I just love Dolly so much, and Loretta. They both are songwriters that knew what they wanted to say; they were bucking a system.
— Maren Morris
To turn the radio on and hear so much more diversity, it's so refreshing. That voice that cuts through what you've been hearing, it's inspiring.
I've always had an ear for melodies, and they veer pop. My lyrics are more country - what I love is the storytelling and the structure, how tight the rhymes can be. But pop melodies have always been intrinsically linked to my writing style.
Every time I've seen Sheryl Crow perform, it's like effortless perfection. She's so relaxed onstage, but she's really locked into the music and having fun. Vocally, I've always looked up to her.
As a touring musician over the last 15 years, before streaming and iPods, you had to listen to terrestrial radio wherever you were. That's always been my way of connecting to a location. Turn on the radio, search through the dial.
Enjoy every moment because it is so good and just a testament to all the work you've put in.
I'm not trying to dog any artist or genre, but to me, there is a lot of diversity missing from the radio. I miss turning the radio on and getting punched in the soul with a great lyric.
A really big thing I've learned - and I think it's so liberating - is when you realize no one knows what they're doing.
I drive to clear my mind, like many people do. It's like, once you get in the car, whatever song you put on, it's so symbiotic. Your mood could change in a second.
I didn't move to Nashville with any inkling or dreams of getting a record deal. I didn't have those stars in my eyes. I just wanted to take a break, relax, and figure out songwriting.
If I had been thrown out into a radio tour when I was 18, or 17, and given a record deal, I don't think... it would have been a total nightmare.
When you walk off the stage, I think the end point is that you enjoyed yourself. I get to say that almost every time - either I made a few new fans or something resonated.
As a songwriter, I feel like, just for inspiration and research purposes, I have to listen to everything.
Don't forget to celebrate. When I was first coming up, everything was so serious - we were always rushing to get to the next thing - that we didn't take the time to say, 'Man, look what we did just now.'
Texas is really special in that we have our own music scene, our own music chart. It's almost a genre on its own. It feels like you can make a great living just touring the state because it's so big, but eventually, I wanted a new challenge.
I didn't grow up around a lot of souped-up automobiles. I love my Prius.
I'm a '90s kid, so I loved 'NSync and the Spice Girls.
I feel like, genre-wise, the walls are coming down in Nashville. There are so many writers who have moved to town from all walks of life. There's this immense respect for country, but there are pop songwriters, R&B. Nashville has become sort of this go-to writing city for every genre.
It's a pipe dream, but for me, I've always wanted a Tesla. I would never have to go to a gas station.
I'll just drive around if I'm stuck on something or have a case of writer's block.
The songwriting community in Nashville really is all about your talent. It's not about your image, and you have to be humble. You have to be kind. You have to have zero ego when you walk into that writing room.
I started to see this common theme with the songs that I was writing or co-writing, and it all had this really strong, independent point of view that I had subconsciously been craving from the music scene.
