Maren Morris - "My Church"

[kw9461]

Jan 4, 2016 23:14:08 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Jan 4, 2016 18:45:36 GMT -5 cws3030 said:

I feel OTV coming.

Oh goodness, I don't wanna get my hopes up for this but lordy would that be an awesome choice. I'm sure this would be the "Burning House" of 2016 for sure if given that kind of exposure.

I'd be ecstatic if it were chosen, but I mean how can this compete with that godawful Chris Lane song that seems to be a lock for OTV

[.indulgecountry]

Jan 5, 2016 11:32:56 GMT -5 g8erboi said:

I'm fearing that Maren will breakout with this song and have a Top 10 finish, but after that, radio will shaft her and treat her like the next Kacey Musgraves. Aka radio will ignore her but she will build a solid fanbase. Hoping I can be proved wrong!

Considering this has basically happened to every new female over the past 5 years thus far except for Kelsea Ballerini, this is a sadly unfortunate but all-too-real assumption to make. Hopefully we'll see more women start to buck that trend, like Kelsea has. I have a feeling Cam will also be getting another hit because "Burning House" was just too big for country radio to ignore the follow-up, whatever it may be, imo.

[trebor]

Here is the Lyric Video: 

[fe_lipeoliveira]

Jan 5, 2016 11:32:56 GMT -5 g8erboi said:

I'm fearing that Maren will breakout with this song and have a Top 10 finish, but after that, radio will shaft her and treat her like the next Kacey Musgraves. Aka radio will ignore her but she will build a solid fanbase. Hoping I can be proved wrong!

I was about to say the exact same thing. I think her style is even less commercial than Kacey's, even though My Church could easily be a radio hit. So I think she'll deliver a strong album, but won't follow through with radio. Also, I believe that she, just like her friend Kacey, won't be inclined to please everyone in the industry and put her 'artistic integrity' at stake. Or, this could also become a trend, let's hope! lol

[Deleted]

Heard this on the radio the other night already! Sounded great. Got a few positive comments on Facebook too, and the DJ praised it quite a bit.

With that said, I'm a little worried as to how this will do. I think it's going to make a pretty big splash and get off to a strong start (for a newcomer), but I could see it running into some resistance later on, mostly because I'm already imagining some listeners taking issue with Maren labeling something (in this case, radio/music) her own personal church, rather than church itself.

But I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully this one faces no such issues, and goes on to become a big hit for Maren.

[blueguitar]

Jan 4, 2016 18:45:36 GMT -5 cws3030 said:

I feel OTV coming.

me hopes......


Bobby Bones ‏@mrbobbybones · 2h2 hours ago
my NUMBER 1. will explode in 2016 artist is @marenmorris.


The way she sings and this song reminds me of one of my all time favorites, Brandi Carlile! Love Maren's vibe!

[dm2081]

I can dig this. Doesn't sound very mainstream, so I'm surprised its being buzzed about at country radio. Hopefully Bobby Bones can do some more work!

[sabre14]

Write-up in Billboard about Maren:

One of the highlights on 25-year-old Maren Morris' sure-footed self-titled EP from 2015 is a song called "80's Mercedes." So it is only natural to scan for a vintage Benz when you're meeting the country singer-­songwriter at a pub in her East Nashville neighborhood. But you'll be disappointed: "No, I have a Prius," she says, perched on a stool. "But I'd love to have a white convertible like Richard Gere's in American Gigolo."

Like the rest of her EP, the song is a canny blend of country and pop-culture references, guitars and programming, groundedness and breezy irreverence from a Texas native with a clearly defined vantage point and a delicate nose ring. Her as-yet-untitled Columbia Nashville full-length album is one of 2016's most anticipated country releases, and she's bracing herself for a whirlwind year. "I'm in a window right now," she says. "I'm not in the teenybopper bracket, and I'm not in the 30-plus bracket. The fan response has been really widespread, age-wise."

After more than a decade of performing at ­honky-tonks, rock clubs and amateur wrestling matches in her home state, the daughter of hair salon owners moved to Nashville three years ago, which was, she says, "exactly the right time." Morris fell in with talented friends, including Kacey Musgraves and Brothers Osborne, started writing for other ­artists and, last summer, self-released five songs to Spotify.

"I wanted to see, in a Russian roulette way, 'Do these songs hold weight to anybody besides me?' " she says. "The response that came in was ­astounding. I thought there was a glitch when they told me that in two or three weeks 'My Church' hit a million streams."

