Maren Morris Applauds Country’s New Guard of Women: “They’re All Crushing It”

Maren Morris is celebrating the current run of women at the top of country music, and she’s not being subtle about it. In a recent SiriusXM Hits 1 conversation with Mack and Jen, Morris pointed to Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson, and Megan Moroney as the artists she’s most excited about right now.

“I’m so excited that they’re all crushing it,” Morris said. Her point wasn’t just about hit songs—it was about long-overdue change. She noted that for years, women were underrepresented on charts and at major award shows, and often not paid at the level they deserved. Seeing several women break through at once, she said, feels different this time, “without competition.”

Morris also gave credit to the writers behind these records, many of whom she knows personally. “I’m friends with a lot of them and I’m super proud that they’re on these big projects,” she said, adding that the quality of songwriting has been pushing her creatively, too. “The songwriting is just getting so good and that always makes me excited to continue writing.”

Her comments land at a moment when the numbers back up the momentum. Wilson’s post-2023 CMA run helped cement her as one of country’s biggest touring names. Moroney’s breakout era around Tennessee Orange put her in the top five of the Billboard 200. Langley recently hit her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “You Look Like You Love Me,” featuring Riley Green.

Morris has long been one of the genre’s most direct voices on equity in country radio and industry pay. She’s done that while building her own commercial and critical track record: “The Bones” spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on Country Airplay, Girl won Best Country Album at the 2020 Grammys, and her 2016 debut Hero launched “My Church” and earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination.

Her latest studio album, Intermission, arrived in 2023. The full Mack and Jen interview airs weekdays at noon ET on SiriusXM Hits 1 (channel 2).