Morris's major-label debut studio album Hero (2016) was released on Columbia Nashville and blended country with R&B.

Impressed by her natural singing ability, Greg Morris started encouraging his daughter to perform regularly.

[14] Among Maren Morris' first performances was at Johnnie High's, a country music revue similar in style to the Grand Ole Opry.

[17] Morris was one of several high school students from across the country selected to attend the camp sponsored by the Grammy Foundation.

[21] In her late teens, Morris auditioned for a series of television music competition programs including American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Voice, and Nashville Star.

[22] Morris also joined a teen band in her teenage years called They Were Stars, with whom she played keyboards and provided harmony vocals.

[14] After graduating high school, Morris briefly enrolled at the University of North Texas[3] but left after one semester.

He was impressed by Morris's writing and vocal delivery, later commenting, "She was singing her own music, and it was world class.

The success of Morris' EP attracted the interest of major labels, and she was signed to Columbia Nashville in September 2015.

[43] In response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Morris released "Dear Hate", a song she had written and recorded with Vince Gill, with all proceeds from the track going to the Music City Cares Fund.

[44] Morris continued earning awards for her success including the "Best New Artist" accolade from the Country Music Association and several more Grammy nominations.

[49] Rolling Stone rated the album three and a half stars, calling it the project "where Morris makes her pop move".

[56] In March 2019, it was announced that Morris would be forming a group with Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby called The Highwomen (in reference to The Highwaymen).

A social media post by Shires' husband Jason Isbell hinted that the group had already begun recording with producer Dave Cobb.

[26] In 2021, Morris collaborated with husband Ryan Hurd on the single "Chasing After You",[61] which reached the top five on the Billboard country charts.

[34][33] She was the featured guest vocalist on John Mayer's single "Last Train Home", released on June 4, 2021, as well as appearing on "Why You No Love Me" and "Shot In The Dark" on his album Sob Rock.

[3] Writers and critics commented that Morris's first two Columbia albums combined country with R&B and hip hop musical styles.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found that 2016's Hero included "R&B influences" that "twists the rhymes" and "[rides] the beat" while "undercutting her boasts with sly wit".

[74] Jewly Hight of Billboard described Hero as "a signifier of country-pop's fluidity and a creative process that resembles the track-building of pop, R&B and hip-hop.

"[72] The Hartford Courant praised 2019's Girl for incorporating similar styles: "If a lot of male country singers dabble with hip-hop in ways that sometimes feel stilted, Morris brings straight-up elements of '90s R&B to the album on songs like the bedroom-centric 'RSVP'.

In an interview with NPR, Morris was asked about whether she still identified with the genre: "even though I live in Nashville and I'm from Texas and I feel like my songwriting at its core is country, I think you can hear a lot of different influences when you've heard any of my records.

"[78] Other writers have agreed, including Stephen Thomas Erlewine: "Morris' music was grounded in country -- prior to striking gold as a performer, she was a professional songwriter in Nashville -- but she also incorporated elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock, creating a distinctive, stylish hybrid that had wide appeal outside her chosen genre.

"[3] Morris has cited various artists of different genres as influences on her career, including Katy Perry, Coldplay,[79] Linda Ronstadt,[78] Dolly Parton,[80] Chaka Khan,[80] and Hank Williams.

[82] Through the program, Morris donated $70,000 to East Nashville Magnet High School that went towards their music and drama departments.

Both Morris and other country music singers including Cassadee Pope perceived Aldean's comments as transphobic.

[89] While interviewing Brittany Aldean, Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson referred to Morris as a "lunatic country music person.

"[90] In response to this comment, she sold T-shirts through her website featuring the phrase "lunatic country music person" and the telephone number of the Trans Lifeline.

[91] Morris told The Los Angeles Times in September 2023 that she planned to leave the country music industry.

She cited the country music industry's unwillingness to reckon with issues of misogyny and racism, as well as its reluctance to support artists from marginalized demographics, as her reasons for doing so.

[69] Morris met fellow country singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd while co-writing "Last Turn Home" for Tim McGraw.