1990–present
Latest News: Maren Morris to Release First Album Since Leaving Country Music
A lot has changed for Maren Morris since her last album Humble Quest was released in 2022. She got divorced, moved away from country music, and came out as bisexual. Now, the Grammy winner is set to drop her new album Dreamsicle on May 9. The pop-leaning record will feature 14 tracks, including all five songs from her 2024 EP Intermission.
Morris previewed the album’s new music in March with her emotional single “Carry Me Through” followed by the more lighthearted and upbeat “Bed No Breakfast” in April. In an interview with Elle, the 35-year-old revealed that Dreamsicle reflects all of her life changes within the last few years, including becoming a mother.
“It represents a lot of influences, a lot of leaps of faith—just true artistic freedom, which is what I’ve always wanted, and I’ve had, but not in this way, where it’s dovetailing with my personal life freedom,” she said. “I’ve gotten to wear many hats in my career, but with my own personal project upcoming, there are no training wheels. I’m being my truest, most secure self.”
Who Is Maren Morris?
Grammy-winning musician Maren Morris is known for the songs “My Church,” “The Bones,” and “I Could Use A Love Song.” The Texas native began writing and performing music at local honky-tonks when she was just 12 years old. Eight years later, she moved to Tennessee, became a songwriter for both Tim McGraw and Kelly Clarkson, then returned to her roots as a performer with the release of an eponymous EP. Her 2016 debut album, Hero, garnered critical acclaim and made her a performer to watch in country music. After two subsequent albums, Morris decided to distance herself from the genre due to problematic aspects of its culture. Her fourth album, Dreamsicle, is set to release in May 2025.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Maren Larae Morris
BORN: April 10, 1990
BIRTHPLACE: Arlington, Texas
SPOUSE: Ryan Hurd (2018–2024)
CHILD: Hayes
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries
HEIGHT: 5 ft. 1 in.
Early Life
Maren Larae Morris was born on April 10, 1990, in Arlington, Texas, a populous city in between Dallas and Fort Worth. Her parents, Scott and Kellie Morris, are salon owners. Maren also has a younger sister named Karsen.
Maren’s first performances were of karaoke songs by LeAnn Rimes and Patsy Cline at her parents’ parties. The young singer also began honing her writing skills by penning stories and poems in school. When she was 12 years old, her father bought her her first guitar, and she started writing song lyrics and performing local gigs. Patty Griffin, the Chicks, and Sheryl Crow were among her early influences.
“I started playing all around Texas—any bar or club that would let me in there,” Maren later shared. “I was the only kid in school that had a job on the weekends!” While her sound was primarily country, she gained attention by blending different genres and has referred to herself as a “gangster June Carter.”
Songwriter
Encouraged by her friend and fellow Texan Kacey Musgraves, Morris left her hometown when she was 20 years old and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in music. Her first disappointments came when she auditioned for—and was rejected from—both The Voice and American Idol. In hindsight, she’s now thankful for the setbacks. “I think about all of the freaking talent shows I’ve tried out for in my life and I’m so glad I didn’t make any of them,” she previously told Rolling Stone Country. “I’m happier for it now.”
After those failed auditions, she began pursuing songwriting, penning songs for Tim McGraw (“Last Turn Home” in 2014) and Kelly Clarkson (“Second Wind” in 2015). Still, she never gave up on singing and eventually self-released an eponymous EP on Spotify in late 2015. After racking up 2.5 million streams in a month, Columbia Nashville was quick to offer her a recording contract.
“It wasn’t a conscious decision to be an artist,” Morris, who started with small shows before opening for acts like Little Big Town and Chris Stapleton, has explained. “It was more, am I ready to face my point of view? I would have been happy just being a songwriter, but there was a voice in my head saying you’ve got to sing these.”
Grammy-Winning Country Star
In 2016, Morris released her first major label album, Hero, as well as her hit single “My Church.” Both Hero and “My Church” reached No. 1 on the country charts and propelled her into the spotlight. The debut project scored the rising performer five CMA Award nominations in 2016, and she won for New Artist of the Year. Next came four Grammy nods, including for Best New Artist and Best Country Album. At the 2017 awards show, Morris won Best Country Solo Performance for “My Church.” She competed in the same category in 2018 for her hit “I Could Use a Love Song” but, this time, left the ceremony empty-handed.
