At first look, the 'What We Ain't Got' music video seems very un-Jake Owen. Where's the beach? Where's the good-looking women? Where's the beach? You won't find either here, and the singer couldn't be more proud.

Owen is fighting being pigeonholed as the summer anthem guy with a song -- and music video -- that's unlike anything in the format. The 33-year-old calls his third single from the 'Days of Gold' album one of the most important of his career, and the video reflects that.

The first person one sees after the singer is Travis Meadows, the song's troubled writer. It was Meadows who first cut the song. Owen discovered it while listening to his 'Killin' Uncle Buzzy' album, called him up and asked to record it.

“Everything he went through to write this song, you can see it in his face, too,” the country singer says. "He went through a lot, from addiction to losing his wife and separating from her and his son.”

While the video includes a few actors -- like the little boy with the American flag -- there are plenty of real life survivors helping him. Owen recalls pulling up to the video shoot and seeing the woman with no hair, a cancer patient. The woman at the end (spoiler alert) is truly paralyzed.

“I think it was just important to have real people and real scenarios in this song to help with the message of it," he insists.

The concept was the country singer's brainchild, with help from director Mason Dixon and a few people at his label. It was initially and loosely inspired by Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' music video. His goal was to visually convey the emotions of a powerful song.

Since he began performing the track live, Owen says he's been getting wonderfully emotional responses from fans. The song is helping with issues like addiction or loss, or even something as simple as giving a long overdue apology. It wasn't difficult for him to project a more somber persona, because he feels every note of the song each time he performs it.

“I don’t feel like I’m acting in this song," Owen says. "I just feel like I’m trying to give the message, and emote it in the best possible way.”

Watch Jake Owen Make a Special Fan's Dream Come True

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