Watch Kenny Chesney’s ‘Rich and Miserable’ Music Video
Kenny Chesney cuts his own path to get a message across with the music video for "Rich and Miserable," one of the tracks from his most recent album, Cosmic Hallelujah. Readers can press play above to see the video.
Although it is not an official single from Cosmic Hallelujah, Chesney felt that "Rich and Miserable" carries enough weight to warrant a music video of its own. So, he made one.
“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," Chesney says in a press release. "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's "Rich and Miserable" music video opens with actor John C. McGinley lecturing a university class about the meaning of success. The singer says that he and McGinley had a long talk about the song and its message when Chesney asked him to be part of the video.
“It was something we’d talked about before, and he told me he understood why I thought this song was important," Chesney says of the message of "Rich and Miserable." "Those lines he delivers are something he and I both feel very deeply -- and it’s something I think we’d all do well to consider. ... Like me, [McGinley] hopes this is a discussion worth having. Maybe this video does that.”
Cosmic Hallelujah, released in October, offers additional social commentary in Chesney's single "Noise," and a powerful collaboration with pop artist Pink on "Setting the World on Fire."
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