-Thank you for being here.
-I am so excited to be back.
-I know. There's so much I want to talk to you about.
First of all, congrats on "The Bridge" right here.
Your EP is out now.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.
-Why did you -- Why the title "The Bridge"?
-Um, I wrote these two songs
"The Tree" and "Get the Hell Out of Here."
And I just felt like I was leaving some things
in country music behind
that didn't really, like, serve me anymore.
And so it felt like calling it "The Bridge" felt like
just the step to the next thing, whatever that is, but, yeah.
-What was the headline about, by the way?
If you don't mind talking about it.
There was some headlines like,
"Maren Morris is Leaving Country Music."
And I go, "No." -[ Laughs ] Yeah.
Well, I don't think it's something you can really leave
because it's -- -In you.
-It's a music that's in me, and that's what I grew up doing.
It'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.
-No. -It was very, like, hyperbolic.
But, you know, headlines are different
from the things you actually say.
-So you're not leaving country music.
-No, no, I'm taking, like,
the good parts with me, and all are welcome.
But, yeah, I just -- There were some, you know, facets of it
that I didn't really, like, jive with anymore.
-Agree with. -Yeah.
So -- No. I'm a lot happier now. -Good for you.
-And -- Yeah.
-I love both of these songs.
"The Tree." These are by different producers, right?
One is Jack Antonoff.
-One's Greg Kurstin. One's Jack Antonoff. Yeah.
-They're fanta-- And tonight you're doing "The Tree"?
-I'm doing "The Tree." Yeah. -Yeah.
And last night, you performed at Bowery Ballroom?
-Yeah. I'm, like, kind of hungover right now.
-Oh, my God. Alright. Good.
At least you enjoyed yourself. And you're honest. Yeah.
Okay. Good. But -- But how was it?
-It was obviously great.
-Okay. Yeah. Fantastic. Good.
-No. It was great. -I'm glad.
-Yeah. I had a lot of fun. -Yeah.
-It was just -- We're doing these fan-club shows
in major cities
where we just do these small clubs.
And I did my first Bowery show back in 2017,
so revisiting it last night felt kind of like coming home.
But they're super-intimate, and we do all, like,
the deep-cut songs that the, like, hard-core fans love.
-Do you like doing the smaller shows as well as the giant shows?
Like, the same or more? Doing the smaller ones?
-I feel like last night
was one of my favorite shows of all time
just because -- I don't know -- it just felt so free.
And we're not, like, married to a set list.
We're being a lot more, like, relaxed with it.
So I was like, "Can we do one of these
once a month just to feel like..."
-And tonight's show is even more intimate.
-Yeah! -Yes. That's what I'm --
This is what I'm talking about.
Taking it down to this beautiful studio.
Because, obviously, you know how to play.
You're doing giant arena shows.
Here's you with Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour in Chicago.
-Yeah. [ Cheers and applause ]
-You do it all.
How long have you known Taylor?
-We met -- I think it was on her Reputation Tour.
She was kind enough to ask me to come out and sing my song
"The Middle" with her.
And we were in Arlington, Texas, at the Cowboys Stadium,
which is, like, where I'm from, so she was nice enough
to, like, give me that date.
And so we met then.
And then she's just been, like, so supportive of me
and my career over the years.
And I also have -- I mean, we're the same age,
but looking up to her just since I was a teenager
and watching her navigate
her country music to pop career so gracefully.
And just the way she treats her fans is so kind and generous.
-She's kind of doing it all. -Yeah, she's setting a high bar.
And so actually, like, there was these signs
on the inside of the barricades of her stadium shows,
and it's like -- It says basically to local security,
like, "Fan-friendly show. Be kind."
So even to the, like, local security,
like, her team saying, like, "Don't mess with the fans.
Like, they're here to have fun."
And everyone's really respectful.
And it was like -- Oh, I love that.
-Yeah, she doesn't stop. -She's the best.
-I just saw you posted --
It's the 10-year anniversary
of you moving to Nashville to start your music career.
