"Justified" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released on August 27, 2021, as the lead single from Musgraves' fifth studio album, ''

Star-Crossed The terms "star-crossed" and "star-crossed lovers" refer to two people who are not able to be together for some reason. These terms also have other meanings, but originally mean that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that th ...

'', released on September 10, 2021. Musgraves co-wrote the song with

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (, ; born April 17, 1986) is a British American singer and professional songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Before releasing her debut album ''From the Valley'' in 2023, Juber co-wrote songs for popular artists such as Bey ...

, BJ Burton and Ian Fitchuk, and produced it with Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian.

Content

In an interview with ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' 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 advertis ...

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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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 almost completely nude save for a pair of boots on the 47th season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

.''

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 Song recordings produced by BJ Burton