Between the two of them, singer-songwriters Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile are nominated for a whopping 11 Grammys this year. Morris and Carlile combine that unbeatable energy in a new collaborative single, “Common.” The track, which will be featured on Morris’ upcoming album Girl, is about wishing you could overcome disagreement, but getting swept up in argument anyway. Morris and Carlile’s voices and star power bring the song to another level — you get the impression that it’s not about a personal argument as much as a broader call to stop cruelty and treat people with kindness. When two of the most acclaimed and iconic singer-songwriters tell us to put aside our sparring and realize that “we got way too much in common,” who are we to disagree?
But the song also recognizes the difficulty in working through large-scale arguments. For most of the song, Morris and Carlile trade verses, each speaking one at a time — but at the end of the song, the two overlap one another. As they sing the last chorus, Morris and Carlile sing over each other. They sound alienated, like they don’t realize someone else is trailing their words a few seconds behind, but I guess that’s the point.
Check out Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile’s new song, “Common,” above.
