Oct 20, 2021

Kacey Musgraves “justified” Song Review

Sensational country music singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves from Golden, Texas has won seven CMA Awards, six GRAMMY Awards, and three ACM Awards. Her 2013 debut album Same Trailer Different Park was critically acclaimed, and she has been releasing award-winning music ever since.

Her highly-anticipated fourth album star-crossed drops on September 10th, and the second track “justified” dropped on August 27th. The music video for “justified” was directed by Bardia Zeinali and was taken from star-crossed: the film which will start streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the US, Latin America, Australia, the Nordics, and Canada on September 10th.

“justified” shows off a new maturity to Musgraves’ sound and lyrical prowess. It’s raw and honest with wisdom about processing emotions that come only with experience. “justified” is self-talk turned into an engaging tale with complementary percussions and acoustics that further hold our attention to create a beautifully tragic song about acceptance and mindfulness.

“If I cry just a little and then laugh in the middle. If I hate you, then I love you, then 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. I’m more than just a little justified.”

From enduring the highs and lows of emotional pain, Musgraves has learned to let herself embrace all of her feelings as they come—good and bad—rather than letting them overwhelm her or trying to change the narrative. Love, loss, and healing are emotions too complex to be linear. Musgraves even takes ownership of her role in her own heartache adding to the maturity and class she radiates both lyrically and vocally in this track.

“If I die just a little, inside just a little. If I want you and I call you, then I change my mind. If I need just a little more time to deal with the fact that I should have treated you right.”

“justified” is cathartic in a subtle, removed way and stays true to Musgraves’ country-pop sound as she once again shows how a courageous heart can amplify a beautiful voice. To prove she hasn’t lost her playful side, Musgraves teases the next track on the album with a couple of lyrics from “Camera Roll” toward the end of the music video.

“Don’t go through your camera roll. So much you don’t know…”

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