Troye Sivan, a trailblazing young pop star who released his incredibly honest and universally acclaimed album Bloom in August of 2018, caught the attention of country star Kelsea Ballerini, particularly with the raw "Seventeen."

Ballerini shares Sivan's personal tale with her legion of fans by lending her gentle voice to a cover of the track, which she shared via a vintage-tinged Instagram video that expresses her appreciation for the bright star and his personal poetry.

The country starlet adds a drop of country-soul to her interpretation of "Seventeen," allowing her soft vocals to add a serene vibe to the lyrics, which in the original have been considered controversial: "And he said age is just a number, just like any other / We can do whatever, do whatever you want / Boy becomes a man now / Can't tell a man to slow down / He'll just do whatever, do whatever he wants."

"Smitten with this song on @troysivan new record. #Seventeen#ILOVEHIM," she writes alongside the acoustic video.

Sivan explains that "Seventeen" is the result of an experience he had with an older man he met online and is a story he felt compelled to share with his fans. “I’ve rehearsed the backlash and the response a million times in my head. I’m worried because I don’t want to ever come across that I’m condoning that or anything like it," he tells Billboard"But I felt, greater than all of those worries, a responsibility to tell that true story—of the curious gay kid who puts himself in some kind of shady situation to find a connection, like all of us crave.”

Ballerini tells PopCrush that she's "obsessed" with Sivan and co-wrote "Miss Me More" off her Unapologetically album with pop songwriter Leland, who's written several tracks with Sivan. She continues on Keith Urban's 2018 Graffiti U World Tour for the fall before wrapping up on Nov. 3 in Dallas.

Adorable Pictures of Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans

 

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