Maren Morris says she won’t ‘shame’ artists who remain on country music carousel as singer quits genre
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Singer Maren Morris has announced leaving the country music genre for good, Whiskey Riff reported on Friday, January 10.
The 34-year-old got her break in the genre, and insisted that she would not judge artists who would remain involved with it for the fear of "money or fans".
Maren Morris' complicated relationship with country music
This was not the first time Maren Morris had announced leaving country music behind, claimed the publication. The first time she voiced a similar opinion, she claimed that the media was turning her words into clickbait.
In 2023, Morris released 'The Bridge,' an EP featuring two songs, 'The Tree' and 'Get The Hell Out Of Here'. Both of them were seemingly a commentary on her leaving country music.
However, she followed that up by appearing on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' and saying, "I don’t think it’s something you can really leave because it’s a music that’s in me, and that’s what I grew up doing. That’s the music I write. Even if I’ve been sort of genre-fluid my whole career, you can’t like, scrub the country music out.”
However, according to her latest interview published by The Hollywood Reporter on January 9, Morris stated that her country music days were finally behind her and blamed it for diminishing her voice.
Maren Morris on leaving country music
Maren Morris shared with the publication that she was content with her decision to leave the country music genre behind, stating, "It was a little like a limb being cut off. My life has changed immensely from that choice. But it’s for the best.”
Discussing other singers who have made similar career moves, such as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, she elaborated, "We all had our different reasons for walking away. It wasn’t really a plan for me. I was just starting to see my voice get smaller and smaller and the ceiling lower and lower. I just felt like, ‘I’m going to have to sacrifice a lot of comforts to be able to do what I want to do'."
However, she claimed to not judge the artists who decide to stick with the genre, explaining, "I don’t shame or judge anyone who wants to stay and do the carousel. A lot of people are scared to lose money or fans."
"For me it was like, I don’t really want to do that. I’ve got finite time here and I’d like to live with myself and sleep at night," added Morris.
"You feel alone at the beginning. And it’s intentionally done to make you feel isolated from the community when you veer away from or criticize it. The last two years have been wildly uncomfortable, but that’s how I know it was right," the 'Kiss the Sky' singer said.
Morris released her five-song project, titled 'Intermission', in August 2024. The first song from the album is a collaboration with Julia Michaels titled 'Cut!'. The 2024 album followed her 2022 album 'Humble Quest' and her 2019 CMA album of the year-winning project 'GIRL'.
