Maren Morris’ debut single, “My Church,” may have been the song that introduced her voice to the world, but it was another tune that Maren credits as changing her life. Early in her songwriting career in Nashville, Maren teamed up with fellow musician (now-boyfriend) Ryan Hurd to pen a song titled “Last Turn Home.” The song found its way onto Tim McGraw’s 2014 album, Sundown Heaven Town, and Morris says that moment helped solidify her as a songwriter in town.  Maren tells People, “To have Tim be the first person to ever cut one of my songs was just the purest form of validation.”

·       But Maren also admits that she couldn’t remain purely a songwriter for long; there was an itch to make her own music, too. She says, “I missed being onstage behind the microphone. After a while it was hard to hear another voice singing my lyrics.”