Zedd recruited country star Maren Morris for his January single “The Middle,” and it’s since become a smash hit. The song reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 chart last week, its highest position yet, and seems destined to stick around all summer. While the track has been a huge success for both artists, Morris was hardly the first singer to lay down vocals on the song.
In an interview with Variety, The Monsters x the Strangerz producer Stefan Johnson revealed that over a dozen pop stars recorded versions of the song before they settled on Morris' version, including Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Carly Rae Jepsen, Anne-Marie, Daya, Bebe Rexha, Tove Lo, Bishop Briggs, Elle King, and Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui.
Lovato was the first artist to receive the song, way back in April 2017. “She sounded awesome and we were really hyped on it,” Johnson told Variety. “But then we didn’t hear anything after a couple weeks and other people were hitting us up about the song, so we asked: ‘Is this gonna be a single for Demi?’” She was choosing between "The Middle” and “Sorry Not Sorry” as the lead single for her album Tell Me You Love Me, and ended up going with the latter.
A few months later, The Monsters x The Strangerz brought on Zedd and songwriter Grey, who refined the track and helped get Camila Cabello involved. Unfortunately, they lost her once “Havana” became a sleeper hit. They tried U.K. singer Anne-Marie, only to find the collaboration fall apart once her similar song “FRIENDS” with EDM producer Marshmello dropped. Other versions by Carly Rae Jepsen, Bebe Rexha, and more didn’t quite come together.
Finally, with the song set to premiere during the 2018 Grammys broadcast in January 2018, Zedd linked up with Maren Morris in Nashville for an impromptu recording session. Although “The Middle” was a significant stylistic departure from her previous work in the country music space, all parties involved thought her version worked perfectly. “The lyrics took on a whole new meaning when Maren sang. All of a sudden, you believe it. The taps are running. Dishes are broken. It sounded a little Nashville and felt right. We were pumped,” Johnson said.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Zedd explained why he thought Morris' version was the best:
Some of them just sang it well. Some of them are incredible singers, but it almost felt like they’ve never heard the song before, they’re just reading it off a piece of paper, but they’re singing it really well. And then when Maren sings… really, to me personally, the song is a constant build-up. It just gets more and more exciting. And the bridge, which is oftentimes a kind of boring moment in a song, is my personal favorite moment. It’s where she’s so vulnerable. Just her and a small guitar, and you really hear every breath, and you hear every squeak and everything. I just think that she carried it the best.
Since its release on January 23, “The Middle” has racked up over 239 million Spotify streams and another 29 million YouTube views. It’s already the second-highest-charting song of Zedd’s career, just two spots behind his Ariana Grande collaboration “Break Free,” and is far and away Morris' biggest hit. With the song continuing to perform well on radio and streaming services, it could reach even greater heights this summer.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Zedd & Maren Morris' “The Middle” on Genius now.