The stats motivated Columbia Nashville to snatch up Morris and quickly plan an album. "With ­streaming services, the walls have come down a bit on genres," she says. "So I never really set out to make a country record or a pop record. I just wanted to make it mine. And this may seem self-indulgent, but I've been rocking out to the mixes in my car." The Prius, that is.

[43dudleyvillas]

Jan 5, 2016 13:24:02 GMT -5 fe_lipeoliveira said:

Jan 5, 2016 11:32:56 GMT -5 g8erboi said:

I'm fearing that Maren will breakout with this song and have a Top 10 finish, but after that, radio will shaft her and treat her like the next Kacey Musgraves. Aka radio will ignore her but she will build a solid fanbase. Hoping I can be proved wrong!

I was about to say the exact same thing. I think her style is even less commercial than Kacey's, even though My Church could easily be a radio hit. So I think she'll deliver a strong album, but won't follow through with radio. Also, I believe that she, just like her friend Kacey, won't be inclined to please everyone in the industry and put her 'artistic integrity' at stake. Or, this could also become a trend, let's hope! lol

While I'm picking up a similar "won't be inclined to please everyone à la Kacey" vibe from Maren Morris that you are (perhaps because of her comments about being sick of hearing about love songs on country radio and wanting to separate herself by being a young woman who doesn't "gush about some dude"), I don't think I agree that her style is less commercial than Kacey's, at least not Pageant Material Kacey. This is just based off of her EP, but "'80s Mercedes" & "Drunk Girls Don't Cry" sounds very mainstream pop to me (well, at least Hot AC-friendly, if not current CHR/Top-40-friendly). Even though I think that an unhealthy portion of country radio giving Kacey the cold shoulder has to do with her unwillingness to simper for programmers, I think another major part of the issue is that her sophomore album's sound hews so much to a late '60s/early '70s countrypolitan sound that programmers find it to be a sonic mismatch to their current playlists. Based on her EP, I don't think Maren Morris is going to have that issue at all - busbee's production on her EP features tons of vocal reverb, synth and programmed beats that feel very current to country radio. Moreover, she is signed both to Sony's Nashville branch and its New York branch, which suggests a belief that she could cross over to the pop formats.

Like some of you, I've been wondering about the possibility of "My Church" becoming the next On the Verge selection. Currently, fourteen out of "My Church"'s eighteen starters are iHeart stations, but I'm wondering if that's a by-product of some early Bobby Bones spins. "My Church" is at #40 on the iTunes Country chart, ahead of what is probably its biggest competition for On the Verge, Chris Lane's "Fix" (which is at #53), and with less airplay. I haven't been tracking daily streaming activity and know that "My Church" built up a sizable early advantage that probably contributed to its nearly 4.4 million current Spotify streams, which is nearly triple what "Fix" had.

So it seems to me that the metrics are there to support a "My Church" pick, and it also feels like there is a critical mass of buzz that would allow iHeart to look good by association were it to support "My Church." Moreover, the way the Billboard article talks about Maren Morris' album (it has the feel of advance promotion having already begun) makes it sounds like the label might have an idea of when it might come out, which suggests that they have particular reason to believe that "My Church" will be a hit and, more to the point, how fast it will go up the charts. That all points to a possible On the Verge selection, as well -- it's unusual for a label to know how fast a new artist's song is going to rise and to be able to plan for an album release before the single has even gone for adds, but On the Verge allows for that kind of planning.

[layne]

I don't agree with the Kacey comparisions. I think Maren Morris is much more commercial and much more Pop and I'm betting her attitude toward radio is much more pleasant.

[sbp17]

Eh, I don't share the love for her. I don't particularly care for her voice and it's sometimes grating to me. I was also a bit bothered by her "not really set out to make a country record or a pop record" and walls coming down on genres so I decided to check out her other material which seems decidedly less country than this. It's a Sam Hunt type of thinking, at least to me. But maybe it's the new norm and I'll just have to soon accept it.

[tryexp]

I think Maren has some "more country sounding" songs that will probably make it to the album (like Checkered Past: youtube.com/watch?v=n31J8D6UGGw and there used to be a song titled "Loose Change" on youtube as well), but she needs to release singles that are more likely to create buzz and to be played at Country Radio...Kacey isn't played on radio for a lot of reasons but one frequently voiced is that she is "too country for country radio". So I see Maren's (or Sony's) choice of releasing more commercial songs as a clever move (I believe this song was a huge success on Spotify as well).