Meanwhile, Morris had been on the road in support of Hero. She opened for Keith Urban on his summer 2016 Ripcord World Tour before embarking as a headliner on her own tour in early 2017. Later that year, she joined Sam Hunt on his 15 in a 30 Tour. In June 2018, Morris opened for former One Direction band member Niall Horan in Oceania and North America for the second half of his Flicker World Tour.
The country star also focused on expanding her reach through a handful of collaborations. She appeared on Horan’s “Seeing Blind” and Thomas Rhett’s “Craving You” in 2017 as well as 2018’s “The Middle” with Zedd and Grey. The latter reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. After forming The Highwomen with Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires, the supergroup released their self-titled debut album in September 2019.
That March, Morris had come out with her second album, Girl. The titular lead single was certified platinum within months, and its follow-up became an even bigger hit. “The Bones” led the Hot Country Songs chart for 19 weeks, peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and collected award nominations at the Grammys and Academy of Country Music Awards, where it won for Song of the Year. Today, “The Bones” is a multiplatinum-certified track with the equivalent of 4 million sales. Girl won further accolades after being named Album of the Year at the CMA Awards.
Morris followed up with 2022’s Humble Quest. Anchored by the lead single “Circles Around Town,” the album was nominated for Best Country Album at the Grammys and Album of the Year at the CMA Awards.
Leaving Country
After years of critical and commercial success, Morris took a bold and unexpected step in 2023. That September, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the star revealed she was stepping away from country music over the industry’s unwillingness to address its history of racism and misogyny and its repeated gatekeeping against women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. The singer simultaneously released a two-track EP called “The Bridge,” which she said was a deliberate transition into the next phase of her career.
Weeks later in October 2023, Morris further explained her experiences and motivations on the Popcast podcast produced by The New York Times. “The indoctrination of like, ‘Stay in line, do not ever question the way we do things, because you’re lucky to even be in the door. We only let three of you in, and you made it, so shut up,’” she said. “I am so ready to, like, just go elsewhere and look at the light and bring the people who want to come along with me.” She also said her willingness to speak out has resulted in broken friendships and taken a toll on her mental health. She revealed she and her then-infant son received death threats after she criticized the way her industry handled Morgan Wallen’s use of a racial slur in February 2021.
Morris marked her break from the genre by transferring from Sony Records Nashville to Columbia Records based in New York City. Additionally, she will no longer submit her music for country music awards consideration.
Post-Country Music: New Album
Morris is set to release Dreamsicle, her first album since leaving country music, on May 9, 2025. The pop-leaning record will feature the previously released singles “Carry Me Through” and “Bed No Breakfast” as well as all five songs from her 2024 EP Intermission. She told Elle in December 2024 that the record “represents a lot of influences, a lot of leaps of faith—just true artistic freedom, which is what I’ve always wanted, and I’ve had, but not in this way, where it’s dovetailing with my personal life freedom.”
Ex-Husband and Son
Morris was married to singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd for nearly six years. The former couple met during a songwriting session in 2013 and later collaborated on the popular duet “Chasing After You.”
The collaborators didn’t rush into a relationship. Morris and Hurd began dating in December 2015 and were engaged less than two years later in July 2017. Following their March 2018 wedding in Nashville, Tennessee, the pair welcomed a son named Hayes in March 2020. Three years later, Morris filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in January 2024.
Per the terms of their divorce, Morris and Hurd share custody of their son with Morris paying her ex-husband child support. “I feel like there’s so many emotions when you have a child with somebody, and the relationship doesn’t pan out, and you just have to put on a brave face and a consistent face for your baby,” Morris told People in 2024. Even so, Hayes has proven to be a source of inspiration for the Grammy winner. Morris wrote “Because, Of Course” about him.
In the wake of her divorce, Morris came out as bisexual in an Instagram post celebrating Pride Month in June 2024. “It was something I always knew about myself,” she later told actor Sophia Bush on her Work in Progress podcast. “I just wanted to have everything out there… I think those are things that should be forward-facing for me. You do you, but for me, I was like, ‘My life is so open now, I’m not hiding any portion of myself.’” In August 2024, Morris sang about her sexuality for the first time on the pop song “push me over” from her EP Intermission.
Quotes
- I feel like when I get into most rooms, melodies come really easily to me and they sound good in my head. I never really know until I hear the song back and it’s finished if it actually is good.
- I think if you listen to my album you could probably gather that I am not the most gung-ho conservative ideology-leaning person.
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