After years of being a singer/songwriter of country music, the 'My Church' songstress reveals her decision to 'take a step back' from the genre while releasing her new songs 'The Tree' and 'Get the Hell Out of Here'.
- Sep 16, 2023
AceShowbiz - Maren Morris is leaving country music following years of creating songs in the genre. While opening up about the reason behind her decision, the "My Church" songstress revealed that it "no longer" makes her "happy."
The 33-year-old singer/songwriter announced her decision to "take a step back" from country music in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Friday, September 15. Speaking to the outlet, she stated, "I'm trying to mature here and realize I can just walk away from the parts of this that no longer make me happy."
The "Middle" singer further elaborated, "I had to take a step back. The way I grew up was so wrapped in country music, and the way I write songs is very lyrically structured in the Nashville way of doing things. But I think I needed to purposely focus on just making good music and not so much on how we'll market it. The last few records, that's always been in the back of my mind, 'Will this work in the country music universe?' "
"Being one of the few women that had any success on country radio, everything you do is looked at under a microscope," she continued. "You are scrutinized more than your male peers, even when you're doing well. So I've had to clear all of that out of my head this year and just write songs. A lot of the drama within the community, I've chosen to step outside out of it."
When asked if her criticism of Jason Aldean's wife Brittany Kerr Aldean's transphobic comments influenced her decision, the Grammy winner explained, "I've always been an asker of questions and a status quo challenger just by being a woman. So it wasnt really even a choice. I didn't think of myself as a political artist."
"I just wrote songs about real life through a lens of deep respect for my country heroes," she stated. "But the further you get into the country music business, that's when you start to see the cracks. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. So you start doing everything you can with the little power you have to make things better."
That same day, Maren released two new songs titled "The Tree" and "Get the Hell Out of Here". About her latest tracks, she described, "These songs are obviously the result of that - the aftermath of walking away from something that was really important to you and the betrayal that you felt very righteously. But also knowing there's a thread of hope as you get to the other side."
"I hope it comes across that way because I truly was in a space of hope when I wrote the two songs, even though 'Get the Hell Out of Here' is really heavy," the CMA award winner admitted. "It's about disarming that trauma and saying, 'I can't bail water out of this sinking ship anymore. It's so futile. I choose happiness.' "
Maren first released her initial project, an extended play titled "Maren Morris" consisting of five songs, back in 2015. Her single "My Church" in the EP reached number five on the Billboard country songs chart. She kept on unleashing songs, including "The Bones" and "I Could Use a Love Song". In addition, she has won a number of awards, including the Best Country Solo Performance from the Grammy Awards for her track "My Church".
