Maren Morris Forgot the Words to ’80s Mercedes’ in the Middle of Her ‘Saturday Night Live’ Set
Maren Morris is a professional entertainer. She’s wowed millions of fans with her (mostly) country music style that combines pop, R&B, and hip-hop.
However, even the most seasoned performers can get flummoxed at some point, which happened when the bright lights of Saturday Night Live shone down on the Humble Quest songstress.
Maren Morris was already an industry veteran in 2016 when ‘Saturday Night Live’ came calling
Morris had moderate success touring bars and clubs in her native Dallas, Texas. She’d started at age 11 with the blessing of her parents, according to Wide Open Country. In 2005, at age 15, the country superstar released her first album Walk On.
Then she visited her friend Kacey Musgraves, and Morris got serious about country music. She moved to Nashville, was introduced to some heavy hitters in the industry, and wrote a song for Tim McGraw in 2014 called Last Turn Home.
Her breakthrough happened in 2016. Morris’s self-released album Hero sold 2.5 million copies in a month. Columbia Records signed her, and the country music world opened up for Morris.
Maren Morris was in a whirlwind of activity when she performed on ‘SNL’
Even though she had been in the music industry for 11 years by the time she made it to Saturday Night Live, Morris still battled performance anxiety. She was already on tour with Keith Urban to market her successful album when she pivoted to performing on SNL.
She said in an interview with Bobby Bones, “I was performing “’80s Mercedes,” and in the middle of it, I blinked. And you can’t tell if you watched the video. Like, it’s probably two seconds of silence for me. But I completely forgot all my lyrics, and then it came back. I didn’t have a meltdown, but yeah, that’s always going to be around.”
This is coming from the young lady who famously performed nine months pregnant at Rodeo Houston in March 2018 in front of 65,000 fans who witnessed one heck of a performance.
‘80s Mercedes’ is not Maren Morris’ top hit
Although part of her breakout album, “’80s Mercedes” is not Morris’ No. 1 hit. “The Middle,” a crossover hit with Zedd and Grey, reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, showcasing the songwriter’s prowess with non-country fair.
Her most popular hit, according to Billboard, is “The Bones,” which lasted a whopping 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts — pretty remarkable when fans may consider her top songs “Chasing After You,” “Circles Around This Town,” or “My Church” (also from her 2016 album that launched her career).
What’s Morris up to now?
She finishes her Humble Quest tour in October 2022 before taking a break. In January 2023, she goes to Orlando, Florida, where she will be part of a tripleheader alongside Ellie Goulding and En Vogue at the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions concert series held in conjunction with the annual LPGA event.
