Kacey Musgraves embraces healing pains on new single ‘justified’

Kacey Musgraves has shared the emotive second cut from her new album ‘star-crossed’, following the smoky and dramatic title track with ‘justified’.

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The track serves as a poignant reflection on Musgraves’ divorce from country singer Ruston Kelly, musing about how “healing doesn’t happen in a straight line” over a bed of gentle acoustic strumming, empyrean synths and punchy, yet understated percussion.

On the chorus of ‘justified’, Musgraves sings: “If I cried just a little, and then laughed in the middle / If I hate you, and I love you, and I change my mind / If I need just a little more time to deal with the fact that you should have treated me right / Then I’m more than just a little justified.”

‘justified’ arrives alongside a music video that takes viewers on a road trip with Musgraves, doubling as a clip from the star-crossed film set to accompany the titular album. Take a look at it below:

Both the new album and film are set to land September 10 via Interscope/Polydor/UMG Nashville. The album features 15 tracks, said in a press release to be “structured as a modern-day tragedy in three acts”, which “tells an extremely personal journey of heartache and healing”.

The album’s accompanying film will be streamed exclusively on Paramount+ in the US, Latin America, Australia, the Nordics and Canada. Fans in the UK and other regions will be able to watch it on MTV. It was directed by Bardia Zeinali, who’d previously directed music videos for the likes of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.

“We wanted it to feel cinematic and epic without compromising the heart and emotion,” Zeinali said upon the film’s announcement. “To feel fantastical and heightened and tell [Musgraves’] story through the lens of art and fashion.”

Earlier this month, Musgraves previewed two new songs during an appearance on the podcast A Slight Change Of Plans. During the episode, she sang verses from the unreleased tracks ‘angel’ and ‘camera roll’.

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