"Justified" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released on August 27, 2021, as the lead single from Musgraves' fifth studio album, '' Star-Crossed'', released on September 10, 2021. Musgraves co-wrote the song with Ilsey Juber,

BJ Burton BJ Burton is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He is known for his work with Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights, Low, Charli XCX, and The Japanese House, and has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, ...

and

Ian Fitchuk Ian Fitchuk (born February 13, 1982) is a songwriter, music producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Fitchuk was born and raised in Chicago by parents who are both accomplished classical musicians and educators. He cites Paul ...

, and produced it with Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian.

Content

In an interview with '' Elle'' in May 2021, Musgraves talked about the inspiration for the song, her divorce with Ruston Kelly: "I felt, in many ways, on top of the world in my career, but in my personal life, I felt like I was dying inside. I was crumbling. I was sad. I felt lonely. I felt broken." Matt Doria of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' pointed out that the song "serve as a poignant reflection on Musgraves' divorce from country singer Ruston Kelly". Andy Sahadeo of ''Nicki Swift'' described the song as "a somber contemplation of the singer's personal life over the past few years".

Critical reception

Jason Friedman of '' Paste'' felt that the track "recalls some of the warmth of previous album '' Golden Hour'', with the track serving as an uptempo reminder that 'healing doesn't happen in a straight line,' as the singer wrestles with the different mood cycles that follow a breakup."

Music video

The music video was directed by Bardia Zeinali, and taken from the film ''Star-Crossed''. The video begins with Musgraves "driving solemnly through a desert while listening to a commercial on love counseling from the car radio". She drives through "different environments and weather, likes a green-lit tunnel, a snowy forest, rain, an urban city, and an autumn highway".

Commercial performance

"Justified" debuted at number 31 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart dated September 11, 2021. After the album was released, it climbed to number 22 on the chart dated September 25, 2021.

Live performance

On October 2, 2021, Musgraves performed the song on the 47th season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

.''

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 songs 2021 singles Kacey Musgraves songs Songs written by Kacey Musgraves Songs written by Ilsey Juber Songs written by BJ Burton MCA Nashville Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Daniel Tashian Song recordings produced by Ian Fitchuk Songs written by Ian Fitchuk