Jake Owen takes you to the beach in virtual reality 'American Country Love Song' video

Jake Owen is on a tropical beach somewhere in his new music video for "American Country Love Song," but really, you are too. 

The 360-degree virtual reality video -- which coincides with the launch of his new brand of whiskey, Beach Whiskey -- marks the first time a major country artist has embraced VR, barring Luke Bryan's lyric video for "Home Alone Tonight." 

Directed by Grab Games' Joseph Itaya, the video was shot in the Florida Keys after Owen's roadtrip from Nashville, Tennessee, in a 1966 seafelt green microbus. It begins with him standing next to the VW, then singing next to the water before he's joined by a giant beach party. You can experience the video in 360 degrees by watching on the YouTube mobile app and on Chrome or Firefox web browsers.

It's all decidedly light and cheery, never taking itself too seriously, and, according to Owen, very on-brand for him, given his catalog full of equally unworried songs like "Beachin'" and "Barefoot Blue Jean Night." 

"I'm a kind of carefree guy... that's my persona," he told Mashable. "I grew up in Florida on the beach my whole life, and I've always wanted to be the guy who brings happiness to people and makes people smile." 

"American Country Love Song" is the lead single off Owen's upcoming fifth studio album, American Love. And if you dig the merriment of "American Country Love Song," fear not, Owen says American Love is brimming with the same feeling fans have come to know him for. 

"I made a record that's really fun, it feels great and it's really breezy and I think it fits me really well," he said. "For the people who have been loyal fans for a long time I think they're going to get something that they kind of expected but something that they kind of didn't expect in a great way."

"American Country Love Song" is also an apt pairing for Beach Whiskey, a clear whiskey for day sipping.

"Traditionally whiskey's been these dark liquors that's about being in a cabin or by the fireplace," says Andrew McGinnis, co-founder of Beach Whiskey. "But we've decided to make whiskey something you can enjoy on the beach, a more fun experience."

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