.com/N2zMARhBYG
— Nash Country Daily (@NashCntryDaily) April 17, 2019
photo by Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
