Kenny Chesney Explores Flip Side of American Dream in ‘Rich and Miserable’
Kenny Chesney is one of country music's most experimental artists, and he's continuing that trend with the unique release of his new video for "Rich and Miserable."
Chesney has created a full budget music video for the cut off his 2016 Cosmic Hallelujah album even though it hasn't been officially released as a single, diverting from the typical format of releasing a music video after a single drops. The video features actor John C. McGinley (Scrubs, Office Space) as a college professor who offers his students an inspiring speech about finding their passion in life through something joyful they can share with the world.
Chesney then launches into the song that brings society's obsession with becoming rich and achieving fame into question with thought-provoking lyrics: "Enough is never enough / American dream never wakes up / Too much is never too much / We won't be happy 'til we're rich and miserable."
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"I think there’s so much more to what goes on a record than radio can play and some songs need to be heard. For ‘Rich and Miserable,’ it felt like it was addressing so many of the things we’re sold and told -- about what makes us happy, or we’re supposed to want, or are expected to do. I didn’t want that message getting lost, so we decided to skip a video on some of the singles and do this instead," Chesney explains in a press release.
The country superstar released the video on Friday (April 28). Cosmic Hallelujah's latest single, "Bar at the End of the World," currently holds the No. 11 spot on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
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