Kacey Musgraves shift from country music
Singer, musician, artist, Grammy-award winner Kacey Musgraves can now add “movie star” to her long list of accomplishments and accolades.
Musgraves’ fifth studio album, paired with its own short film, “Star-Crossed,” is an artistically emotional venture for the country-pop star (though I should briefly mention here that there are not a few people who reject the idea she belongs to either genre).
The album primarily chronicles her marriage to and subsequent divorce from musician Ruston Kelly in 15 tracks but only with a total run-time of a little over 45 minutes — which is a feat in and of itself, considering top albums in recent years have averaged at about an hour.
The accompanying film tops out at around 50 minutes and is chock full of ethereal, dreamlike sequences packed with stark and colorful imagery. Scenes range from a medieval-dressed “Anti-Matrimonial” gang heist to uniform blonde wigs in “How to Be a Good Wife” to tell the story inspired by the album, “a modern tragedy in three acts.”
The recent release of “Star-Crossed” builds upon Musgraves’ earlier foundation that first rocketed her to stardom via her multiple-Grammy-award-winning album, “Golden Hour,” but with arguably a bit more spunk.
“She really captured my attention with ‘Golden Hour, ‘so I’m just really glad to see her continuing to, like, think outside of the country box,” said Brock Pate, a senior studying Sociology. “She’s building on the creative success of ‘Golden Hour,’ but as a pretty young artist she’s showing that she can continue to be even more creative.”
Following in the footsteps of stars like Linda Ronstadt, Madonna and even arguably Taylor Swift, Musgraves is showing she is unafraid of bold exploration and experimentation outside of the genre she started her music career in.
“It really just feels like a beautiful water fairy went through a divorce then wrote an album about it,” said Kate Turner, a junior studying math education.
While Musgraves’ artistry is undoubtedly reaching a wider audience now than it was circa 2018, it cannot wholly be attributed to her previous success; her recent albums have allowed the display of a more skillful variety in genre influence.
“Her sound definitely has shifted further away from country in this heartbreak album,” Turner said, “but ultimately I think it’s a good choice and an excellent album.”
With over ten million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, Musgraves ought to be considered another strong contender for the Grammys next year. “Star-Crossed” has proved that the genius of “Golden Hour” was no fluke, and she has blown way past the traditionally feared “sophomore slump.” Musgraves has solidified her influence on music and pop culture with the release of this new album — who knows what she could do next?
Star-Crossed is available to stream from whichever platform you stream your music, but “Star-Crossed: The Film” is only currently available with a Paramount+ subscription.