Morris's major-label debut studio albumHero (2016) was released onColumbia Nashville and blended country with R&B. Its lead single "My Church" became her breakoutsingle at country radio and was followed by the commercially successful songs "80s Mercedes", "I Could Use a Love Song" and "Rich". In 2018, Morris was featured on the song "The Middle" written byGrey andZedd, which reached the top ten in various countries. She followed it in 2019 with her second album titledGirl, which included number one singles "Girl" and "The Bones".Humble Quest (2022) earned Morris aGuinness World Records for most first-day and first-week streams for a country album by a female artist onAmazon Music.
In addition to her solo work, she has recorded as a member ofThe Highwomen. Morris has had two albums certified for sales certifications in North America. She has scored three number one songs on theBillboardCountry Airplay chart and eight top ten songs on theBillboardHot Country Songs chart.
Morris was featured inForbes'30 Under 30 list in 2018.[4]Out Magazine recognized her as one of the most impactful and influentialLGBTQ artists of 2024.[5] Morris was included on theBillboard Decade-End of the top 50 most successful Country Artists of the 2010s.[6] In 2024, she was included on theBillboard list of the 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time.[7]
Morris was born inArlington, Texas to Scott and Kellie Morris, who met at a bar in Dallas where they both worked.[8][9] Maren was named after actressMaren Jensen, whose name Kellie came across while watchingBattlestar Galactica.[10] She has a sister, Karsen, who is 3 years younger.[8][11] Maren's parents owned the Maren KarsenAveda Hair Salon and Morris spent much of her childhood at the salon.[12] She later worked there as a front desk clerk and guest coordinator.[12] In elementary school, she participated in the school choir, performed theater, and played soccer.[13]
When she was around 9 years old, at a party at her house for salon employees, she performed akaraoke version of "Blue" byLeAnn Rimes, who she idolized, at which time her parents discovered that she can sing.[8]
In September 2000, aged 11, one of Morris's first performances was at Johnnie High's, a country music talent show similar in style to theGrand Ole Opry.[8][14] From that moment, Morris realized that "this [singing] is my calling".[8]
Morris started touring her home state of Texas when she was 11 years old. Her father acted as her roadie, manager, and booking agent.[8] Morris often performed in bars and clubs inDallas andFort Worth.[15][16] She considered music to be her "weekend job".[8]
When she was 12 years old, her father bought her an acousticIbanez guitar and taught her a few chords, which inspired her to start writing songs.[8][15] She went toJames Bowie High School in Arlington where she continued to play soccer, graduating in 2008. Her favorite classes were creative writing and art.[8]
That year, at the age of 15, Morris released her debutstudio album titledWalk On, released on the independent Mozzi Bozzi label and containing ten tracks of mostly self written material.[3] The record was financed by her parents who "literally sold the furniture out of the house" to pay for its recording and release, according to her mother.[19] Smith Music released Morris's second studio album in 2007, titledAll That It Takes, which also contained mostly self-composed tracks.[3]
Morris also joined a teen band called They Were Stars, with whom she playedkeyboards and provided harmony vocals.[8] In 2011, the Mozzi Bozzi label released her third studio disc titledLive Wire.[21]
Kacey Musgraves, whom Morris had met on the Texas music scene and lived in Nashville, encouraged Morris to also move to Nashville. After saving a few thousand dollars, in 2013, at 22 years old, Morris packed aU-Haul trailer and moved to Nashville.[8] Morris spent her first year in Nashville networking and meeting other writers. She was introduced to Carla Wallace, co-owner of Big Yellow Dog Music, amusic publisher. Impressed by her songwriting, Wallace signed her to a four-year songwriting contract with the company. She began co-writing material with other songwriters,[8] and her material was soon recorded by several country artists.Tim McGraw recorded "Last Turn Home" for his 2014 albumSundown Heaven Town. During a writing session for the song, she met future husbandRyan Hurd.[22][23] "Second Wind" was recorded byKelly Clarkson for her 2015 albumPiece by Piece.[16][13][24][25]
Some of her material was more personal, and Morris was encouraged by Wallace to start recording music herself. After listening to thedemo recording of "My Church", which she wrote in March 2015, Morris realized she wanted to sing the song herself.[8] It was also around this time that she met record producerBusbee, who produced the song.[26]
Morris self-released five songs on eponymousextended play,Maren Morris viaSpotify in August 2015.[27] The songs gained 2.5 million streams on Spotify in a month, with three songs appearing on Spotify's US and Global "Viral 50" chart. The success of Morris's EP attracted the interest of major labels, and she was signed to Columbia Nashville, an imprint ofSony Music Nashville, in September 2015.[28][29] The label re-released the five-song EP in November 2015. "My Church" was issued as the lead single.[30] The EP charted at number 22 on theBillboardTop Country Albums chart[31] and number one on theTop Heatseekers chart.[32]
Morris embarked on a tour withKeith Urban in 2016.[29] This was followed by the headlining "Hero" tour in 2017.[39] A deluxe edition ofHero was released in March 2017, featuring three new recordings.[40] She also provided vocals toThomas Rhett's "Craving You", released in April 2017.[41] Morris was also featured onNiall Horan's pop song "Seeing Blind", released in June 2018[42] and opened for Horan on hisFlicker World Tour in 2018.[43] In response to the2017 Las Vegas shooting, Morris released "Dear Hate", a song she had written and recorded withVince Gill, with all proceeds from the track going to the Music City Cares Fund.[44] Morris earned "Best New Artist" accolade from theCountry Music Association and several more Grammy nominations.[3]
2018–2019: Pop crossover, collaborations and continued country success
Maren Morris was a featured vocalist onZedd's 2018 single "The Middle".
