Columbia Maren Morris could take home five Grammys at Sunday’s ceremony in L.A. — an even more impressive feat when you consider that none of her nods are for her own recordings.
She has pop and all-genre noms for “The Middle” with Zedd and Grey, one country mention for her cover of Elton John‘s “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” from the Restoration tribute record, and two more country nods for “Dear Hate,” a song she released after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
“It’s just crazy,” Maren admits. “And I feel like it’s a testament to the fact that you don’t have to be one thing. And you can still be true to yourself and your sound.”
For the past two years, the Texas native has been nominated on the strength of her debut, Hero. Maren’s follow-up, GIRL, won’t be out until next month.
“To be validated by my peers at the Grammys — especially when I haven’t released my own album since 2016 — I have more nominations this year than I did the first time with “My Church” and Hero and everything,” she points out. “So it’s just crazy to for the third year in a row be nominated and then look across the board and have no two songs the same.”
The former Best New Artist nominee admits she finds particular satisfaction in the recognition for “The Middle.”
“For all the naysayers and the people that wanted to slap me on the wrist for doing a pop song,” Maren says, “it’s like now I’m one of the only people at this show nominated in both pop and country categories, so I feel like the risk paid off.”
Maren will also perform in the tribute to Dolly Parton on Sunday’s Grammys, which start at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
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