Meaning Behind the Song: “The Middle” by Maren Morris, Zedd and Grey

Maren Morris, Zedd and Grey had a massive hit on their hands when they dropped “The Middle” in 2018. At the time, Morris was already a country superstar, with “The Middle” catapulting her into crossover stardom.

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The song was written by Sarah Aarons and members of the hit songwriting and production team known as The Monsters & Strangerz: Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson and Marcus Lommax, alongside producers Zedd and Grey (Kyle and Michael Trewartha). But the song almost didn’t make its way to the airwaves, as it was a struggle to find the right lead singer. Below, we look at the history of “The Middle.”

Meaning Behind the Song

Aarons was instrumental in the song’s origins, typing out some of the lyrics on her phone in the back of the writing room, according to Stefan Johnson. Aarons then recorded herself singing the opening line of the chorus, baby, why don’t you just meet me in the middle, into a voice memo on her phone.

“She wrote for 10 minutes and she’s like, ‘I’m going to go in the booth and let me sing it, let me know what you guys think,'” Stefan recalls to The New York Times of Aarons singing the chorus for the first time. “That was literally the first thing we heard…It definitely felt special.”

They then sent Aarons’ demo to producer team Grey, who added their touch on the production side before sending it to Zedd. “I thought if done right, this could be a huge smash,” Zedd says of his first reaction. In an interview with iHeart Radio, Zedd shares that there are songs that formulate fast and others that are slow, and “The Middle” fell into the latter category. “This was one of those songs that didn’t want to come to an end,” he says, estimating they went through 15 singers to find the right voice, “that really makes you want to cry and laugh at the same time,” he describes of what they were looking for, Camila Cabello, Bebe Rexha and Demi Lovato among the many singers considered.

But none of them felt quite right until Zedd’s manager introduced him to Morris. Though he hadn’t heard of her before, Zedd “loved” her voice after hearing her demo. Morris’ version immediately caught his ear, and solidified her as “the one.” Zedd then flew to Nashville a few days after he heard the demo to meet Morris and record her vocals. He says he wasn’t looking specifically for a country singer or had genre in mind at all when trying to find a vocalist.

“We’ve had a wide range of all sorts of singers cut it, which is a process I typically go through,” he explains. “I usually am really open about recording several people. Sometimes, I don’t even know exactly what I want and by recording people you kind of understand what the song really needs.”

“It’s kind of a gut reaction when you hear something so intrinsically catchy, and in 10 seconds I was like how do I get onto this? How can I be a part of it? I’m ready to go.” Morris describes her reaction to Billboard.

The single dropped in January 2018 and was soon introduced on a national level when it was featured in a Target commercial that premiered during the Grammy Awards. “The Middle” skyrocketed to the top of the charts around the world, including No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Top 40, Adult Contemporary, Mainstream Top 40 and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts in the U.S.

Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival

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