Move over David Blaine. There’s a new magician in town, and her name is Kelsea Ballerini. At the emotional height of the country star’s 2023 VMAs performance, she performed a costume change so amazing it must be magic.
For the majority of the set, Ballerini wsa seen wearing a white floor-length gown. But as she approached the big, climactic vocals that punctuate her divorce power balled “Penthouse,” Ballerini briefly disappeared into a cloud of smoke before reappearing in a Posh Spice-style black strapless mini dress.
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Here’s what probably happened: Ballerini removed the white gown to reveal the strapless mini hiding below, then handed the outer garment to a crew member ready to snag it from a trap door under the stage. But for the sake of mystery and fun, I have a couple more totally made-up, unconfirmed theories to offer: The white dress was designed by a team scientists, and it was actually made of luminiferous ether! Or maybe: Kelsea Ballerini’s boyfriend, Chase Stokes, ran on stage faster than the speed of light and helpfully removed the white frock for her. He walked the red carpet with her earlier in the night and certainly looked like he’d be up to the task.
Which is all to say: We may never know exactly how this feat of live television glory was made possible. But until we do, I’ll be replaying this clip over and over again trying to figure it out.
