Maren Morris was joined by John Mayer on stage at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, with the pair teaming up to perform Morris’ crossover hit “The Bones.” Morris wore a red ball gown with a thigh-high slit and Mayer was in black pants and a gray jacket with a black collar for the performance, with Mayer offering vocals on the song’s chorus as well as a signature guitar solo.
“I’m performing ‘The Bones’ with my friend playing guitar, John Mayer, so it’s gonna be a really beautiful performance,” Morris told PEOPLE ahead of the show.. “He adds so much to it, obviously — he’s John. I’m so [grateful] to him that he is sitting in with us tonight.” She added that Mayer is “just smart as a whip.” “He is also really, really thoughtful and he internalizes every other word he says,” she gushed. “I feel like it’s kind of adorable. He’s been just so respectful and complementary to my music over the years.”
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I jumped, I screamed, and I even shed a tear at the end. Thank you @MarenMorris and @JohnMayer for the most magical performance I ever could have dreamed of 😭✨ #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/6f3IVAKYOv
— Maren’s GIRLs (@MarensGIRLs) March 15, 2021
Morris and Mayer first met at the Grammy Awards several years ago and Morris called their 2021 performance “kismet.” “He’s been just so respectful and complementary to my music over the years,” she said. “We actually met at the Grammys a couple of years back, so for him to join us on ‘The Bones’ here, again at the Grammys, feels kind of kismet.”
In 2019, the Texas native told SiriusXM’s The Highway that Mayer was on her list of dream collaborators. “I love all music, I love all genres. There’s so much great music out right now,” she said. “If I were outside the country genre, I would love to do something down the line with like Post Malone or H.E.R. There’s so much talent out there, John Mayer would be really fun.”
On social media, Morris captioned a clip of the performance “when Continuum and GIRL manifest,” referencing albums by Mayer and herself. During the show, the 30-year-old was nominated as a solo artist for Best Country Song for “The Bones,” losing to herself when “Crowded Table” by Morris’ supergroup The Highwomen, which also features Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires, were awarded the honor.
