Former Big Time Rush Member James Maslow Releases Acoustic ‘Cry’ Video for Anti-Sex-Trafficking Charity: Premiere
When former Big Time Rush member James Maslow dropped his first solo single “Cry” earlier this year, it didn’t just catch the attention of the boy band star’s fans. It also impressed founders of the anti-sex-trafficking organization Mission Save Her, who thought the song would make a moving soundtrack for their upcoming documentary.
On Friday (June 23), Maslow and the organization released the result of their partnership: an acoustic rendering of the track and accompanying video that sheds light on the persistent issue of sex trafficking across the globe.
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“Though the lyrics and melody are the same as my original ‘Cry,’ I created the acoustic version when I partnered with Mission Save Her because I needed the music itself to elicit empathy to understand how important this issue is,” Maslow tells Billboard.
The compelling visual, directed by documentarian and philanthropist Terrie Marie, does just that, interspersing stark clips of Maslow playing the track on a piano with facts and statistics about sex trafficking presented in overlaid text.
All proceeds from the video will go toward Mission Save Her, and viewers can catch the song in the organization’s upcoming, self-titled documentary. The original track is on Maslow’s first solo album, How I Like It, which dropped in March via Membran Entertainment.
“My song ‘Cry,’ though seemingly sad, is intended to uplift. [The original was] about a trying time in my life where I learned to be strong and move forward despite a bad relationship, and that’s the message I want to share with this music video,” Maslow adds. “To have hope. To empower.”
Watch the full visual below, and stay tuned for more news about the upcoming Mission Save Her film.
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