Maren Morris Says The Idea Of Her Becoming A ‘Pop Star’ is ‘Hilarious’

Any rumors surrounding the possibility of Maren Morris leaving country music to pursue a career as a “pop star” have officially been put to rest. In fact, she finds the idea of her undergoing a major genre shift to be laughable as she is loyal to her Texas roots.

She’s Not Trying To Be A Pop Star

Morris made this clear during an interview with Variety, which recently honored her as Changemaker of the Year. As she opened up about the current stage of her career with the outlet, the female songstress confirmed that she will be staying in Nashville, staying in country music and continuing her mission of trying to make the genre a more diverse community that is accepting of everyone. 

“You don’t fight for what you don’t love,” Morris shared over the Zoom call. “I do all of this because I want it to be better for everybody, not just for the few.” 

It’s no secret that the female songstress has found herself flooded by backlash as a result of her standing up for what she deems to be right and calling out the actions of artists like Morgan Wallen and Jason Aldean. Speaking her mind led to her being outcasted by many fans and members of the country music community and ultimately questioning her place in the industry. 

She Says The Idea Of Her Going Full Pop Is “Hilarious”

Despite all that, when Variety asked whether or not she could see herself fully transitioning into the pop realm, Morris stated, “Obviously no — like, that’s hilarious.”

Even though she plans to stick around for the foreseeable future, Maren will be going about things differently from now on. She even reflected on a particular eye-opening moment at the 2020 CMA Awards when she looked around the room and for the first time really took notice of the lack in diversity among her peers. 

“I looked around at the crowd and stupidly realized for the first time that there were basically only white people there,” Morris said before adding, “I wish that I had woken up sooner.” 

Throughout her career, she has kept her head down and followed the perimeters put around her music by music industry executives and country radio and as a result racked up five ACM Awards, five CMA Awards and three No. 1 songs. She saw success with this path, but now she wonders, at what cost? This changed mindset has guided her towards learning to play to the beat of her own drum by stepping away from the pressures of writing for the purpose of being accepted by country radio and praised at award shows.

“I don’t think of myself as this badass or anything; I just got so sick of being a yes person to get ahead,” Morris told the outlet of her decision to pave her own path in country. “I’ve been successful, but — I think — at a moral cost. I couldn’t keep doing the same song and dance.”  

Latest Project – The Bridge

The 33-year-old singer-songwriter has already started to reveal the product of her new chapter as she showcases the next era of her musical freedom through her newest songs, “The Tree,” and “Get The Hell Out Of Here.” 

“It’s really liberating to realize that I had the keys the whole time,” she says.

These tunes were released as part of a new two-song project, titled The Bridge, which included accompanying music videos that also speak heavily to her stance on the current state of country music.

“I’m not getting out of Dodge. I love living in Nashville, and I don’t consider myself an expat of country music,” she told the publication. “There’s so many amazing people here making music that matters. I’m a piece of this town, and I want to make it better in the same ways I want the music industry to be better.”

As she embarks on this journey, Morris admits there is still more to be done, but with the way things are going, she’s finally starting to feel a bit of relief and hopefulness.

“The moral is that it took a lot of sleepless nights and traumas and depressions and manic episodes to get here,” she continued with a laugh. “It’s a lot of work, and I’m still very much in it. But I sleep heavier at night.”

The Bridge Shows Underway

Maren Morris is currently showcasing her latest set of releases on the road in what she calls “The Bridge Shows.” She began this run of monthly headlining gigs in Chicago, IL on October 5, followed by New York City on November 6. 

Morris is next scheduled to play The Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA on December 5.