Maren Morris‘ new EP may be called Intermission, but she says she’s actually pulling back the curtain on her true emotions on the project instead of drawing it closed.
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday (July 29), the 34-year-old singer-songwriter opened up about the title of her five-track mini-album, which drops this Friday. “Calling this project Intermission was intentional,” she told followers. “It’s a break in the act, and for me, it’s definitely an act break and new chapter of my life, and I’m so ready to see what’s on the other page.
“I just am so proud of this music,” she continued. “It wasn’t easy to write, because I’m going through a lot, and this is the diary of that. But it’s also the most fun music as well as the most heartbreaking because i’m allowing myself to go there — ’cause I don’t have to protect anyone anymore. It’s just about my feelings. So, I hope you love it.”
Led by the single “Cut!” featuring Julia Michaels, Intermission marks Morris’ first proper batch of songs since filing for divorce from fellow songwriter Ryan Hurd, with whom she shares 4-year-old son Hayes, in October. At the time, Morris’ lawyers stated that the ex-couple was “unable to live together successfully as husband and wife,” and were “experiencing irreconcilable differences in their marriage.”
The Grammy winner touched on her split earlier this month ahead of the release of another Intermission single, “I Hope I Never Fall in Love.” “It’s pretty self-explanatory from the title, having just gone through a giant breakup,” she said of the track in an Instagram video. “Just not wanting to go down that path again, and wanting to keep things casual, and really just lean into the ‘situationship’ of it all.”
Morris’ new video comes about a week after Brittany Aldean rehashed their 2022 feud over gender-affirming healthcare in a podcast interview, calling the “The Middle” singer’s feminist views “bulls–t.” “She’s got a group of friends here in Nashville that, they just have it out for me for whatever reason,” the former NBA dancer said of the musician on Try That in a Small Town. “She started to make fun of my business, which at the time was hair extensions. Going back to the feminist movement … aren’t you supposed to be all peace, love and all inclusivity and all the things?”
Watch Morris talk about Intermission‘s title below.