And you have an awesome photo of you and your mom.
-Yeah, my mom's here, actually, tonight.
-Wait. Where's -- Where's mom? Where's Kellie?
-Where is she? She's in...
-There's Kell-- There's Kellie! Hi, Kellie!
Mom!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Mom, you have to be very proud.
Did you always --
Did you always know that she was gonna make it?
Yeah, yeah. You knew it. Yeah, you knew it.
See, you need a supportive mom. Yeah.
But to just go out there, and you got your U-Haul truck.
You know, I was -- My senior prom,
I took a U-Haul truck to the prom.
-Hot! -Pretty cool. Yeah.
-Did you have a date? -I converted the back.
Of course I had a date. What are you talking about?
Did I have a date? Yes. Yeah, I had a date.
We converted the back to, like, a cool kind of apartment thing.
-Alright. Oh, my God. Okay.
-It wasn't -- No, no, no, no, no, no.
It's not a creepy -- No, I went with a bunch of couples.
Like, three other... [ Laughter ]
No, no, no! I didn't -- No, no, no!
I didn't do -- No, no, no. No. We were kids!
We were kids. We were hanging out.
And we were just -- We were having high-school fun.
-Yeah.
[ Laughter ]
-And we had a driver.
No one -- Yeah. It was all -- Anyway.
Anyway. Yes, I went -- Anyway. Okay. Alright. Well...
-Okay. -Well...
did you have fun at prom?
[ Laughter ]
-We're not turning this on me now.
-No, we're not. Not at all.
Can I talk about this, by the way, to make a pivot?
-Yes. Thank goodness. Yeah. -You wrote a children's book.
-I did. It's not out yet.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Yeah.
-This is out April 9th.
-Yeah, it's a spring release, so April 9th, it'll be out.
But I wrote it with my best friend Karina Argow,
and she's on the road with me, and she's a former teacher,
and we just -- Yeah, we want to get kids into gardening.
And my son's 3 1/2 now, so I was going to say...
I've read your children's book so many times to him.
-I could tell. You love it. Yeah.
-No. I love it. -[ Laughs ]
You were just rolling your eyes as you were saying it.
-You should know, like, as a parent, like, children's books.
Like, if they have a favorite, you read it just ad nauseam.
-Oh, yeah. -And yours is incredible.
-We had to get rid of "Goodnight Moon"
because I go, "That's it. We have to just get it out of the house.
I've read it a thousand times." -Yeah, it's like --
-It's a great book. I had to get rid of it. Yeah.
-Yeah, but, no, we love yours. We have all of them.
But I was just -- Yeah, I don't know.
I was gonna ask you -- what was it like sort of --
Well, obviously being a parent and writing something,
but also being able to give this thing back
to your maybe, like, inner child?
-Yeah. Interesting. That's -- You know,
I did mine just as a total joke at first
because I was like, "Well, I want my baby to say 'dada.'"
And I didn't care how she learned
how to say "dada" as long as she said it.
So I would, like, give her a bottle of milk
and I'd be like, "Dada?" -Yeah.
-You know, I didn't care if she got it wrong, you know?
So -- And it didn't work.
And so I wrote the book just trying to --
But I did it kind of as a joke.
And then it took off, and I saw kids reading it.
Wait till you see that part. -Okay.
-It's going to blow your mind. -I'll cry.
-Yes. It's the next level of something
you didn't even think was possible.
And you go -- Kids are reading your book back to you.
And it's like, oh -- It's bigger than you think.
And it's the most rewarding, coolest thing ever.
-Oh, my gosh. -Congratulations.
-Thank you. I'm so excited.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You're performing for us tonight with two special guests.
-Yeah, my really good friends
Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer
are singing with me and -- -Yes! Come on!
I'm excited about this.
You're performing "The Tree,"
and this is the TV debut of the song.
Congratulations on "The Bridge." Maren Morris, everyone.
The Bridge" is out now.
Maren is performing for us after the break.
Stick around! Come right back! Get ready!