Looks like Michael Ray is finally speaking up…
With his last full studio album coming in 2018, Michael Ray is gearing up to drop his latest project, Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, a six-song EP due out on June 23rd. And to preview that new EP, Michael Ray has just dropped his first song of the year, a song that isn’t quite what you expect when you hear the title.
Titled “Get Her Back,” you’re immediately thinking “oh, honky tonk heartbreaker,” but when the chorus hits, the songs flips on its head and all of the sudden we have a full-blown revenge tune.
Of the new single, Ray calls it a song for those wrestling with their emotions in the midst of a heartbreak:
“Nobody wants to talk about all the emotions you feel, shock, anger, wanting to know why, or even wanting something bad to happen… because then there’s the letting go. It’s so many different things, all falling together really fast. But in the end, why bother? Like the song says, ‘I wasn’t raised like that…’
I think ‘Get Her Back’ speaks for a lot of people who don’t wanna talk about it, you know? Most of us have all these emotions, feel all kinds of things… and we’re expected to act like we’re good or everything’s fine.
You hear people talk, but if you respected whatever it was you had, feel it, but don’t feed the fire. That’s what’s at the heart of this song. For anyone out there like me, know we see you. It’s cool. But know you did the right thing…”
But when you watch the music video, you can’t help but draw comparisons between the actress in the video and a particular country music star that Ray used to be married to… Carly Pearce.
The music video features Ray seemingly being questioned by police in the midst of a murder investigation, amid flashbacks of the relationship between Ray and his Carly Pearce look-alike ex lover.
Between the undereye patches, the red wine, the little dog, and just the fact that the woman actually looks like Carly, this music video definitely appears to be a bit of a “shots fired” kind of moment for Ray.
Or perhaps more of a “return fire.”
It’s no secret that Michael Ray married Carly Pearce back in 2018 and that the country music couple divorced shortly thereafter, just 8 months later. Carly also followed up the separation with a “divorce album” of sorts, the phenomenal 29: Written In Stone, which didn’t pull punches when it came to songs like “What He Didn’t Do,” “Diamondback,” “Next Girl,” “Should’ve Known Better,” and many more.
Carly clearly told her side of the story, to deserved critical acclaim, but we really haven’t heard much from Michael Ray on the issue… until now.
Of course, Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans recently made headlines for trading musical barbs, as well as making statements regarding each other’s “divorce songs,” although, I don’t really see a similar kind of “back and forth” coming between Carly and Michael on the horizon.
At the end of the day, country music has always been about telling the truth… it seems like mainstream country artists have been a little more willing to do that lately.
That being said, a number of fans were quick to draw the Carly comparisons as well… and they weren’t exactly happy about it.
probably not BUT in michael ray’s new music video, there’s a very clearly Carly look a like, right now to the dog too and she ends up dying at the end
— laura (@bethsduttons) April 14, 2023
Regarding the new music video, Ray says it’s not exactly what you think:
“Leave it to Spidey to find the edge and the mystery… he understands that place where you want to snap, but then you settle down and you just move on.
To be able to find a way of showing how far you can stand from the fire… and still get burned, how you can do the right thing, which sometimes is nothing, and just keep moving?
It’s a tough line to walk, but he did. And for everyone who’s ever been in a position of not wanting to look back, well, this clip’s for you.”
Check it out:
Michael Ray 2023 Tour Dates:
April 13 // Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium // Athens, OH
April 14 // Del Lago Resort & Casino – The Vine // Waterloo, NY
April 16 // Moo & Brew Festival // Charlotte, NC
April 20 // Cherokee Hotel & Casino West Siloam Springs // West Siloam Springs, OK
April 21 // Haute Spot // Cedar Park, TX
April 22 // The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa // Sonora, TX
April 25 // Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center // Huntsville, AL
April 26 // Temecula Stampede // Temecula, CA
April 27 // Stoney’s Rockin Country // Las Vegas, NV
April 28 // Clovis Rodeo // Clovis, CA
April 30 // Rolling Hills Casino & Resort* // Corning, CA
May 6 // Key West Songwriters Festival // Key West, FL
May 19 // Grizzly Rose // Denver, CO
May 20 // 365 Sports Complex // Inman, KS
May 26 // Waterside Music Series* // Solomons, MD
June 1 // Moonshine Beach // San Diego, CA
June 3 // San Bernadino County Fairgrounds // Victorville, CA
June 4 // Morongo Casino Resort and Spa // Cabazon, CA
June 15 // Barefoot Country Music Fest // Wildwood, NJ
June 17 // B-93.7 Birthday Bash // Comstock Park, MI
June 23 // WYRK Toyota Taste of Country // Buffalo, NY
June 24 // Catskill Point // Greendale, NY
June 30 // Lazy Gators // Lake Ozark, MO
July 1 // Baldwin Golf Course // Baldwin City, KS
July 15 // Willow Tree Vineyard – Summer Sounds // Ham Lake, MN
Aug. 9 // Greene County Fair // Waynesburg, PA
Aug. 26 // Country In The Burg // Cedarburg, WI
*with Dustin Lynch
