Maren Morris thinks Beyonce has had a "great" impact on country music

Speaking to the Observer newspaper, Maren explained: "It's great when people come in and obviously have such a deep respect for the lore and the roots of country music, which people of colour started.

"Beyonce telling the history of that in a correct way was so important."

Maren believes some critics of the recent trend have overlooked the evolution of country music.

The 'My Church' hitmaker - who was married to country music star Ryan Hurd from 2018 until 2024 - said: "It's like, do people remember that that happened? That listen to mainstream country music now? We've been doing this for a very long time. Or at least, really bad*** artists have."

Maren also hailed music icons Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton as "real outlaws".

The award-winning star explained: "These people are famous for this long and this globally for a reason, and it's not just because they're from the south. It's because they have an identity and they stand up for the marginalised. They were real outlaws.

"If there's any crisis [in country music], I think it's that the people that have an issue with any of that forget that their heroes were talking about that stuff before they were born.

"I hope [audiences] hear themselves in it, whether it's a past self or who they want to be."

Maren previously confessed to being wowed by Beyonce's country music.

The singer is impressed that Beyonce has been able to make such a seamless transition between different musical genres.

Maren - whose music is rooted in the country genre - told E! News: "I feel like she's always been genre-less, but I think the leaning into country elements and sort of reclaiming country music back to black people because they created the genre is such a statement.

"Rhiannon Giddens playing banjo on 'Texas Hold 'Em', which is such an amazing statement in itself."