Maren Morris Says "Common," Brandi Carlile Came at Perfect Time

Maren Morris recorded "Common" for her sophomore album, Girl, with the help of Grammy Awards-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile -- but their collaboration wasn't planned out when Morris first wrote the song. Rather, she shares, the duet was a matter of finding the right thing at exactly the right time.

To Esquire, Morris recalls that she had recently returned home from a songwriting session in Los Angeles, Calif., with producer Greg Kurstin and songwriter Sarah Aarons. She was listening to the tracks they'd put together -- including "Common" -- at the end of a bad day when she found a package from Carlile in her mail pile: a vinyl copy of Carlile's 2018 gem By the Way, I Forgive You and a note.

“She wrote me a letter saying that she’s so thankful that her daughters are going to get to grow up in a world where there’s a woman like me in country music,” Morris shares. “I was just bawling my eyes out.”

Morris reached out to Carlile with her new song, asking if she'd be up for a collaboration, and Carlile immediately responded in the affirmative. The pair never made it to the studio together -- Carlile laid down her part in LA with Kurstin, while Morris Facetimed in for the session -- but the result was powerful, and the artists became fast friends.

“I feel like I made friends for life,” Morris shares, adding that her first dinner with Carlile and her wife, Catherine Shepherd, launched a deep connection: “We got into really deep, hours-long conversation.”

Carlile would soon tap Morris as the third member of her musical supergroup, the Highwomen. The two have been working on that project along with Amanda Shires.

Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile’s ‘Common’ Collaboration Is a Case of Good Timing