After dating men with “issues”, Kelli Belles never expected to be treated like “Porcelain.” She talked with me about the dreamy vintage sound in her new single release (and its romantic music video you must watch). Belles also reflected back on her life-changing decision to quit college in Nebraska and move to Nashville to pursue a music career. Now, she is celebrating a deal with Deluge Music Publishing in Nashville and East Music. Read on to learn more about the inspiration behind her music, excitement for an upcoming project, and current acoustic tour.
It All Started In Nebraska
Belles’ journey in music began in Omaha, Nebraska, where she grew up influenced by her musical family. Her mom was part of the successful sister pop/harmony group Mulberry Lane; her mom also loved country music and played it for Belles. She experienced tour life with her mom and aunts, then later performed in a mother-daughter duo, The Belles (listen to “My Mother’s Daughter” and “Beautiful Girl”). Though she began to dream of a solo music career, she decided to attend college pursuing a degree in chemistry. Belles is both wildly creative with her music and also good at math and science. While she attended college, Belles would perform at coffee houses and country bars with her mom around Omaha. Two years into her degree, she began to feel unhappy at school. She was at the point in her degree when she would have to spend many hours a week in lab and get serious about medical school. She had to face the fact that she loves music, and if she was going to be a singer-songwriter for real, she needed to move to Nashville.
Moving to Music City
At 19, Belles signed a lease to an apartment she hadn’t seen in Nashville. The move was scary, but she is so glad she did. “Looking back, I don’t think I realized how life-changing that was. I was just being honest with myself about what I wanted. I’m really glad I made that decision because I could have finished that degree, but I don’t think I would have been truly happy with that. That was the safe route; music was the more risky choice and it took a while to get to where I am, but I’m glad looking back now that I took the risk,” says Belles.
The support of her family was so important in feeling confident to leave school behind and pursue her music career. “Coming from a musical family, they have always been so supportive of me going after my dreams, but they all know how hard this industry is. My mom and my aunts made an album, it got released, then they got dropped from their record label in LA. So they have been through the industry ringer. They always told me I can do it, but I have to really love it and know it might not love you back kind of.” Thankfully, things have worked out well for Belles as she signed a record and publishing deal, went on a headlining tour, and is creating music that is authentically her.
New Love & New Music
Since moving to Nashville, Belles says her music has been a journey. All of the songs she has put out over the years have touched different aspects of her life, and she has discovered the artist she has wanted to be by putting music out there and seeing if it connects with listeners. Her past releases have been heartbreak songs and some with a more pop sound. Over the past year, she has been creating her personal brand and dialing in what she wants to say in her music, sound like, and dress like.
Belles describes her upcoming project as cohesive with a dreamy vintage sound. This is reflective in her newest single, “Porcelain.” This is the first song of a new music era for Belles and is her first true love song, different from her past releases. It’s a cowboy love story that people can relate to. The romantic music video stars Belles’ real-life boyfriend as she sings about him being rough around the edges yet treating her like porcelain because he loves her so much. The video shows them as a young farm couple in love as they work on the farm, go to the grocery store, dance in the kitchen, and leave a note by her coffee each morning.
“He’s rough around the edges, he’s got lines around his eyes.
– BELLES
He’s jagged like the middle of his grandad’s pocket knife.
But my oh my oh when he smiles,
he melts me like a piece of ice on concrete in July.
His color is blue, so are his eyes,
he makes it his job to keep tears out of mine.
he reigns my wild heart and wild horses in,
his hands are like leather, but he holds me like porcelain.”
Belles wasn’t always used to all the romantic gestures she sings of. Her prior single, “Trust Issues,” was written two months into dating her current boyfriend. “He was overly nice to me; I was confused,” says Belles. Her past songs were about bad relationships where she was cheated on (Listen to “He Gave Me A Ring” and “Man Outta Me”). “When I started dating my current boyfriend, he changed how I viewed relationships and love. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true,” Belles says, “It’s the first song I wrote about him, and it has rung true for me. A lot of people have connected with it. I’ve been wanting to release it for so long.” In the song, she sings about being confused by how he doesn’t have any issues for her to fix. She thought that’s what love is, how can there be nothing wrong with him?!
Speaking Up Through Her Songs
Belles loves to bring her real-life experiences into her music and say what’s on her mind. Her single “What In The Truck” is based on a time when she was a teenager in a boy’s truck and saw someone else’s lipgloss on the floorboard. She never asked him about it and always wonders who’s lipgloss it was. If that were to happen to her now and she loved the guy, the lyrics in this song are everything she would say to him. The music video is so fun with a classic truck and vintage vibe.
Belles had a successful 2024 with signing a record and publishing deal, releasing music, and headlining her Trust Issues Tour. She is currently on an acoustic tour with Charly Reynolds with many Texas dates. I can’t wait for this new era of Belles’ music, full of love and speaking what’s on her mind through a dreamy vintage sound we all can get lost in. She is definitely on my list of artists to watch this year. Follow her on Instagram @bellesmusic and YouTube for her new music and tour dates.
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