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Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends elements of pop and R&B.

In 2005, she took her first plane trip alone to attend a Grammy camp. Morris was one of several high school students from across the country selected to attend the camp sponsored by the Grammy Foundation. She got to meet industry insiders at this music workshop and at the age of 15 she released her debut studio album titled “Walk On”.
The disc was released on the independent Mozzi Bozzi label and contained ten tracks of mostly self-written material. The record was financed by her parents who “literally sold the furniture out of the house” to pay for its recording and release, according to her mother Kellie Morris. Smith Music released Morris’s second studio album in 2007, titled All That It Takes. The project was similar to her first record because it contained mostly self-composed tracks.

In her late teens, Morris auditioned for a series of television music competition programs including American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The Voice, and Nashville Star. She was rejected after auditioning for all of the television shows. Years later, Morris’s songs would be used by contestants performing in the show. Morris also joined a teen band in her teenage years called They Were Stars, with whom she played keyboards and provided harmony vocals. After graduating high school, Morris briefly enrolled at the University of North Texas but left after one semester. In 2011, the Mozzi Bozzi label released her third studio disc titled Live Wire.

During this time, she paid a visit to a friend, Kacey Musgraves, whom she had first met on the Texas music scene. Musgraves, who was living in Nashville, encouraged Morris to also make the move. After saving enough money, Morris packed a U-Haul trailer and moved to Nashville. Morris spent her first year in Nashville networking and meeting other writers. She was later introduced to Carla Wallace of Big Yellow Dog Music. Impressed by her songwriting, Wallace signed her to a four-year songwriting contract with the company. She began co-writing material with other songwriters, and her material was soon recorded by several country artists. This began with Tim McGraw, who recorded “Last Turn Home” for his 2014 album Sundown Heaven Town.

Some of her material was more personal, and Morris was encouraged by Wallace to start recording music herself. Among her personal compositions was the track “My Church”, which she wrote in March 2015. After listening to the demo recording, Morris realized she wanted to shelve the song for herself. It was also around this time that she met record producer Busbee. He was impressed by Morris’s writing and vocal delivery, later commenting, “She was singing her own music, and it was world-class. I was super freaked out — in a good way.”

In 2024, Morris performed her song “Better than We Found It” at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Morris contributed two songs to the DreamWorks animated film The Wild Robot, with the tracks: “Even When I’m Not”, and “Kiss the Sky”. The latter was met with critical acclaim, earning Morris her first nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and Satellite Awards, among others, and was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 97th Academy Awards, though it was ultimately not nominated. In late 2024, Morris released an extended play titled, Intermission, which features five new tracks and includes a collaboration with singer-songwriter Julia Michaels. Morris also released a cover of Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself”, and on October 25, she released the song, “People Still Show Up”. On November 23, Billboard named Morris the 99 Greatest Country Artist of All-Time.

On January 10, 2025, Morris released her second collaboration with Julia Michaels titled “Scissors”.On March 26, Morris announced that her fourth studio album will be titled Dreamsicle. The record includes all five tracks from her Intermission EP, and the singles “People Still Show Up”, “Carry Me Through”, “Bed No Breakfast”, and “Too Good”. The album was released on May 9, 2025, to favorable reviews from music critics.