The opening vocal act is meant to pump up the audience for the headlining artist. Sometimes, opening hopefuls leave their own mark on the audience and in the process form a lasting impression though. That is exactly what Frankie Ballard hopes to do as the opening act on Taylor Swift's 2011 "Speak Now" world tour.
Ballard, a 28-year-old native of Battle Creek, Mich., will open for Swift on nine of the young superstar's tour dates. His first appearance will be on May 27 in Omaha, Neb.
Ballard is not a stranger to Swift's ability to straddle two music genres—country and pop—and feels very lucky to be given the chance to open for her.
"The chance to open one date much less nine dates for her is such an honor and I feel incredibly blessed," Ballad wrote on his website.
Swift's self-titled debut album, which was released in late 2006 when the singer was only 16 years old, produced five consecutive Top 10 singles, a record for a solo female artist, and gained multi-platinum status.
Her debut album may have put her at the top of the country music world but her sophomore album "Fearless," released in 2008 positioned her as the year's biggest artist of all genres.
Similar to the way in which Swift worked tirelessly to break into the music world, Ballard has been working on creating a household name for himself in Nashville for the past couple of years.
Ballard loved music ever since he was a little kid but it was not until he was 18 that he decided he wanted to seriously pursue a career as an artist.
On his website, Ballard jokes about singing Elvis songs with his dad beginning at the age of five, creating his first homemade music video in his basement when he was only seven all the while dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player.
During his freshmen year of college, Ballard was on the right track to make his dream of becoming a star athlete a reality- that was, until he learned how to play the guitar. He locked himself in his room for hours at a time teaching himself different chords and songs.
Shortly thereafter, Ballard began juggling college classes and a strict baseball schedule with singing and playing the guitar in local blues clubs on the weekends.
In the summer of 2008, Ballard was lucky enough to win Kenny Chesney's "Next Big Star" regional competition and opened for the country superstar at the Can Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. and at Ford Field in Detroit. This led to a publishing deal with Sony ATV, Morris Artists Management who also represented Kenny Chesney, and a recording contract with Reprise Records.
In the summer of 2009, Ballard moved to Nashville and began recording songs penned by Dallas Davidson, who also wrote songs for Trace Adkins and Brooks and Dunn and also David Lee Murphy who wrote songs for Jason Aldean.
Ballard's latest single, "A Buncha Girls," an upbeat tune with a powerful guitar backdrop, was written with the Peach Pickers, a Nashville trio made up of Rhett Atkins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip and was recently released to radio.
"It's going to be an incredible opportunity to get in front of [Taylor Swift] fans, who I think will dig my music," Ballard told The Boot.Ballard's single, "Tell Me You Get Lonely," shows the artist's emotional side and is similar to some of Swift's songs, a type of romantic anthem with a little bit of heart break.
Swift writes from personal experiences—and she has not been afraid to name names on her songs about breaking up and saying good-bye. Ballard has a similar take on his single and seems to be talking directly to someone.
Ballard's debut album will not be released until mid-summer but a six song EP, which includes "Tell Me You Get Lonely" is available for purchase on the artist's website.
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