Maren Morris Gives Beyoncé Props For ‘Purposeful’ Reclaiming of Country Music on ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ Single: ‘So Astounding and Important’

As she prepared to take the stage and accept the Visionary Award at Wednesday night’s (March 6) Billboard Women in Music 2024 event, Maren Morris said her getting ready music was, of course, Beyoncé‘s Hot 100 No. 1 country hit “Texas Hold ‘Em,” a track she praised for its historical significance.

“Gotta represent Texas in the house,” said the Arlington, Texas native of the Houston-bred Bey’s country breakthrough. Morris had the utmost respect for Beyoncé’s “very purposeful” reclaiming of country music “to Black people because they invented the genre is so astounding and important. So [finger snap] slay!”

Plus, she added, “That one gets me moving… She just knows how to bring it to 11 every single time.”

Morris also talked about receiving the Visionary honor, saying she wasn’t sure if she could hold the title, joking, “I have a lot of visions and delusions, so I’m glad I’m being honored for them tonight.” The singer took the stage to perform what she dubbed a “laid back” version of her 2019 single “Girl” in honor of the track’s fifth anniversary and all the women being honored on Wednesday night. “It really encapsulates what this evening is about,” she said. “Which is like, female empowerment, we’re bad-ass b–ches.”

And , as she learns to lean into the phrase “letting go,” Morris — who finalized her divorce from ex-husband Ryan Hurd last month — said that she didn’t have specific tips on how to do it, but offered the advice, “it can’t get worse, so you might as well drop that dead weight. It can only get better.”

Watch Morris talk Beyoncé in the video above. Fans can stream the Billboard Women in Music 2024 at 8 p.m. ET here tonight (March 7).