Is Kelsea Ballerini’s “Emerald City” About Madelyn Cline? Chase Stokes Just Entered the Chat
- Outer Banks stars Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline dated for a year and a half before calling it quits in November 2021.
- After his romance with Madelyn, Chase found love with country singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini.
- Fans are speculating that one of Kelsea’s new songs, “Emerald City,” might be loosely inspired by Madelyn, but Chase quickly shut down the rumors.
Chase Stokes is taking a moment to clear the air. As he reconnects with Kelsea Ballerini following their reported split in September, he’s also defending his ex and Outer Banks co-star, Madelyn Cline…who fans think Kelsea maaaay have just penned a song about.
When Kelsea posted a TikTok promoting her new EP, Mount Pleasant—more specifically, her track “People Pleaser”—fans went into a frenzy in her comments section about an entirely different song they thought might be inspired by Madelyn.
The song in question is “Emerald City,” on which Kelsea muses about her subject’s connection to an ex with brown eyes (and a sizable dating history): “Always liked the color of my eyes ’til I knew she had brown / I’m green / Always liked my naïve innocence ’til I learned she got around / I’m green.”
“Emerald city just goes to show the most beautiful woman in the world can still have feelings of jealousy and insecurity. So open and raw. Love it!” one fan wrote, while others speculated further.
“Genuinely have nothing wrong with the song and LOVE Kelsea and Chase together. But if the song is about Madelyn, did she have to give permission?” someone asked, adding, “Cause dunno the song insinuates things about Madelyn’s character?”
In between comments that raised questions about “Emerald City” and others that praised Kelsea’s songwriting prowess, Chase took it upon himself to defend both Kelsea and Madelyn, writing, “These comments are fucking weird. Grow up.”
Kevin Winter/2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards//Getty Images
Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes in 2021.
Taylor Hill//Getty Images
Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini in 2023.
For what it’s worth, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between Kelsea and Madelyn. During an interview with Call Her Daddy in 2023, the “Penthouse” singer fully gushed about Chase’s ex and co-star, saying, “I met her and I talked to her and she’s lovely. And I think she’s wildly talented.”
At the time, she opened up about watching the exes work together as they filmed OBX in 2023.
“The internet did its best to make it really weird, and it just didn’t work for them. I’m stoked to be on set and vibe with everyone,” she said, adding, “At the end of the day, I’m a girl’s girl. I don’t buy into the bullshit, and I don’t buy into, especially, the loud, echo chamber of pop culture trying to make a thing out of nothing. I think they have a beautiful working relationship, and I’m excited to hang with her. It’s not weird. Everyone’s good.”
Enough said! Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to listen to Kelsea’s new EP and probably definitely going to have a good cry.
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