Kelsea Ballerini Gets Candid on Taylor Swift's Advice and Which Hot Celeb She's Calling 'Dibs' On

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Kelsea Ballerini has had a big year of firsts -- from her first No. 1 single ("Love Me Like You Mean It,") to her first album (appropriately titled The First Time), to her first night sharing the stage with a global superstar (Taylor Swift, of course).

With her stellar songwriting, sweet voice and bubbly personality, it didn't take long for fans and industry insiders to draw parallels between Kelsea and Taylor this year. Speaking with ETonline at the People Ones to Watch event, the 22-year-old Tennessee native couldn't help but gush over the comparisons.


WATCH: Taylor Swift Shares the Stage With Steven Tyler, Alison Kruass and Kelsea Ballerini in Nashville 

"I am such a fan of her -- like, the biggest fan of her," Kelsea confessed. "To even be associated with someone like that is crazy. If I can have a sliver of similarity to the career that she's had, I'm so content with my life."

Turns out, Taylor has proven herself to be a big Kelsea fan, as well! The newcomer shared this sweet Instagram video, showing Taylor singing every word to Kelsea's song "Yeah Boy."


RELATED: How Taylor Swift Turned Me From a Critic to a Swifty

But it was all about Kelsea's breakout hit when she joined Taylor on-stage at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee last week, where the pair sang "Love Me Like You Mean It" in front of a sold-out crowd.

"BE MY LITTLE SISTER PLS," Taylor adorably captioned a photo from the performance, while Kelsea shared a heartfelt thank you.


WATCH: Taylor Swift Brought Nelly Onstage and Totally Killed It! 

"The most special, memorable, and magical full circle moment of my life," she wrote on Instagram. "I've watched every single tour of yours at the Bridgestone Arena since I moved to Nashville. Thank you for being generous enough to give me that first. I will always be one of your biggest fans."

Speaking with ETonline, Kelsea elaborated on the special bond she shares with Taylor.

"It's awesome when you love someone as a fan, but then you get to become friends with them and you love them even more as a friend," she said. "I think [Taylor is] just such a wonderful human and that shines through her music. She's lovely, and it's awesome to have a mentor like that."

So what words of wisdom did Taylor pass along?

"She did say to me, 'Always just be human and warm because people will also relate to that,'" Kelsea shared. "That's something I've always admired about her. I think it's great advice."

But on Wednesday's night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, it was all about "Dibs" as Kelsea made her late-night debut with a brand new single -- a playfully catchy ode to all-consuming crushes.

So, we had to ask -- which celeb would Kelsea call dibs on today?!


LISTEN: Joe Jonas Unveils Crazy Catchy New Dance Single 

"Joe Jonas! But he's taken, so I revoke the dibs," Kelsea said. "But if he was ever not taken, I would call dibs on Joe Jonas."

We can't fault her there! But today, Jonas is in a relationship with Gigi Hadid, who recently revealed that Jonas actually first asked her out years ago -- when she was 13, to be exact. Get the story in the video below!