By Sam Joseph Semon For Dailymail.com
22:52 05 Oct 2023, updated 23:17 05 Oct 2023
Maren Morris opened up about her decision to leave country music behind during an interview on The New York Times’ Popcast podcast, which was released on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old singer initially announced that she had chosen to stop writing within her former genre this past September, which led to both positive and negative reactions from her fans.
The performer, who recently appeared to criticize Jason Aldean’s controversial track Try That In A Small Town, has since expanded on her choice to quit producing country music, stating: ‘I couldn’t do this circus anymore.’
Morris began by explaining that she had altered her perspective on the issues surrounding the genre over the past few years.
She stated that she was tired of ‘feeling like l have to absorb and explain people’s bad behaviors and laugh it off.’
The hitmaker added, ‘I just couldn’t do that after 2020 particularly. I’ve changed. A lot of things changed about me that year.’
The Grammy Award-winning performer also said that the decision to leave country behind was particularly difficult, although she felt as if she had no other choice.
‘I don’t want to say goodbye, but I really cannot participate in the really toxic arms of this institution anymore,’ she said.
Morris then recalled that she was initially spurred to stop producing country music after she received a particularly hostile reaction to her 2016 tracks My Church and 80s Mercedes.
She stated: ‘Ironically, it was like, “She’s not country. Look at the way she dresses. Get the hell out of here. You don’t belong here. This is not, like, Dolly [Parton].”‘
The singer then spoke about how she was impressed by the diversity of the crowd at her first major show in New York City.
‘It felt so diverse and accepting and loving. And I’ve only wanted to continue that and amplify that through my work each time,’ she stated.
Morris first announced that she had chosen to stop producing country music during an interview with the Los Angeles Times that was shared last month.
The performer stated that she wanted to ‘burn [country] to the ground and start over,’ although she described the genre as ‘burning itself down without my help.’
The artist’s jump from country to pop was also marked by a switch to Columbia Records from the company’s Nashville division.
Morris was also involved in a feud with Aldean’s wife Brittany regarding rights for transgender children, which also influenced her decision to begin working in other styles of music.
The performer told the Los Angeles Times that she wanted to be able to push her original genre forward in terms of acceptance and tolerance for all individuals.
‘If you truly love this type of music and you start to see problems arise, it needs to be criticized. Anything this popular should be scrutinized if we want to see progress,’ she said.
Carol Dennis is an entertainment aficionado with an eye for all things pop culture. She dives into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, from movie premieres to music festivals. Carol’s passion for storytelling extends beyond her reporting, as she’s an aspiring screenwriter in her free time.
