Nick WalkerCountry/pop crossovers are the latest craze: There are two in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 right now. Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha’s “Meant to Be” is #5; “The Middle,” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey, is #8. Maren says she loves that her song is exposing pop and country fans to genres they don’t normally listen to.
“I think it’s a really powerful song and I love being a part of it, because it’s bringing a lot of country fans that wouldn’t normally listen to, like, an EDM guy [like Zedd], [and they’re listening] to him and his back [catalogue],” she tells ABC Radio. “And a lot of pop fans that don’t listen to country, now they’re listening to country! So it’s a cool collaboration in that way.”
In fact, Maren believes that in our playlist-focused society, divisions between musical genres don’t really matter much anymore
“If you listen to a song and it makes you feel something, no matter what genre it is, that’s not wrong,” she points out. “And I love that people are just hearing songs and being, like, ‘I like this ’cause it’s a good song. I’m not worried about the genre tags attached to it.'”
Maren isn’t abandoning country, but she likes the freedom she has to explore other types of music.
“While I feel like I’m always going to be very rooted in country and I’m making my next record that is very rooted in country, still, I listen to everything,” she says. “And I love being a part of these collaborations.”
By the way, the last time two different country acts were in the Billboard Hot 100 with two different songs was 18 years ago, when Faith Hill’s “Breathe” was #3 and Lonestar’s “Amazed” was #10.
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