Maren Morris cruised into country radio in 2016 with the release of My Church, a track from her self-titled EP released the previous year. Morris takes the reigns in My Church wherein she confidently sings about country music's place in her soul, and the listener is obviously able to tell she had arrived on the long and winding path of success, making room for her spot in country music's historic home of Nashville, Tennessee.
Morris' Grammy-winning success with My Church did not arrive overnight. In fact, the hit single's release was hardly her first experience in the music business, and 'Music City' was not her first stop on her path. After releasing her debut LP in 2005, she had another stop on her road to success in the Hollywood hills when she auditioned for the hit reality TV show responsible for the career launches for a few of the most popular entertainers of the last two decades, American Idol!
Inside Maren's Sour Note
Maren Morris' journey to her current identity as a chart-topping success story did not exactly inspire a smooth path forward. By the time the country music teen queen made her way to her American Idol audition, she was already extremely comfortable with performing in front of a crowd, having gained experience from performing shows in her home state of Texas. One crowd that would be missing from her repertoire? The famous American Idol judges.
The milestone of performing to sold-out crowds would take a bit for Morris to achieve; as she later recalled the story of her 'Idol' experience to Seth Meyers, the only crowd she would perform in front of was a "20-year-old producer, who probably has no music cred" before being cut along with the rest of her group members. Luckily, Morris's mom was waiting for her daughter in the parking lot and was there for then seventeen year old to grieve the experience.
Morris' grief would be short-lived! She remained hopeful in the face of her rejection from American Idol and continued to audition for other notable singing competitions, despite having to experience what she jokingly referred to as the "Walk of shame" following her group's elimination, on the same Late Night With Seth Meyers appearance.
Not all of Morris' walks through her journey into the limelight as a successful country artist would be 'shameful': She happily enjoys taking a walk to her mailbox where a check is waiting for her from those hopeful contestants who belt out her hit songs for their own auditions.
Now that Maren Morris has achieved several artistic milestones such as winning a Grammy award and having her own NPR Tiny Desk concert, she is able to see her American Idol audition more positively in hindsight, describing the aforementioned experience of getting compensation for her songs from hopeful contestants as "Poetic justice" in the face of rejection, which can be interpreted as an example of grit and determination perfect for a country song!