Morris was chosen byZedd andGrey to provide the lead vocals for their pop single "The Middle", released in January 2018.[45] The track became her breakout pop crossover single and expanded her audience.[3] "The Middle" reached peaked at number five on theBillboard Hot 100.[46] Taylor Weatherby ofBillboard commented that the song "may have drawn the roadmap for a reliable new path to crossover success."[47] On October 5, 2018, Morris performed as a special guest duringTaylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour inArlington, Texas, performing "The Middle" with Swift.[48]
Morris's next studio albumGirl was released on March 8, 2019. According to Morris, the songs reflected her own experiences as a young woman while also highlighting the experiences of other women her age.[49]Rolling Stone rated the album three and a half stars, calling it "where Morris makes her pop move".[50] It topped theBillboard country albums chart and the reached the top five of theBillboard 200.[3] She embarked onGirl: The World Tour in 2019.[51] Itslead single of the same name reached the number one spot on theBillboard country airplay chart and number eight on theBillboard country songs chart. It was followed by the second single "The Bones", which topped both the Country Airplay and Country Songs charts in 2020.[34][33] A duet version withHozier became her second crossover pop hit, peaking at number 12 on the Hot 100[52] and number one on theadult contemporary chart.[53]Girl won Album of the Year at the 2019Country Music Association Awards.[54]
Morris collaborated with husbandRyan Hurd on the single "Chasing After You", released in February 2021.[61] The song reached the top five on theBillboard country charts.[34][33] She was the featured guest vocalist on John Mayer's single "Last Train Home", released in June 2021, and appeared on "Why You No Love Me" and "Shot In The Dark" on his albumSob Rock, released in July 2021. In January 2022, Morris released "Circles Around This Town".[62] It was followed by the release of her next studio albumHumble Quest in March 2022, produced byGreg Kurstin.[63]GQ magazine described its sound as a "return from glittery pop to her stripped-down country origins".[64]Humble Quest debuted at number two on theBillboard country albums chart[65] and number 21 on theBillboard 200.[66]Pitchfork gave it an 8.0 rating, calling it "matter-of-factly masterful".[67]Rolling Stone gave it 3.5 stars, calling it "fascinating, and proudly unresolved".[68] Morris reunited withZedd for their second collaboration, titled "Make You Say", alongside Beauz, released in August 2022.[69]
In September 2023, Morris announced her departure from the country music industry.[70] She told theLos Angeles Times that the reason for her decision is because she has "said everything" she has wanted to say. That month, Columbia released an extended play titledThe Bridge. The EP contains the tracks "The Tree" and "Get the Hell Out of Here".Greg Kurstin andJack Antonoff alternated as producers on these songs.[70]
In January 2025, Morris released her second collaboration withJulia Michaels titled "Scissors".[75]
Dreamsicle, her fourth studio album, was released in May 2025 to generally favorable reviews frommusic critics.[76][77][78] It includes all five tracks from herIntermission EP, and the singles "People Still Show Up", "Carry Me Through", "Bed No Breakfast", and "Too Good".[79][80]
Morris's music is primarilycountry[3][81] andcountry pop[82][83] with elements ofpop,R&B,hip-hop, androck.[3] Writers and critics commented that Morris's first two Columbia albums combined country with R&B and hip hop musical styles.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found thatHero (2016) included "R&B influences" that "twists the rhymes" and "[rides] the beat" while "undercutting her boasts with sly wit".[84] Jewly Hight ofBillboard describedHero as "a signifier of country-pop's fluidity and a creative process that resembles the track-building of pop, R&B and hip-hop."[82]The Hartford Courant praisedGirl (2019) for incorporating similar styles: "If a lot of male country singers dabble with hip-hop in ways that sometimes feel stilted, Morris brings straight-up elements of '90s R&B to the album on songs like the bedroom-centric 'RSVP'."[85]
When reviewingGirl (2019), Jon Caramanica described her voice as "versatile" in the way it can move between both the country and pop genres.[86] In 2019, Chris Richards ofThe Washington Post described Morris as having "the best voice of any country singer working today". Richards further explained, "Listen to her jump in and out of her lyrics and you'll hear a sophistication that feels like something metaphysical."[87]
In an interview withNPR in 2022, Morris was asked about whether she still identified with thecountry music genre and responded: "even though I live in Nashville and I'm from Texas and I feel like my songwriting at its core is country, I think you can hear a lot of different influences when you've heard any of my records."[88] Other writers have agreed, includingStephen Thomas Erlewine: "Morris's music was grounded in country -- prior to striking gold as a performer, she was a professional songwriter in Nashville -- but she also incorporated elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock, creating a distinctive, stylish hybrid that had wide appeal outside her chosen genre."[3]
"I don’t need to feel like I have to always be that person that speaks up, I think I come across a lot louder than I actually am because everyone else is so quiet."- Morris on Apple Music Country'sProud Radio with Hunter Kelly[92][93]
"I think there are people in country music that want it to be niche. They don’t want it to expand. They don’t care about it becoming more inclusive. It’s theirs, and everyone else is an other, orwoke, or whatever. That’s sad to me, because I feel like country music at its core is people’s real stories. And to think there’s only one kind of person that gets to live them out and celebrate them is not why I’ve chosen to live there or make music within those walls."
