Arlington native Maren Morris rocks stage at nine months pregnant
No one would have held it against Maren Morris if she had canceled Saturday’s RodeoHouston performance.
The Arlington native is nine months pregnant and could go into labor at any moment. The car that brought her to the stage stayed in place the entirety of her performance.
“If I go into labor during this show, it’s all good because it just means that my kid really wanted to be born in Texas,” she told the crowd of 64,661.
“He’s kicking. He knows that my adrenaline is on full blast,” she said.
Morris is one of the few women in country music who still earns substantial radio play (a whole other, unfortunate story). She’s used that position to move into new genres: the slick pop of “The Middle” and “RSVP,” the searing soul of “Once.” And she’s at home in all of them.
She shared a video Saturday morning on social media watching the “Selena” movie as she was getting hair and makeup done.
“In glam watching ‘Selena.’ I’m about to play the Astrodome tonight. Ultimate 9 month pregnant energy reached,” she tweeted.
She meant, of course, NRG Stadium. Selena played the Astrodome in 1995. In the clip Morris shared, Jennifer Lopez re-creates Selena’s legendary performance.
Morris took the stage in sparkling fringe and flared pants. The outfit’s nude illusion showcased her belly. She was surrounded by pink and blue rugs across the floor.
Opener “Girl,” the title track from her most recent album, set a jubilant tone that continued with “80s Mercedes” and “All My Favorite People.” Morris has a relaxed onstage presence and a voice that moves easily from sassy to sincere.
She asked the crowd to request her new single “To Hell & Back” and introduced “I Could Use a Love
Song,” her first No. 1 single, with a story about a drunk DJ who discouraged her from releasing it. She closed with two of her most memorable hits, “The Bones” and “My Church,” songs that showcased the best of her appeal. And she almost teared up before she left the stage.
“For the rest of my life, I’m gonna look back at this show and show my son footage of it,” she said. “And tell him it got him out the door.”