Maren Morris recently released new music, but says she is getting out of the country music industry as of late.
The 33-year-old singer-songwriter revealed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that she is leaving the genre and plans to release music on Columbia Records. The singer currently releases music with Columbia Nashville.
The Grammy winner also opened up about her decision to “take a step back,” explaining that she’s felt “very, very distanced” from industry and its politics. “I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over,” Morris told the outlet of country music. “But it’s burning itself down without my help.”
The singer, who has also collaborated with the likes of Zedd, opened up about the challenges within the country industry and being outspoken about her beliefs.
The singer has been an active supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and even called out the likes of Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany Kerr Aldean for her transphobic comments.
“I’ve always been an asker of questions and a status quo challenger just by being a woman. So it wasn’t really even a choice,” Morris said. “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 un-see it.”
She added, “I’m trying to mature here and realize I can just walk away from the parts of this that no longer make me happy.”
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The star continued, “Being one of the few women that had any success on country radio, everything you do is looked at under a microscope. You’re 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.”
Morries also stated that 46-year-old Aldean’s controversial song “Try That in a Small Town” has people streaming for other reasons than the actual music.
“People are streaming these songs out of spite. It’s not out of true joy or love of the music. It’s to own the libs,” she said.
Fans speculate that her latest single “The Tree” includes references to Aldean’s song in her music video.
The clip also includes posters that read, “Lunatic Country Music Person,” it also appears to include a nod to how former Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson labeled her as such.
