Maren Morris on 2019 ACM Awards: ‘I Don’t Really Think I’m Going to Win’

Maren Morris is nominated for one 2019 ACM Award, for Female Artist of the Year, a category she shares with Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and Kacey Musgraves. Although Morris had a stellar previous year, with hit singles with both “The Middle” (her collaboration with Zedd and Grey) and her own single “Rich,” the 28-year-old expects to walk out of the ACM Awards ceremony empty-handed.

“I don’t really think I’m gonna win, because I don’t think this is my year right now,” Morris confessed to ABC News Radio. “I think my cycle would be next time. But it’s always so cool to be nominated. Just showing up, getting to perform, getting to walk the carpet, being a fan in the crowd, just watching performances will be a riot.”

Morris, who was also nominated for two trophies at the 2018 CMA Awards, held in Nashville, is grateful to get the chance to travel to Las Vegas for the ACM Awards, whether or not she has a nomination.

“I love the ACMs because they’re really laid back,” Morris explained. “It’s less stiff – not that the CMAs are stiff. But [the CMA Awards are] a lot more like the Oscars, and then the ACMs are like the MTV [Video Music Awards].”

Morris’ predictions that next year will be her year could prove to be correct. Her sophomore GIRL album debuted at the top of the charts, with the title track already in the Top 10. She also just added more dates to her Girl: The World Tour, after her initial run of dates almost entirely sold out.

Regardless of how successful Morris becomes, or how many awards and accolades she accumulates, she promises to remain true to her values, even if others disagree with her on some issues.

“I think to each his own at this point,” Morris said on What What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I’ve chosen to be political – I don’t even think it’s political. I think it’s just really personal beliefs. I believe that all walks of life, all shades of color, gay, straight, whatever you are – I believe that you deserve to be loved, and to love.

“I think that for fans of country music, these children that are growing up in Alabama or Georgia, they aren’t hearing themselves in our genre right now, and I want them to,” she continued. “So I think that’s why, on certain things, I’m just really impassioned to talk about it, because these are people’s real lives, and I want to write music for them.”

Morris will perform “All My Favorite People,” with Brothers Osborne at the 2019 ACM Awards ceremony. The song is from Morris’ GIRL album.

The 2019 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jeff Kravitz