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After numerous teasers, MGK and Jelly Roll have released the official music video for their new country collaboration, ‘Lonely Road’, which follows the two artists as they struggle to make ends meet for their respective partners, Megan Fox and Bunnie XO.
It's a dramatic, rip-roaring video that enhances the stormy, brooding ambience of the song, with the visuals opening on MGK and Jelly Roll attending a funeral for an unknown character.
The duo assume the roles of mechanics going from pay-check to pay-check, with MGK happily returning home to a pregnant Megan Fox, before finding a ‘Final Notice’ letter on the counter. ‘Lonely Road’ intricately weaves together fact and fiction. As far as we know, Megan is not pregnant in real life, but eagle-eyed fans have spotted that one of the credits at the end of the video reads, “Introducing: Baby Violet Leika”, which has led some to believe Megan and MGK are having a baby, with the couple potentially using the ‘Lonely Road’ video to announce this.
In addition to this possible unveiling, this storyline has been interpreted by some as a heartbreaking nod to the baby Megan and MGK lost through a miscarriage in 2023. MGK previously addressed the loss in his song, ’Don't Let Me Go’, “How can I live with the fact / That my hand wasn't on her stomach when we lost the baby?”
Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie XO, also appear to make a reference to their real personal lives in the ‘Lonely Road’ video. The on-screen couple console each other after receiving a letter confirming her infertility, a sub-plot that is perhaps inspired by how Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO are currently undergoing IVF to welcome a child via a surrogate. Bunnie has spoken previously about her pregnancy losses and her ongoing experience with IVF, “Anybody that's dealt with infertility or having a hard time getting pregnant, that's all you want is people rooting you on. It's a very fragile situation”, before sharing, “There is nothing wrong with having a surrogate. I would have trouble carrying a baby. I have lost many babies, you know. One, we don't have the time to go through that. Two, my schedule does not allow for me to...have another miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy”. Megan Fox also went through an ectopic pregnancy prior to her miscarriage.
These subtleties add an extra layer of emotionality and depth to the ‘Lonely Road’ visuals, which take a dark turn after MGK decides to rob a bank in order to secure enough money to protect his family. He has just about enough time to kiss Megan and their unborn child before the police arrest him, with the video then fast-forwarding to eight months down the line, with MGK meeting his baby while in prison.
Although there's an undercurrent of strife running throughout the ‘Lonely Road’ music video, what radiates most lustrously is the warmth and chemistry between MGK, Jelly Roll, Megan Fox and Bunnie XO, with action shots interspersed with scenes of the four friends holding hands and praying at the dinner table.
‘Lonely Road’, which is out today (Friday, July 26) serves as the first original country song released by MGK, and follows the arrival of his unexpected Zach Bryan cover, ’Sun to Me’.
The new track interpolates ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ by John Denver, with MGK's fanbase celebrating the Texas singer-songwriter's innovative twist on the iconic anthem. Some suspect he's readying a full-length country album, with the genre-blending artist having performed as part of CMA Fest 2024 alongside Jelly Roll, as well as being spotted in the studio with up-and-coming band, The Castellows.
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