Maren Morris and Niall Horan Collide Pop and Country Sounds With CMA Performance

Blending her rich vocals atop his folksy sound, Morris and Horan jammed out to the upbeat love song while entertaining the masses at the 51st Annual CMA Awards.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Maren Morris and Niall Horan Collide Pop and Country Sounds With CMA Performance
Maren Morris and Niall Horan; Photo by John Shearer/WireImage

Maren Morris introduced Niall Horan into the world of country music as he made his CMA Awards debut, with Morris by his side, during their performance of “Seeing Blind.”

Blending her rich vocals atop his folksy sound, the two jammed out to the upbeat love song while entertaining the masses at the 51st Annual CMA Awards, which Morris kicked off with a few lines of her current single, “I Could Use a Love Song.”

The two shared on-stage chemistry with their admiring looks toward one another and a celebratory mini-dance after they finished the performance without a hitch.

Although Horan adapts himself more to the pop industry, he admired Morris’ journey as a country artist as he was creating his solo debut record and desperately wanted her voice on one of his tracks. Inviting her to join him on “Seeing Blind,” the song found a home on his album called Flicker and the two developed a respectful working relationship for the long haul.

“He and I were texting yesterday and we both were just freaking out. It was really cool for me to hear that side from him, because I know he’s a fan of country music, but for him to really show props and understand how much of an honor it is to play on that stage was so refreshing to me. He’s a huge fan of this genre, and he completely gets the weight of getting to debut this song on the CMA stage,” Morris recently told Billboard about the performance.

The 51st Annual CMA Awards are hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood for the 10th year in a row, and feature a number of other dynamic collaborations from Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts, Kelsea Ballerini and Reba, and Kane Brown with Paisley.

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