Songland episode 3: Darius Coleman’s ‘Better Luck Next Time’ wins over Kelsea Ballerini

Tonight’s new Songland featured Kelsea Ballerini as the artist at the center of the songwriting process — and, almost immediately, we like the energy that she brought to the show! She was there to find the right song, and also something that she wanted to view as a challenge. She didn’t want to just rest on her laurels — and that was reflected in the choice that she made at the end of the episode.

Before getting to some of these songs + the final verdict, check out our full take on all things Songland in the video below! After you do that, remember to subscribe to Cartermatt on YouTube for some more news — and also view our official playlist for Songland now.

Jack Newsome, “Lying (Next to You)” – Did the song resonate with Kelsea personally? That was the concern that some of the producers had going in, but she was game for the concept and what was done through the re-work. We actually thought there was a good chance that she would pick it — but, as it turns out, she thought that this was one of the two songs in this episode that was better suited for her last album — not who she is right now and who she wants to be as a performer now.

Daniel Feels, “Crush” – The thing we were initially concerned about with this song is that it wouldn’t actually make a splash — it was a good song, but was it the right one for someone like Kelsea at this point in her career? It almost feels better for a singer trying to release their debut album.

Darius Coleman, “Better Luck Next Time” – If there’s one thing that we know about songwriters, it’s that they’ve gotta be versatile. The best performers are the ones who can create for all sorts of different people. Darius is more of a pop writer, but we loved what he did with this song right away — it had a catchy hook, and we could actually see Kelsea singing this even before the final tweaks.

The winner was…

“Better Luck Next Time”! We could see this coming for most of the episode and we’ve got no problem with that. Kelsea sounded GREAT in the final version of it — it does have a country vibe to it, but it’s also a great departure for her musically. It feels like a great crossover hit for her that could play on just about any radio station out there. We understand totally why she would want to do this show now that we’ve seen the entire arc of this episode.

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What do you think about tonight’s new episode of Songland? Share right now in the comments below. (Photo: NBC.)