Maren Morris Recalls ‘Walk of Shame’ After Miserable ‘American Idol’ Rejection
It may be hard to remember at this point in Maren Morris' stellar career, but the multi-award-winning superstar once was rejected by a variety of hit reality talent shows, including a particularly cold send-off from American Idol. It's all good, though, as Morris has the last word—and then some—as she revealed during a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Meyers warmed up Morris to her big story about AI by asking Morris if she really got her start by playing county fairs. Hey, no shame, the answer is yes: "A county fair, that's a good gig," the singer asserts.
Meyers asked then what constitutes a bad gig, to which she replies, "Like, a parking lot, playing on a bale of hay?" with a shrug, as the audience burst into laughter.
"See, that's something I think that someone like me, living in New York, would think you would do in the South. And now you're telling me it's true," jokes Meyers.
"It's actually true," admits Morris. "It could be like an SNL skit too, but it was real life."
Meyers kept the jokes rolling: "What were those audiences like, when you were playing the parking lot show?" he asks.
"I dunno. Not listening?" fires back Morris, to the amusement of the viewers.
They then moved into discussing Morris' long history of unsuccessfully trying out for reality talent shows. "I have this very traumatic, vivid memory of auditioning for American Idol when I was 17," Morris reveals. "You don't see Paula and Simon and Randy in the first go. It's like a stadium cattle call, and you audition for, like ,a 20-year-old producer who probably has no music cred."
After singing for "like eight seconds," Morris discovered her entire group had been cut. "They were like, 'Sorry, you have to take the Walk of Shame.'"
Morris relates having to walk through a Dallas parking lot and find her mom's car, then drive home crying over the rejection. But, of course, she has the last laugh, and it's a good one. "The poetic justice is that now, people audition on those shows with my songs," she tells Meyers. "I just get the check in the mail!"
Morris is the most-nominated artist at the upcoming Country Music Association Awards in November, with a remarkable total of eight nods to her name.
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