[sabre14]

Jan 9, 2016 13:22:35 GMT -5 43dudleyvillas said:

Jan 5, 2016 13:24:02 GMT -5 fe_lipeoliveira said:

I was about to say the exact same thing. I think her style is even less commercial than Kacey's, even though My Church could easily be a radio hit. So I think she'll deliver a strong album, but won't follow through with radio. Also, I believe that she, just like her friend Kacey, won't be inclined to please everyone in the industry and put her 'artistic integrity' at stake. Or, this could also become a trend, let's hope! lol

 Like some of you, I've been wondering about the possibility of "My Church" becoming the next On the Verge selection. Currently, fourteen out of "My Church"'s eighteen starters are iHeart stations, but I'm wondering if that's a by-product of some early Bobby Bones spins. "My Church" is at #40 on the iTunes Country chart, ahead of what is probably its biggest competition for On the Verge, Chris Lane's "Fix" (which is at #53), and with less airplay. I haven't been tracking daily streaming activity and know that "My Church" built up a sizable early advantage that probably contributed to its nearly 4.4 million current Spotify streams, which is nearly triple what "Fix" had.

So it seems to me that the metrics are there to support a "My Church" pick, and it also feels like there is a critical mass of buzz that would allow iHeart to look good by association were it to support "My Church." Moreover, the way the Billboard article talks about Maren Morris' album (it has the feel of advance promotion having already begun) makes it sounds like the label might have an idea of when it might come out, which suggests that they have particular reason to believe that "My Church" will be a hit and, more to the point, how fast it will go up the charts. That all points to a possible On the Verge selection, as well -- it's unusual for a label to know how fast a new artist's song is going to rise and to be able to plan for an album release before the single has even gone for adds, but On the Verge allows for that kind of planning.

I wonder too about the fact those starters are a factor of Bobby Bones spin support but when you look at all the numbers in favor of "My Church", it does support the OTV selection. In fact, if it wasn't for the existence of "Fix", I would be 99% sure Maren Morris would be the pick.

"My Church" is already spinning at well over 20 monitored Mediabase stations and HDD is already showing 6 committed stations to adding Maren's song this Monday (that number will surely go up significantly by Monday). The song should have a good shot to rise into the Billboard top 50 as I count 150 spins and nearly 1.3 million in MB audience for "My Church" as of Saturday...and that's more than a week before the official add date. Sony/Columbia Nashville is really putting Maren's name out there and the fact her name is already showing up in so many high profile places (Bobby Bones, Billboard, Country Aircheck, Music Row, HDD, etc.) might suggest that she will be iHeartMedia's selection for the first part of 2016 and these build-up is a bi-product of that.

Even if she isn't, I'm supremely confident that "My Church" will be a breakthrough debut single anyway since it'll already get a massive amount of adds by its impact day and it should be in the Billboard top 50 (perhaps close to the top 40) by that impact day. Things couldn't be looking much better for Maren Morris at the moment.

[Deleted]

Part of me actually believes that neither Maren Morris or Chris Lane will get OTV. I feel like Chris Lane has just gotten up too fast for it to be truly be OTV and I think they would have already announced him as OTV and I mean holy cow if he is OTV than they better announce because my Billboard Country AirPlay predictions have him right now at #32 with a possibility of Top 30 if any of the 3 wildcards go recurrent (Chase Bryant, A Thousand Horses, Lee Brice) so I really don't see how Chris Lane would be OTV with him already nearing the Top 30.

For Maren Morris I just think she's such a hyped newcomer that I think the momentum from that will carry "My Church" instead of OTV.

[sabre14]

Maren Morris has been tapped as the opening act on Keith Urban's new RipCORD World Tour, along with Brett Eldredge.

[cws3030]

Jan 11, 2016 13:58:21 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Maren Morris has been tapped as the opening act on Keith Urban's new RipCORD World Tour, along with Brett Eldredge.

getting OTV helps land this tour, IMO. I'd bet she gets the nod, I'm sure we'll find out soon.

[cws3030]

Jan 4, 2016 18:45:36 GMT -5 cws3030 said:

I feel OTV coming.

31 adds a week before add day...gotta be OTV.

[g8erboi]

I'm gonna die from happiness if she actually does get the OTV. Don't wanna keep my hopes up though, because there's still Chris Lane -_-

If they use the OTV for him, that would be a complete waste...

[sabre14]

Jan 11, 2016 21:55:45 GMT -5 cws3030 said:

Jan 4, 2016 18:45:36 GMT -5 cws3030 said:

I feel OTV coming.

31 adds a week before add day...gotta be OTV.

21 of them iHeartMedia, too. It should be Maren.

[.indulgecountry]

Wow things are lining up so nicely for her debut, oh my God! I can't wait!!

