"Rich" is a song recorded 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 ...

singer Maren Morris for her major-label debut album, ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

'' (2016). Morris co-wrote the song with

Jessie Jo Dillon Jessie Jo Dillon (born September 11, 1987) is an American songwriter with Big Machine Records. She is the daughter of country musician and songwriter Dean Dillon and his ex-wife Kenni Wehrman, a Warner Bros. Records executive. She has received ...

and Laura Veltz, and co-produced the track with busbee. It was released to American country radio on February 12, 2018, through Columbia Nashville as the album's fourth and final single.

Composition

"Rich" blends elements of

with

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

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

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 (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...

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, CMT Music &

VEVO Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

in 2018.

Critical reception

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

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

and crossover 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 advertis ...

'' 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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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

Lyrical changes

On September 19, 2024, when Morris performed the song at the Bourbon & Beyond music festival, she removed the Diddy reference from the lyric “Me and Diddy drippin’ diamonds like Marilyn” of the song and replaced it with a reference to

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

, following his recent arrest.

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