"Rich" is a song recorded 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, ...

singer

Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. While rooted in the Country music, country genre, her music also blends elements of Pop music, pop, R&B music, R&B, and Hip-Hop music, hip-hop. Born and raised in Arlingt ...

for her major-label debut album, ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

'' (2016). Morris co-wrote the song with Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz, and co-produced the track with

busbee Michael James Ryan Busbee (June 18, 1976 – September 29, 2019), known professionally as Busbee, was an American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record label executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in both po ...

. It was released to American country radio on February 12, 2018, through

Columbia Nashville Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Amer ...

as the album's fourth and final single.

Composition

"Rich" blends elements of

with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop for a sound that "transcends classification." The song features "laid-back, breezy" vocals in the verses and a "singalong" chorus. Lyrically, the song details ways that a man has done Morris wrong, framed by hypothetical dollar values for these infractions that would result in Morris being rich. According to critics, Morris's delivery expresses "hip-hop bravado" and a "sly wit" as she toys with unconventional rhymes.

Release and promotion

On January 22, 2018, "Rich" was announced as the album's final single and was made available to radio through the Daily Play MPE service. According to Morris, the choice was influenced by positive fan reception to the song, noting that it was "the first time we've really let fans pick the single." The announcement came days after news of the release of her

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...

collaboration, " The Middle", which was promoted concurrently to pop formats and internationally. "Rich" officially impacted country radio on February 12, 2018.

Music video

The music video was directed by TK McKamy and Produced by Joel Hartz and premiered on CMT,

GAC GAC or Gac may refer to: Companies and organisations * GAC Group, a Chinese automotive company based in Guangzhou, Guangdong * GAC Ireland, an Irish bus manufacturer established with Bombardier (1980–1986) * Games Administration Committee, ...

CMT Music Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

in 2018.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Hero'', Jon Caramanica of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote that the song was positioned as "CMT's bid for Song of the Summer" due to its strong

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

and

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

potential. Chuck Dauphin of ''

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 ...

'' wrote that "Rich" blends humor with "more than just a little" truth, which he called "a sign of her deep intelligence as a composer." Brittney McKenna of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called "Rich" the highlight of ''Hero'' and wrote that it is "a genre-defying amalgam of what makes today's country music interesting: a little profanity, a lot of swagger and catchy hooks for days."

Accolades

Commercial performance

"Rich" debuted at number 50 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart dated February 24, 2018 and was the week's highest debut. On the week dated October 6, the song debuted at number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and peaked at number 62 the week dated December 1, remaining on the chart for eight weeks. The song has sold 159,000 copies in the United States as of December 2018.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Maren Morris 2016 songs 2018 singles Maren Morris songs Columbia Nashville Records singles Song recordings produced by busbee American hip hop songs American reggae songs Songs written by Laura Veltz Songs written by Maren Morris Songs written by Jessie Jo Dillon