Maren Morris Reveals Story Behind Latest Single, ‘Rich’

Maren Morris seems poised to earn her second No. 1 hit with “Rich,” her latest — and final — single from freshman Hero album. The song, written by Morris along with Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz, started out as a sad song, before the writers started looking at it from another angle.

“‘Rich’ initially was intended to be sort of a heartbreaking moment on the record,” Morris told ABC News Radio. “And I feel the day we wrote it, it was gonna be a really sad song: ‘If I had a dime every time you’ve ripped my heart out, I would be rich.’”

It didn’t take long for the three writers to realize “Rich” could become a light-hearted, fun song instead of the heartbreaking tune they originally planned.

“It was just so catchy and clever that we had to make it really fun and funky,” Morris explained. “That was a really fun write that day, because it’s like you never know where the song is gonna end up until you’re there. But it’s one of my favorite moments on the record.”

Morris just finished recording her sophomore album, sharing the news on social media.

“When you’re playing your label Album 2 today…” Morris revealed, along with a GIF of Beyoncé in her “Hold Up” video.

The 28-year-old previously revealed that her second set of tunes will have more love and romance than Hero, in part because of her relationship with her husband, Ryan Hurd.

“I’ve been in this amazing relationship and I got married in the time that I’ve written and started recording this album,” Morris told Country Living. “The new record, it has a lot of love in it. I don’t shy away from topics [like love], so I’m really excited for people to hear it.”

Although Morris hasn’t revealed if Hurd co-wrote any of the songs on her next record, he did help shape what the project became.

“I really trust his opinion, especially if I have a new song that maybe we didn’t write together, I always play him the mix the second I get it back, because I really trust his ear,” Morris said. “I love that we’re such different artists … But he’s always been my biggest fan when it comes to my music and vice versa.”

Morris will be honored at the upcoming CMT Artists of the Year ceremony, held on Wednesday, Oct. 17. The show will air live on CMT at 8 p.m.PM ET on CMT.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jeff Kravitz