Kelsea Ballerini breaks down in tears on stage as she sings about her dog

Kelsea Ballerini performed from her new album, Pattern, on Tuesday night (October 29) in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd, but it was a song from her latest record that brought her to tears.

Ballerini wore a black jumpsuit decorated with rhinestones and sang “Penthouse,” a song from her viral Roll up the welcome mat E.P. It was the second to last song on the setlist and one lyric reduced the singer to tears.

As she sang, the crowd sang back:

“I bought the house with a fence / Enough room for a couple of kids, a backyard for dibs.”

Ballerini broke the news to fans in August that her Goldendoodle dog Dibs had cancer in his heart. The singer said at the time that it was inoperable.

Since she couldn't finish the song, the crowd finished the chorus for her. As they sang, she took a step back and not only absorbed the moment, but also let her emotions flow.

“He's not in any pain and thankfully it hasn't spread any further,” she told fans earlier this year.

Time with Dibs is something Ballerini treasures, and having thousands of fans singing along to her part hit her even deeper than it might have in the past.

At the end of the evening she reduced her performance. She decided to close the evening with “To the Men Who Love Women After Heartbreak,” a song reminiscent of her boyfriend, actor Chase Stokes, who was in the crowd cheering her on.

In another video recorded by fans, Stokes can be seen overcome with emotion.

This performance at Madison Square Garden marks the start of Ballerini's Pattern Tour. She next has a show in Grand Rapids, Michigan on January 21st.

Kelsea Ballerini's 2024 MSG setlist

“This time last year”
“Baggage”
“First Rodeo”
“How much you love me”
“Two things”
“We broke up”
“Wait”
“Deep”
“Nothing really matters”
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Ask for your love”
“Cowboys cry too”
“I Would, Would You” (with “Lean On Me”)
“Did you make it home?” (Outro)
“Love me like you mean it”
“Peter Pan”
“Miss me more”
“Hole in the bottle”
“If you go down (I’ll go down too)”
“Mountain with a view”
“Caught by surprise”
“Penthouse”
“To the men who love women after their hearts are broken.”