Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Dreamsicle (album)
2025 studio album by Maren Morris From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Dreamsicle (stylized as D R E A M S I C L E) is the fourth studio album from American singer and songwriter Maren Morris. It was released on May 9, 2025, by Columbia Records. The album was preceded by the release of an extended play titled Intermission (2024) and spawned four singles: "People Still Show Up", "Carry Me Through", "Bed No Breakfast", and "Be a Bitch" from deluxe edition.
Remove ads
Background and context
Summarize
Perspective
Dreamsicle marks Morris' first album in three years since the release of her previous studio album, Humble Quest (2022). During those three years Morris had to deal with some serious professional and personal life struggles.[1][2] In 2022, Morris got in a highly public feud with fellow country singer Jason Aldean, and his wife Brittany, which began after Morris called out Brittany for using her social media platform to make transphobic remarks.[3][4] Brittany then did an interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson who labeled Morris as a "Lunatic Country Music Person" on national television for defending trans rights.[4]
At the same time, Morris become subject of intense media scrutiny from conservative country listeners and right-wing audience,[5][6] who were against Morris' stance, some who previously had problems with her, after she called out country singer Morgan Wallen for using a racial slur in 2021.[7][8] The scrutiny continued after Jason Aldean, who has shown support to his wife Brittany, continued the feud during a sold-out show where he incited his fans to boo Morris name.[9] Morris received public support from fellow peers, including The Chicks, Laura Veltz, Brittney Spencer, Lady A, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, and her then-husband Ryan Hurd, among others.[10][11]
Following the increasing backlash, Morris released the fourth extended play, The Bridge, which contains the tracks "The Tree" and "Get the Hell Out of Here",[12] and released an statement where she announced that she was leaving the country music industry, citing the industry's unwillingness to reckon with issues of misogyny and racism, as well as its reluctance to support artists from marginalized demographics, as her reasons for doing so.[13] Morris later clarified that she will still make country music, after tabloids spread misinformation omitting the word "Industry" from their headlines, causing more outrage against Morris.[14] Critics had compared Morris controversial exit from the industry to the one faced by The Chicks, formerly known as Dixie Chicks.[15] "Lemonade", "Carry Me Through", and "People Still Show Up" address Morris' feelings regarding the backlash.[16]
In 2023, Morris filed from divorce from Ryan Hurd, and officially separated in 2024.[17][18] In 2024, Morris came out as bisexual.[19] She started sharing droplets from her upcoming record, including "Cut!" with Julia Michaels and "I Hope I Never Fall in Love".[20] She released the fifth extented play, titled Intermission, which includes five songs that were later on included on Dreamsicle.[21] The album was released on May 9, 2025.[22]
Speaking on the album content with The Cut, Morris denied that the record was a divorce album stating that she's "not documenting what happened during the relationship" but instead she's "documenting the grief, anger, and sadness that follows, and the vulnerability of putting yourself back out there again … of reconnecting with your female friends and yourself", concluding "It's actually, to me, what happens after divorce". Morris also said about the process of the making of dreamsicle that "Ultimately, I just wanted to make music that heals whatever the fuck I went through".[23]
"It represents a lot of influences, a lot of leaps of faith — just true artistic freedom, which is what I've always wanted, and I've had, but not in this way, where it's dovetailing with my personal life freedom, I've gotten to wear many hats in my career, but with my own personal project upcoming, there are no training wheels. I'm being my truest, most secure self. I think the album reflects [my experience of] becoming a mom in the last few years, changing the way I do business post-pandemic, and then also understanding why I needed to let go of some comforts to grow into the person that I needed to be."[24]
— Maren Morris to, Elle magazine about Dreamsicle[24]
Remove ads
Promotion
Music videos for "Lemonade",[25] "Cry in the Car",[26] "Dreamsicle",[27] "Too Good",[28] "Grand Bouquet",[29] and "Holy Smoke"[30] were released on May 9 alongside the release of the album, with the first four directed by Blythe Thomas.[31]
Singles
"People Still Show Up" was released as the lead single on October 25, 2024. Morris announced the album title, date, tracklist, and artwork on March 27, 2025.[32] The pre-save was made available alongside the new single "Carry Me Through", that same day.[33] "Bed No Breakfast" was released as the album third official single on April 18.[34] "Be a Bitch" was released as overall fourth single to tease the deluxe edition of Dreamsicle.[35]
Tour
Morris is set to embark into her Dreamsicle World Tour to support the record, with dates across North America, Europe, and the UK.[36][37] The tour started in West Hollywood, US, on May 30.[38][39][40]
Remove ads
Critical reception
Summarize
Perspective
Dreamsicle has received generally positive reviews, with music critics complimenting Morris' songwriting, vocal skills, and the album's cohesion.
