Watch RaeLynn’s Empowering ‘Lonely Call’ Video
RaeLynn chose to follow “Love Triangle,” the heartbreaking first single from her debut LP Wildhorse, with “Lonely Call,” which depicts a woman trying to break free from her ex. That scenario comes to life with the “Lonely Call” music video, in which the Texas singer lends a hand to a girlfriend in need – with a little help from her squad.
“I used to be your 6 a.m. / Hey good morning / Beautiful, how you been,” RaeLynn sings on “Lonely Call,” which debuted as Wildhorse‘s second single at the end of June. “Now I’m just the midnight number, a familiar voice.” Written by RaeLynn, Nicolle Galyon, and Rob Hawkins, it’s an empowerment song about learning not to cave in when those late-night calls arrive. In the song’s new video, directed by Chris Hicky, it’s RaeLynn’s friend (played by Abby Cook) who needs the help fending them off.
RaeLynn comes to the rescue, and at times the scene gets real: RaeLynn shoves Cook’s phone into a cabinet to keep her from answering it, and soon Cook breaks down crying. But RaeLynn, who insists, “Let it ring, let it ring,” in the song, eventually wins out, inviting over more friends to have a slumber party that syncs up with the key change of the last verse. Cook’s ex even gets a phone call mid-party to let him hear how much fun they’re having without him.
“When I hear those lyrics I’m like, ‘That’s exactly how it felt, that’s exactly how it was,'” RaeLynn told Rolling Stone Country last month about “Lonely Call,” which she described as a “confessional” about a breakup she once had with her now-husband, Joshua. The song was chosen as her second single at the insistence of her fans. “They relate to this song, every single word, and I was like, ‘Ok, well, this is easy. We know what song’s gonna be next.'”
The former Voice contestant released Wildhorse, produced by Galyon and Jimmy Robbins, via Warner Bros. last March. She plays at City Limits Music Festival on Saturday, July 15th, in Cudahy, Wisconsin.