Maren Morris

Maren Morris arrived on the national stage in 2016 when her debut album Hero and its breakout single "My Church" helped steer country music forward. Although she had already built a career as a Nashville songwriter before stepping into the spotlight herself, her recordings fused country foundations with pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock, producing a sleek, modern sound that reached listeners well beyond traditional country circles. That breadth surfaced clearly on the subsequent hits "80s Mercedes" and "Rich," while her crossover reach became unmistakable with the buoyant 2018 dance-pop track "The Middle," a collaboration with Zedd and Grey. Even after she reached the pop Top Ten via 2019’s Girl, she kept firm ties to country through her key role in the supergroup the Highwomen. The following decade opened with further joint projects and solo releases such as the 2020 tracks "Better Than We Found It" and "Circles Around This Town"; the latter helped drive her third album, Humble Quest, to number two on the Country Albums chart in 2022. Signaling a deliberate move from country toward pop, she issued "Get the Hell Out of Here" on the 2023 EP The Bridge, then followed with the 2024 Intermission EP that included "Cut!" alongside Julia Michaels.

Born in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Morris showed an early pull toward music. She took up guitar at twelve and soon began composing her own material. At fifteen she issued her first record, Walk On, through Mozzi Blozzi Music. While studying at the University of North Texas, she released a second independent album, All That It Takes, on the Smith label in 2007. After a third self-released effort, Live Wire, in 2011, she moved to Nashville. Recognition as an "Artist on the Verge" from the New Music Seminar opened doors to professional songwriting work in the city.

She signed with Yellow Dog publishing and soon landed cuts on Tim McGraw’s 2014 album Sundown Heaven Town and Kelly Clarkson’s 2015 release Piece by Piece. She kept developing her own catalog at the same time, performing as an opening act and tracking new songs independently. "My Church" appeared on streaming platforms in mid-2015, quickly amassed more than 2.5 million streams in a single month, and drew major-label interest. Columbia Nashville signed her in September 2015 and released a self-titled digital EP that November, promoting "My Church" to country radio.

In the first months of 2016 the single advanced into Billboard’s Country Top Ten, ultimately peaking at number nine on Country Airplay and number five on Country Songs. Hero followed in June to widespread praise, debuting at number one on the Country Albums chart and number five on the Billboard 200; "80s Mercedes" became another hit before year’s end. The momentum brought four Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Country Solo Performance, the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year award, and a late-2016 appearance on Saturday Night Live. An expanded edition of Hero arrived in early 2017 as Morris headlined her own shows and supported Sam Hunt; "I Could Use a Love Song" later reached number one on Country Airplay and number seven on Country Songs. After performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas the night before the mass shooting, she wrote and recorded the response song "Dear Hate" with Vince Gill.

Morris entered the broader pop arena in 2018 with "The Middle," the buoyant dance-pop collaboration with Zedd and Grey that climbed to number five on the Hot 100. Audiences newly introduced to her work then received the glossy, sharp-witted Hero cut "Rich" as a follow-up single; it reached number four on Country Airplay and number eight on Country Songs.

Early in 2019 she previewed her second album with the title track "Girl," an empowerment anthem released amid ongoing discussion about limited airplay for women in country. The full project debuted at number one on the Country charts and number four on the Billboard 200. Although the next single, "The Bones," peaked at number 57 on Country Airplay in mid-2019, Morris had already shifted focus to the Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby. The group made its live debut at the 60th Newport Folk Festival in July 2019, and their self-titled album appeared on Elektra that September. In 2020 she earned a Grammy nomination for the Girl track "Common," which featured Carlile, and released the standalone single "Better Than We Found It" in October.

After issuing the 2021 collaborative single "Bigger Man" with Joy Oladokun, Morris opened 2022 with "Circles Around This Town," the lead track from Humble Quest. She recorded the album with pop producer Greg Kurstin, whose credits include work with Adele, Beck, Paul McCartney, and Foo Fighters. It reached number two on the Top Country Albums chart and number 23 on the Billboard 200.

A year later she reunited with Kurstin and brought in pop producer Jack Antonoff for The Bridge. The EP underscored her move away from country with the pointed track "Get the Hell Out of Here." She reinforced the same direction in 2024 with the Intermission EP, highlighted by the luminous anthem "Cut!" featuring Julia Michaels.