Kacey Musgraves Captures the Messiness of Heartbreak in ‘justified’

Kacey Musgraves has shared another piece of her upcoming star-crossed album (and film), unveiling the grooving roots pop of “justified.”

Featuring Musgraves’ shimmering vocal with a driving beat and insightful tale of tangled emotions, the new track offers another look into the Grammy winner’s new work — and new headspace.

All about the messiness of trying to heal a broken heart, “justified” finds Musgraves exploring the fallout of a breakup, with conflicted emotions taking center stage. Backing her delicate vocal with a crisp beat, she bounces back and forth between anger, loneliness and more, perfectly capturing the unresolved feeling of a real-life split — which in her case was inspired by the end of her marriage.

Meanwhile, the track is paired with an official video directed by Bardia Zeinali (and taken from her star-crossed : the film). The clip is a simple one, with Musgraves cruising down the road in different settings — sometimes a quiet countryside, sometimes a vibrant city — and speaking in to the line,  “healing doesn’t happen in a straight line.”

“If I cry just a little, and then laugh in the middle / If I hate you, and I love you, and then I change my mind / If I need just a little, more time to deal with the fact / That you should’ve treated me right / I’m more than just a little, justified,” goes the chorus.

Earlier this week Musgraves announced the star-crossed album which will feature “justified,” along with a 50-minute film that goes with it. She also shared the project’s mood-setting “star-crossed” theme song, which landed with an atmospheric, Latin-tinged sound, and introducing a story of “two lovers torn at the seams.” Musgraves describes the album as a “modern tragedy,” split into three acts, and has also announced she’ll debut the title track live in her first ever MTV VMAs performance on September 12. 

The global premiere of Kacey Musgraves’ star-crossed : the film will exclusively stream on Paramount+ in the US, Latin America, Australia, the Nordics and Canada beginning on Friday, September 10. Fans can pre-order the star-crossed album here.