Kelsea Ballerini Puts Function Over Fashion and Changes Into Cozy Slides During the 2024 CMA Awards

Kelsea Ballerini knows that comfort is key.

After walking the 2024 CMA Awards red carpet on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the country star, 31, swapped her heels for a comfy pair of slides.

Inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Ballerini was spotted showing off her change of footwear — gray slides that complimented her silver sequin gown — while seated next to her boyfriend Chase Stokes. The singer smiled as Stokes, 21, playfully reached for her feet, which were lifted off the ground.

Earlier that evening, the couple posed for photos on the red carpet. Ballerini sparkled in a Dolce & Gabbana gown that featured a loose-fitting bodice and daring side cutouts that showed off some skin. The singer’s long, blonde hair cascaded in soft waves.

Meanwhile, Stokes kept it classic in a simple black suit and black boots by Kemo Sabe.

Ballerini was nominated for female vocalist of the year and musical event of the year for “Cowboys Cry Too” featuring Noah Kahan. During the ceremony, she performed the country ballad alongside Kahan, 27, donning a white cutout pleated chiffon gown Vietnamese couturier Cong Tri.

Fellow performers included Jelly Roll, Luke Combs, Brooks & Dunn, Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church and more.

In an interview on the Wayne D Show in June, Ballerini revealed that she met Kahan at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February.

Later, when she was working on “Cowboys Cry Too,” she thought of Kahan because it honored “the men in my life that are emotional” and she knew he’d be “so down to go there.”

“He wrote his verse, and it just made the song a million times better,” she said.

In conversation with PEOPLE earlier this month, the country singer revealed her most recent onstage wardrobe malfunction. The fashion mishap occurred on her Heartfirst Tour, which took place in 2022 and 2023. 

“I do all these costume changes, and I had jeans on,” Ballerini shared. “I was singing ‘Miss Me More’, and because I have my [in-ear] monitors in, in my brain, I’m like, ‘Man, people are really yelling this. Things feel extra rowdy tonight!’ And then I realized that they were yelling at me to zip my fly. That was embarrassing.”

However, Ballerini played it off like a pro.

“I’ve gotten stuck in a zipper in quick-change before and just had to grab the microphone and be in the tent behind the stage, like, ‘Be there in a sec, please don’t leave!’ ” she continued. “But I feel like all those moments now, instead of being embarrassed, I just roll with it. It happens.”