Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘Homecoming Queen?’ + 11 More New Music Videos You’ve Got to See [WATCH]
Country stars shared a wide variety of music videos this week, from soul-bearing, poignant quests of self-discovery to feel-good party clips and much more. Read on to watch all the latest videos from your favorite artists!
Kelsea Ballerini, "Homecoming Queen?":
Kelsea Ballerini gets real in the music video for "Homecoming Queen?" A spinning camera spotlights the star as she walks off the stage and into the privacy of her dressing room. The camera looks on as the singer strips down, layer by layer, faced with the reflection of a little girl growing up. Finally, she trades in her stage outfit for a sweatshirt, tears running down her cheeks.
Ballerini said the cinematography was magical. "It was the craziest thing. You never see anything change. But every time we’d cut, they’d remove the walls or do another take and add in the little girl," the singer says of the filming process. "Every time the camera spins around, something changes: something goes away, something comes in, my eyelashes come off." For the final scene, Ballerini's tears were far from pretend. She says the director of the video, Shane Drake, asked her to go back to the emotions that inspired the lyrics of the moving song."... Immediately I went back to that place where I was feeling really insecure and really vulnerable and unsure of a lot in my life. I just checked into that girl, and wept. Hard." -- LS
Kip Moore, "She's Mine":
The search is on for true love in the music video for Kip Moore's playful tune, "She's Mine." A solid lineup of love interest potentials parade across the set, as Moore beckons the love of his life in with his lyrics.
“Filming the video for this single is some of the most fun I’ve had shooting a music video in a long time,” Moore says in a press release. “We just got to let loose and riff off of the incredible cast we were working with. I can’t wait for the fans to see it.” Moore takes his quest to the street for an impromptu laundromat dance off before he heads home to find true love waiting. -- LS
Diplo feat. Morgan Wallen, "Heartless":
Morgan Wallen joins Diplo, AKA Thomas Wesley, at the carnival in the new music video for "Heartless," a country-leaning R&B groove. Over the course of the video, the music follows the pair of rhinestone-clad cowboys through a maze of rides and games as they sing about the heartache of a hard-to-get girl. Toasting beers and posing for a caricature artist, the twosome makes for a retro-styled double date out on the town -- minus a couple of girls. -- LS
Luke Combs, "Even Though I'm Leaving":
Luke Combs captures the rapt audience at one of his live shows in the music video, shot entirely in black and white, for his latest song, "Even Though I'm leaving." Captioned in plain script at the bottom, the simple video hits home with its poignant message about relying on family, even through separations and losses. -- LS
Kalie Shorr, "Lullaby":
Kalie Shorr lays a lost love to rest in the music video for "Lullaby." In a dimly-lit ode to the '90s, Shorr and her friends find their way into a furniture store, where they rock away the broken heart that led them there. Cheap wine and Catholic candles accompany the good-bye rituals a group of friends observe at the end of a relationship.
"The song is pretty serious, so it's nice to have fun shooting the video for it because it was emotional." Shorr tells Refinery 29. "I was with friends who knew the story of the breakup that inspired the song — I didn't actually burn a picture of my ex-boyfriend, that was my high school best friend who looks like him." -- LS
Blanco Brown, "The Git Up":
Viral dance craze "The Git Up" now has a music video to accompany the groove that has fans of all stripes doing "the two step, then cowboy boogie." In Blanco Brown's new video the singer and an assortment of friends and fans -- including firefighters, residents at a local dining spot, and followers on a street -- jam out in an impromptu dance party The whole crowd ends up in a field with Brown, performing the dance, each with their own expression. Brown's feel-good vibe spreads like a contagion across the small American town, proving irresistible to residents young and old alike. -- LS
Mickey Guyton, “Sister”:
Mickey Guyton's "Sister" music video celebrates the power of female relationships and features six of her real-life friends --her "sisters." Each woman, including Guyton, is clad in gold, and the stunning and imposing visual may remind you of Beyonce's 2017 Grammy performance. Guyton had a vision for the clip, and with the help of director Chelsea Thompson, she brought it to life.