[kanimal]

Jan 9, 2016 20:37:44 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Part of me actually believes that neither Maren Morris or Chris Lane will get OTV. I feel like Chris Lane has just gotten up too fast for it to be truly be OTV and I think they would have already announced him as OTV and I mean holy cow if he is OTV than they better announce because my Billboard Country AirPlay predictions have him right now at #32 with a possibility of Top 30 if any of the 3 wildcards go recurrent (Chase Bryant, A Thousand Horses, Lee Brice) so I really don't see how Chris Lane would be OTV with him already nearing the Top 30.

For Maren Morris I just think she's such a hyped newcomer that I think the momentum from that will carry "My Church" instead of OTV.

Not sure I follow the first paragraph.  Wouldn't a fast rise be a potential indicator that it's On The Verge (or at least a good candidate for On The Verge)?  There's no rule that iHeart needs to announce or even make the selection before the song begins its run, in fact, there seems to be a school of thought against that on some formats.  Didn't the Granger Smith announcement come long after we all suspected it here (ie - long after airplay began to grow)?  And Post Malone's "White Iverson," a recent pick at rhythmic radio, didn't become the "On The Verge" song until it was in the Top 20.   I think RaeLynn was ~Top 35 when her OTV push started?

The main reason I wouldn't suspect Chris Lane of being On The Verge is that there are clearer signs supporting Maren Morris as the new selection.

As for Maren, isn't your explanation exactly why she'd be a good pick?  The program's credibility hinges on it being successful, so throwing support behind a song likely to make the most of the initial push and then survive once OTV ends is the safe way to go.

I mean, yes, in an ideal world the program would boost songs that radio isn't already willing to support (talented musicians from smaller labels who NEED On The Verge to be heard), but the risk you run with that approach is picking songs that radio *shouldn't* support.  So given the inherently flawed system, I'd be very happy with a Maren Morris selection.

Which, for the record, is what I expect to see announced shortly.

[ant]

What is OTV/On The Verge?

[Kurt]

Jan 12, 2016 19:11:30 GMT -5 ant said:

What is OTV/On The Verge?

It's a program from iHeartRadio where an artist is chosen every so often (it was seemingly monthly at first, but not so much anymore) and, when chosen, receives at minimum 150 spins per station on every iHeart-owned station on the format within a period of six weeks. For more, see this Washington Post article on it, plus our country and cross-genre threads about the program and its selections.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2016 19:11:30 GMT -5 ant said:

What is OTV/On The Verge?

As Kurt posted, it's a program on iHeartMedia (formerly known as Clear Channel) stations that gives accelerated airplay to new artists. Program directors at iHeartMedia stations choose a new OTV song every 2-3 months, and the program guarantees that song a certain amount of spins in a 6-week window.

Normally new artists climb the charts very slowly, but the lucky ones that get selected for OTV will blast through the 40's and 30's in just a few days/maybe a couple weeks at most. Recent country radio singles that were selected for OTV include Chris Janson's "Buy Me A Boat" and Cam's "Burning House". Sam Hunt's debut single "Leave The Night On" was also an OTV pick (for what it's worth, I think Sam's song would have been a hit anyway, but OTV certainly allowed it to climb much faster. Unfortunately, I don't believe "Burning House" would have become a hit had it not been for OTV airplay).

[mus1cr0w]

Im on the fence with this one.

It is instantly catchy and sounds like a hit. However, taken at its meaning, it is a tad sacrilegious.

I can see some of the same crowd who raised pitchforks against "Beer With Jesus" taking issue with this one.

Still, i dont change it when it comes on.

MR

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2016 8:36:49 GMT -5 mus1cr0w said:

I can see some of the same crowd who raised pitchforks against "Beer With Jesus" taking issue with this one.

That's what I worry about too. I really love "My Church", but I think I might like "80's Mercedes" even more, and I wonder if it might have been a better choice for her debut single. I guess that's not something we can know yet...we'll have to wait and see how "My Church" does.

[g8erboi]

Hmmm so they announced Granger as the OTV on October 15, which was mid-October, and a Thursday.
Tomorrow is a Thursday and pretty much mid-January, so maybe they'll make the announcement tomorrow if this gets the OTV.

[SoMuchToSay]

I really like this! Hopefully she's nice, and doesn't fall into the Kacey Musgraves category where radio won't play her.

[sabre14]

As expected, Maren Morris' "My Church" has been named the next "On The Verge" artist/song by iHeartMedia.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2016 9:33:18 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

As expected, Maren Morris' "My Church" has been named the next "On The Verge" artist/song by iHeartMedia.

Yay!! I had doubts but I'm very relieved about this. "My Church" is going to be huge!!