Maren Morris has called for "more diversity" in country music.
The 31-year-old singer suggested the genre is at a "mediocre" level because women, people of colour and members of the LGBTQ community are not given enough exposure and she believes all artists would benefit if a varied range of voices were given a platform.
She told The Daily Beast: "I definitely want to see more balance when I listen to the radio or when I listen to the playlists that have country artists on it. I would love to see more diversity, more people of colour, more LGBTQ perspectives, and more women, because the percentage is very off right now.
"And I think it homogenises the sound. It keeps it at such a mediocre level. I just get excited to get back into the writing room when I hear diversity. And that doesn’t even just mean the person making it—the sounds are different. It makes for a better playing field and better music if we widen the scope of it."
Maren has been "forever changed" by what she's realised about the Nashville scene but thinks there is still a "lot of work to do".
She said: "Once you open your eyes to inequalities within your own genre or injustices that you’ve been unintentionally complicit with, you cannot close your eyes again. I am forever changed in a lot of ways and I can’t go back now that I’m awake to what I’ve seen.
"I love it here, I love this town, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. And I think we’re having those uncomfortable conversations, but it’s just not moving quite fast enough."
The 'My Church' hitmaker called on people to "stay uncomfortable" and to call out "f*****-up s***" because it is the only way society and people can change.
She said: "We retreat back into our comfort zone of privilege. And I think that maintaining discomfort is the only way forward because it is the work being done, it’s the growing pains of moving. Stay uncomfortable, because that means that you’re growing and you’re trying to change.
"Maybe you will never figure it out fully, but just knowing that you can always ask questions and educate yourself. And when you see f*****-up s***, say something."