“It was so important to me to not only feature some of my dearest friends in this video, but to represent all types of ‘sisters’ so when women watch this video, they see someone who looks like them,” shares Guyton in a press release. “It is more important than ever to show diversity and that country music is for everyone.” -- CV
Gone West, “What Could’ve Been”:
New country group Gone West released the music video for first single “What Could’ve Been,” and it's emotive and thought-provoking, using the beauty of Tennessee's Big East Fork Valley as the backdrop for a heartbreaking story. The clip features the band’s two couples (Colbie Caillat and fiancé Justin Kawika Young and married couple Jason Reeves and Nelly Joy). Directed by Patrick Tracy, the couples act out the “before” and “after” of a heartbreak.
“It’s a good reminder to show love openly before it’s too late, especially in the hardest moments," says Gone West. They tell People, “There are some heartbreaks that you know in your heart are for the best. And then there are other heartbreaks that you can’t help but wonder..." -- CV
Canaan Smith, “Country Boy Things”:
If you want to know what country boys like to do, just watch Canaan Smith's just-released "Country Boy Things" music video. Fittingly, the video was filmed on land belong to bona fide country boy Brian Kelley, one-half of Florida Georgia Line. Moreover, Kelley also helped Smith pen the track.
Thomas Henley directed this entertaining clip, which features Smith wielding a chainsaw, chopping wood, driving ATVs, building a campfire, playing guitar while nursing a beer and settling next to the fire with a bottle of Jim Beam. “I wanted to get out in the woods on this one – my kind of woods – which turns out, are Brian Kelley’s woods. When he offered up his property for the video, I knew it was gonna be special,” Smith tells Sounds Like Nashville. “I wanted to capture the essence of a day well spent. That was the most hands-on I’ve been with a video so far, and I’m glad it’s time to show it.” -- CV
Jon Langston, “Now You Know”:
Jon Langston released the official music video for “Now You Know,” which embodies a perfect summer day on the water with friends. Directed by Chris Hicky and filmed on a Kentucky lake, the clip will have you holding a little tighter to the last days of summer.
"I'm a cold beer drinkin' every Friday night / Singin' them songs 'bout the girl I love / I'm a small town, running that sundown / Till I get downtown tearin' it up," Langston sings while atop a party barge bursting with friends eager to have fun. It's a classic fun-in-the-sun music video that has one thing in mind: A good time. -- CV
Farewell Angelina, “More Problems”:
Country group Farewell Angelina has a lot of fun together--and it's never been more apparent than in their music video for "More Problems." The video, directed by Quinton Cook, was shot on Florida's Gulf Coast in the area along Scenic Highway 30A; after watching, you may be tempted to pack up the car and head to the Emerald Coast yourself.
“We all agreed, shooting the video was the best day we have ever spent as a band," Farewell Angelina says. "Dancing around 30A in the sun, our shoot day didn’t feel like work at all. That’s pretty normal for us though, because of the beautiful essence of working everyday with your sisters. This song really shows our carefree, sassy and fun attitude that goes along with the rolling party we have all the time on the road." -- CV
Dylan Jakobsen, “In America”:
Dylan Jakobsen knows fans have been waiting a long time to see a music video for "In America." Now, that wait is finally over. He says on Instagram, "Y'all have been asking when we're gonna put out a music video for 'In America' and it's taken some time to make this one special! We wanted to really bring this song to life and let you guys see who I am when I'm not on stage. So I invite you to sit back, grab a friend and watch a music video that pretty much sums up what the last 18 years of my life have been. Enjoy!"
The clip is a testament to Jakobsen's talent and tireless work. The music video documents Jakobsen playing "In America" in his home. But he's not just playing guitar and singing: he plays the drums, harmonica and keyboard as well, and each component effortlessly comes together for "In America." -- CV