Photo: Adrianna Casiano for iHeartRadio
Maren Morris is a trailblazer in the country music industry, and she delved into her beginnings as a singer, the challenges she’s faced in her career and how she finds empowerment while doing what she loves. Morris celebrated International Women’s Day on Tuesday (March 8) with the iHeartRadio SeeHer Hear Her: Celebrating Women Who Make Music and Culture — a celebration placing gender equality center stage. The live-streamed show is team effort with SeeHer, the largest global movement to eliminate gender bias in marketing, advertising, media and entertainment.
The 2022 event spotlighted three influential artists: Morris, R&B giant Alicia Keys and pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne. The second-annual iHeartRadio SeeHer Hear Her delved into the stories behind their successes in music, and how they advocated for themselves in their respective careers.
Morris, 31, remembered growing up listening to ‘90s alt music in her parents’ car, exposed to Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Fiona Apple and “all these amazing rock goddesses.” It wasn’t until she was about 8 or 9 years old that Morris heard The Chicks on the radio, and “it was that era of women in country music” who were “beautiful and edgy, and I adored them from the get-go.” She was hooked on country and hooked on singing, even sneaking out of her room to join the parties her parents were hosting with their friends so she could sing karaoke. During a rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” Morris said her parents tell her they thought an adult was singing at first. “I was a really shy kid, but for some reason, this is where I shined, and my parents recognized I could hold a tune, and that was that.”
Adding to her love of country music – particularly of female artists she can look up to – Morris remembered watching Steel Magnolias with her mom and solidifying her love for Dolly Parton. She “was immediately a hero of mine,” Morris recalled. “I fell in love with everything she’s ever done.”
Morris knows, however, that there’s a disparity among men and women in the music industry in general, including in country. The “Circles Around This Town” singer admits that she “didn’t have any idea of gender bias in music” growing up, crediting an era of listening to Morissette, Crow, The Chicks, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and other powerhouse women:
“I felt like I saw so much representation. I didn’t realize until, probably when I moved to Nashville 10 years ago, that there was a huge lack of them, all of a sudden. I think coming into a genre at the time that I did, there were only one or two women being played at all, and most of it was through duets with men. I felt like, if I can hack it here, maybe it will help a legion of new female artists and songwriters feel like they’re represented on the radio waves.”
Morris said her skin has thickened over her years in the music industry and has remained headstrong to maintain control over her creative choices. Any time she feels that her control is wavering, “I write a song and I instantly feel like I can do this again.” She added later, “I think whether you’re in country or just in the music industry in general, there’s a ton of scrutiny on women. You have to have tough skin to be in this business… You learn over time to unlearn doing those things [that make women blend in rather than embrace individuality] and know that you deserve to be here.”
The hour-long iHeartRadio SeeHer Hear Her show livestreamed on iHeartRadio's YouTube and Facebook pages on International Women’s Day. It’s available on demand through March 14.