"I'm a white woman in country music. I already have this sort of leg-up. There's a huge disparity between men and women in our genre, there's even more of a disparity between white women and black women trying to be in country music."- Morris onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021[95]
Morris has been an advocate for making the country genre more equitable for fellow artists. She has commented on the inequalities particularly between white and black artists in the genre. In her 2020Country Music Association Awards acceptance speech, Morris named several black artists who helped make the award possible includingMickey Guyton,Linda Martell, andBrittney Spencer.[96]
Support for LGBTQ+ rights, feud with Brittany Aldean, and backlash in conservative media
In August 2022, Morris replied to anInstagram post made byBrittany Aldean in which she thanked her parents for not changing her gender after she went through a "tomboy phase". Both Morris and other country music singers includingCassadee Pope perceived Aldean's comments astransphobic.[97] While interviewing Brittany Aldean,Fox News Channel hostTucker Carlson referred to Morris as a "lunatic country music person."[97] In response to this comment, she sold T-shirts through her website featuring the phrase "lunatic country music person" and the telephone number of theTrans Lifeline. She also said that proceeds from the shirts would be donated toGLAAD.[97] In September 2022, she partnered with GLAAD to design a new T-shirt in honor ofSpirit Day.[98][99][100][101][102] In November 2022, she only briefly attended theCountry Music Association Awards despite being nominated, saying that she did not feel comfortable going.[103][104] In 2022, during her public disagreement with country singerJason Aldean and his wife Brittany, Aldean name-dropped Morris on his concert on Nashville, and waited as his crowd booed Morris's name.[105][106]
An opinion piece by Lauren DeBellis Appell, published byFox News, stated that Morris is a "proponent of child sex change surgeries and obsessed with allowing drag queens to shake their stuff in front of kids" and called her an "enragedKaren" and an "extreme leftist".[107]
Leaving country music industry due to misogyny and racism
Morris toldLos Angeles Times in September 2023 that she planned to leave the country music industry. She cited the country music industry's unwillingness to reckon with issues ofmisogyny andracism, as well as its reluctance to support artists fromminority groups, as her reasons for doing so.[70]Lee Greenwood criticized Morris for insulting country music and patriotism, saying that country music is by definition about patriotism.[108]
In early 2021, Morris spoke out against country artistMorgan Wallen when a video surfaced of him using theN-word, a racial slur. Morris wrote on social media: "We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse" and "I don't care if it's awkward sitting down the row from you at the next awards show — call them out!"[109] Morris said that she and her son received death threats after her comments on the incident.[110][111]
In September 2022, Morris raised over $100,000 for transgender rights afterTucker Carlson called her a "lunatic country music person" on his show.[113]
In 2017, Morris started the Heroes Fund, which raises money for music education in public schools.[114] Through the program, which was funded by fees paid by fans for "meet and greet" events at her concerts, Morris donated $70,000 to the music and drama departments ofEast Nashville Magnet High School.[115]
In August 2021, Morris joined several country artists for a concert that raised $450,000 for Together: Feeding Nashville to addressfood security in the Nashville area.[116]
Morris was named to the 2024 Women in Music Visionary list byBillboard.[117] Her actions to distance herself from the country music industry was described as "powerful" by an opinion piece inCNN.[118] She was named the Changemaker of the Year in 2023 byVariety.[119] An article inThe New York Times described her as a "risk-taker".[120]Out described her as a "groundbreaker" and "innovator".[5]
Ryan Hurd, Morris's ex-husband, performing at C2C (Country to Country) in Nashville, March 2018
Morris met fellow country singer-songwriterRyan Hurd while co-writing "Last Turn Home" for Tim McGraw.[22][23][142] In December 2015, the pair began dating. The couple announced their engagement in July 2017.[143] They got married on March 24, 2018, in Nashville.[144][145] Their son was born in March 2020.[146][147] Morris experienced some health issues during childbirth, requiring an emergencyC-section.[148] After the birth of her son, she was diagnosed withpostpartum depression.[149][150] Morris filed for divorce in October 2023;[151] a divorce settlement was reached in January 2024.[152] Morris lives 5 minutes away from her ex-husband and they still meet for dinner regularly.[153]
Morris came out asbisexual on June 9, 2024.[154][155] She said thatcoming out was her greatest accomplishment of that year.[5] She then began dating women.[156]
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