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Writer's pictureRebecca Holt

Maren Morris and the Country Music Genre

Updated: Sep 18, 2023

Maren Morris is leaving the Country Music genre.

 

Does this surprise me? No. Was this a matter of time? Yes. Should she leave Country? Yes.

 


To further discuss this topic, we should take the advice of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music and start at the very beginning.

 

Most people know Maren Morris from her breakout song “My Church” which was released in 2016. This song was indeed Country and expressed a shared feeling about how Country music makes a lot of people feel. The song describes how Country Music revives your soul and provides an escape from this world and our sins that helps us find a sense of renewal and belonging. The song provided a beacon of hope for the future of the genre. It showed that there were still people out there who just “got it” when referring to why people love Country.

 

Maren Morris’s entire first album was fantastic. It had depth, versatility, strong messaging, passion, and soul……….. but, everything after that album took a turn in a different direction. I would never say a bad direction because the music she put out after the first album was still quality and I enjoyed some of it; however, it was not very “country”, and it lacked almost all the characteristics ^ I stated the first album had. She began leaning into an R&B vibe with her next two albums (which she does well), and she lost some of the hard-hitting messaging and depth in her music. It did seem a bit more superficial but not completely because she still gave us songs like “A Song for Everything”, “To Hell & Back”, “Good Woman”, and “What would this World Do?”.  With all this being said, it does appear though that her music simply evolved into something else over time. It was a natural progression to lean into other topics and sounds. This isn’t a bad thing.

 

I think her last album titled “Humble Quest” indicated how she couldn’t really walk the fine line of Country and her own more R&B style that she was leaning towards. The album had barely two singles and did not truly make an impact on the Country scene at all. It was just not enough of anything to make it notable. Because of all of this, I think it’s a good thing for her to leave the Country Music genre. She can embrace other topics, sounds, and styles that it appears natural for her to do so. It truly does feel like the next step. To even further this point, most of her best-selling hits (other than my church) were not Country. She had “The Middle” with Zedd, “The Bones” with Hozier, and “Seeing Blind” with Niall Horan. Each of these songs are good, but not Country. She should keep going with this and make the music she wants if she feels she does not fit under the Country Music umbrella anymore.

 

Notice how I talked about all this without mentioning politics……….? Hmmmm

 

As we most likely have all noticed, Maren Morris has gotten into a few feuds and is politically outspoken. It is every American’s right to have and form your own opinions regarding the state of the USA, and it is their freedom to speak those opinions out loud. It is a slippery slope though with those that have influence over others and a platform. They are still allowed to state their opinions, but should they really be yelling them from the roof tops? Should they almost be demanding that all others fully agree with them? Should they entangle their personal opinions entirely with their entertainment careers? Should their platform be overused for political advocacy instead of the promotion of their work? I’d say the answer to these questions is no.

 

While the decision as to whether Maren Morris did any of the above is left up to each individual person, it should be brought up because she herself is blaming politics and Country Music fans for why she is leaving the genre. She is claiming that the genre is “burning itself down” without her help, and she stated that fans of the genre are streaming certain songs that are more conservative leaning simply out of spite and not because they actually enjoy the music. Lastly, she blames “the Trump years” for how the genre has now shown that it is misogynistic, racists, homophobic, and transphobic. These are her statements. Take them as you wish.

 

The first thing I will say is that if this is true and if she genuinely believes it, why would she not stand up for her beliefs and try and show that the genre does not have to be this… peacefully. We are supposed to be the change we want to see in the world. So, be it. I do have to give her some credit for two songs she put out titled “Dear Hate” and “Better than We Found It” because I think that when she released these two songs, she did exactly what you should do as a musician who wants to see change happen. She used her gift to craft a piece of art that would hopefully inspire change. She could also simply continue to live her life showing inclusivity to those around her and be what she herself wants the genre to be.

 

HOWEVER, I do believe that these statements are over exaggerated and/or way too all-encompassing. I would never deny that this world has its downfalls and has been at some point in time all of those words she used to describe the genre. Because at some point in time/an instance/a situation society has been those things. It is inevitable that she would come across someone in the genre that is in fact one of those things. This does not mean that the genre itself is those things. To just so blatantly deem the entire genre each of those words is irresponsible. What happened in the seven years since she released “My Church?”. There is no way that one can go from believing in Country Music that much and in that way to then go calling it some of the worst possible things? Again, I am not saying that there are/were not people in the genre that showed some of these characteristics, but it is a big step to encompass the entire genre and leave it because of these conclusions.

 

I also think it is absurd to act like this information is new or so terrible when artists like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Miranda Lambert, and Brothers Osborn show that it is possible to stand up for things Maren Morris herself advocated for yet claimed were impossible to achieve. Those artists simply live their lives showcasing the change that they want to see in the world. They do this gracefully and without feuding. It is possible. It also shows the genre itself is not all those things she claimed it to be.

 

I also think it is a shame that she went after the fans for streaming and enjoying certain types of songs. Clearly Country Music has a large population of fans that are juts simple all-American blue-collar folks. This has and will always be the case. Obviously, these people usually lean a certain way politically. This would mean that songs that also lean into a more conservative message will be liked by them. This does make people misogynistic, racists, homophobic, or transphobic. She should also realize that fans and other artists in the genre are allowed to disagree with her. This does not make them inherently bad people. She should not hate on a fan base for enjoying a song that is written from a point of view that she refuses to even understand. Blaming politics, ignorance, or using certain words that are thrown around way too much is an easy way out.

 

The Country Music genre appeals to every day regular people. I think every individual finds the music, art, and communities that most algin with their interests, and many people have chosen Country Music because they relate to it and fit in with all the others that have done the same. The genre has evolved and continues too every day. It seems to me that it is a welcoming and relatable genre that almost everyone can find relatability within.

 

So, the argument can be made that Maren Morris should leave Country based solely off her music, but I suppose she wanted to make it a political argument.


Note: She released 2 songs while announcing her shift out of Country Music that are still categorized as "Country". So, is she really leaving? Or is this for publicity?

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lexy.mccurry
2023年9月19日

Ugh Karen Morris. Good riddance. I’ll enjoy country music without her

いいね!
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