Maren Morris
In need of some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We’ve got you covered. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From Lucy Dacus‘ romantic new album to Maren Morris reassuring anthem, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Lucy Dacus, Forever Is a Feeling
Lucy Dacus is ready to feel the love, as she shows on her luxurious, exapnsive new album Forever Is a Feeling. Across 13 tracks, Dacus explores the feeling of finding “the one” (album standout “Bullseye” with Hozier), helps her partner see themselves the way she does (“Big Deal”) and dedicates a gorgeous love song to her girlfriend Julien Baker (“Most Wanted Man”). With each song taking on a bigger sound for the singer-songwriter, her love of detailed songwriting remains. As she recently told Billboard: “Love is noticing.”
Trending on Billboard
Maren Morris, “Carry Me Through”
Things might be looking bleak for queer and trans rights around the world right now, which means a song like Maren Morris’ “Carry Me Through” is exactly the energy a lot of us need. Throughout this soulful, stunning new ballad (off the singer’s forthcoming new album Dreamsicle), Morris calls out our circumstances for what they are before “preaching to a choir of one” that the best ally you can find in dark times is yourself. After all, as she belts on the lush chorus, “I’m still the one who has to choose to carry me through.”
Perfume Genius, Glory
Perfume Genius has never been one for simplicity. Glory, the indie star’s bold new LP, takes a bird’s eye view of the themes Mike Hadreas has explore throughout his entire career and broadens them out to the biggest, most maximal versions of themselves. Shuffle beats and poetic lyrics punctuate Hadreas’ evolving style, as he contends with existential questions about pain, bodies, trauma, anxiety and the willingness to persevere on one of his best albums to date.
Kali Uchis, “Sunshine & Rain…”
With the good comes the bad, and Kali Uchis is ready to take both in stride on her latest track. “Sunshine & Rain…” follows the singer as she examines her own life and the context surrounding it, acknowledging that she can accept some hardship if it means that she’ll grow from it, while wondering why the world doesn’t seem to feel the same way. “Whatever happened to the human race? Did everyone’s brains get melted and deranged?” she wonders on the song. “When was it that your lost your common sense? The world needs an epiphany.”
Chloe Moriondo, Oyster
There have always been two Chloe Moriondos, each alike in their unique talent to bring A+ pop music to the forefront. Now, with Oyster, the indie pop star has taken those two sides — the sweet-but-sadistic and the glitch-pop partier — and fused them into one, unified persona. On her best work yet, Moriondo brings her killer songwriting in contact with precise — yet still experimental — production to make a fascinating album that you won’t want to stop listening to. The album is a lot like its titular mollusk; once you crack it open, you might just find a gleaming pearl inside.
Allison Ponthier, “Karaoke Queen”
Every artist fears what could happen to them after getting dropped by a major label. So when it happened to Allison Ponthier earlier this year, she was left with a question: What do I do now? The answer arrives with “Karaoke Queen,” a tender, fragile new ballad that sees Ponthier contending with her new position, realizing that there are always silver linings. Showcasing her ethereal voice and unmatched skills at confessional lyricism, Ponthier takes what was a worst case scenario and turns it into a golden example of why she is more than capable of moving on from this.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
In early April, country star Maren Morris released her children’s book Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure, in collaboration with former schoolteacher Karina Argow. According to the interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, they have known each other for about 11 years. This long-lasting friendship evolved into a collaborative partnership. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
Country star Maren Morris moderates a drag roundtable with queens Symone, Sasha Colby and Eureka O’Hara and drag king Landon Cider to discuss the recent wave of bills targeting drag performers and trans people. Maren Morris:Hi Billboard I’m Maren Morris. What better way to celebrate Pride month than to talk to the most incredible artists […]
Maren Morris and Marcus Mumford have teamed up for a rendition of “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb),” an Amazon Original performance out Friday (March 17) via Amazon Music. The song is a reimagined version of the single, which first appeared on Aurora, the debut album from fictional musical group Daisy Jones & The Six — the subjects of the eponymous limited series that debuted March 3 via Prime Video.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Mumford co-wrote the original version of the song with Blake Mills. Mills also served as the producer for both the original track and the Mumford-Morris version.
Morris said via a statement, “Shows depicting the reality of what it takes to become a band or what it’s really like touring can so often get it wrong. One of the components of ‘Daisy Jones’ is that they chose to ground this fictional universe with real songwriting. The music in the show that Blake Mills created and the incredible performances by the actors gives this world a heartbreaking authenticity. I’m so honored to have gotten to sing on ‘Look At Us Now’ with Marcus.”
Mumford added, “Blake and I wrote ‘Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)’ together – with a bit of help – about a year and a half ago for Daisy Jones & The Six. This time around, we stripped the song right back down to acoustic guitar and a vocal – which is how it was written – and then kind of built it back up from there until we landed on an arrangement that we liked. I’ve been a fan of Maren for a long time – both her solo music and her work with The Highwomen – and this duet needed a voice like hers. We’re just honestly so thankful she agreed to do it.”
The original version of the song featured lead vocals from series co-stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin. For the week of March 18, Daisy Jones & the Six topped Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, while the group’s album Aurora topped the Soundtracks chart.
Hear the collaboration from Morris and Mumford below:
-
Pages