Watch Rising Country Star Mikayla Lane's 'Spacey and Lonesome' Video for 'Rodeo Money'
Rising country star Mikayla Lane is singing the cowboy blues!
In an exclusive preview of the video for her new single "Rodeo Money" which drops Friday, the 18-year-old Oklahoma native mulls a romance with a cowboy — who is more in love with the rodeo life than anything else.
Written by Lane and Bridgette Tatum, who co-wrote Jason Aldean's No. 1 hit "She's Country," and produced by Jimmy Ritchey (who has overseen albums by Jake Owen, Clay Walker and Mark Chesnutt), the video for the poignant song paints a striking visual of the heartbreak and loneliness of the romantic predicament.
Shot in Lane's hometown of Tulsa at Ford Truck Arena, the video features the singer sporting typical cowboy attire — including a hat, fringed jackets and jeans — before swapping the "dusty" wardrobe for a glammed-up black sequin outfit with plenty of epic turquoise jewelry.
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Rockin GK Photo Co. Mikayla Lane
As for the inspiration behind the otherwise austere, cinematic video, Lane tells PEOPLE that it was all part of the plan.
"I wanted to create the same lonely feel in the video that's heard in the song," Lane says. "We kept in mind the production of the song and its simplicity. I knew I wanted the video to feel spacey and lonesome — and an empty arena is just that."
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She adds, "After I had shared a few broad ideas with the team, we started working toward our vision."
Lane, who called on a friend to play the role of the disinterested cowboy, enthuses: "I love how it turned out and think it represents the song and message well."
Rockin GK Photo Co. Mikayla Lane
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In collaborating with Tatum, Lane shares that she has found a kindred spirit, with whom she has a similar background and mutual interests. They happened upon the theme of the song while talking about one of them: NFR, or the National Finals Rodeo annual competition.
"We thought about how so many songs have the theme of 'the cowboy rides away,' and how cool it would be to put a twist on that idea," she says. "'Rodeo Money' not only talks about the cowboy riding away, but the money he won going with him."
However, Lane has at least one cowboy, who happens to be a country star, in her corner.
In late 2021, while performing at Blake Shelton's Ole Red in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, The Voice coach himself made a point to weigh in on her performance.
"He came backstage and gave me a hug afterward," Lane told TulsaPeople magazine. "He said he was proud to hear I was doing well and to keep it up."