Matt Collar of AllMusic gave the album an almost perfect score of 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising Morris artistry, vocal performance and her self-confidence, stating that with her new record "Morris has made an album that's less of a statement about walking away from Nashville and country music and more about the transcendent creative freedom that comes with knowing who you are."[41] Writing for Rolling Stone, critic Maura Johnston described the record as "a complicated modern-pop confection", elaborating: "It has the surface trappings of a sun-dappled pop album, but those big hooks are often hiding semi-privately mourned wounds," indicating that while the music sounds upbeat, it subtly addresses more private, reflective feelings.[43] Similarly, Piper Westrom of RIFF Magazine called Dreamsicle "an authentic expression of pain, self-reclamation [...], and healing", describing the record as "well-executed" and a "showcase her fluidity as an artist".[44] Alex Brodeur of The Vanderbilt Hustler praised Morris work as a songwriter, stating that Dreamsicle "is still a strong showing of Morris' successful songwriting and noteworthy musical hooks".[48] Jon M. Gilbertson of Shepherd Express commented positively about Morris' ability to jump between different music genres, calling her "a flexible singer" and saying she is "almost as savvy in her pop ways as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are in theirs."[49]
While less enthusiastic about its pop production, Jonathan Keefe of Country Universe highlighted Morris' unique songwriting and vocal performance on the album, saying, "she's doing some best-ever singing". Keefe also lamented the mistreatment Morris faced from part of the country industry, stating: "it's a damning indictment that the country genre would happily let someone who can write and sing like this just walk away while they continue to talk about being one big family".[46]
Remove ads
Track listing
Notes
- ^[v] signifies a vocal producer.
- All track titles are stylized in all lowercase.
Remove ads
Personnel
Summarize
Perspective
Credits are adapted from Tidal.[51]
Musicians
- Maren Morris – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1–5, 8, 10, 14), synthesizer (6), percussion (11, 14)
- Jordan K. Johnson – drums, keyboards, programming (tracks 1, 5)
- Stefan Johnson – drums, keyboards, programming (tracks 1, 5)
- Isaiah Tejada – bass, drums, organ, piano, programming (track 1)
- Ali Tamposi – background vocals (track 1)
- Michael Pollack – background vocals (track 1)
- Alex Strahel – guitar (track 1)
- Jack Antonoff – bass, drums, Mellotron, synthesizer (tracks 2, 11, 14); cello, organ, programming (2); guitar, piano, slide guitar (11, 14), acoustic guitar (14)
- Laura Veltz – background vocals (track 2)
- Naomi McPherson – guitar, programming (tracks 3, 9); drums, synth bass, synthesizer (3); keyboards (9)
- Geo Botelho – bass (tracks 3, 9)
- Joel Little – programming (tracks 4, 8); keyboards, percussion, synthesizer (4); acoustic guitar, bass, drums, strings (8)
- Julia Michaels – lead vocals, background vocals (track 4)
- John Ryan – drums, programming (track 5)
- Rob Moose – strings (tracks 6, 8, 12); viola, violin (8)
- Jimmy Robbins – acoustic guitar, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (track 6)
- Evan Blair – bass, guitar (tracks 7, 10, 12)
- Steve Wolf – drums (tracks 7, 10, 12)
- Delacey – background vocals (track 7)
- Katie Gavin – background vocals (track 9)
- Josette Maskin – guitar (track 9)
- Madi Diaz – background vocals (track 12)
- Greg Kurstin – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, Mellotron, organ, percussion, piano, strings, synthesizer (track 13)
Technical
- Dale Becker – mastering (tracks 1, 3–14)
- Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering (track 2)
- Alex Ghenea – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7–10, 12)
- Laura Sisk – mixing (tracks 2, 3, 6, 11, 14), engineering (2, 11, 14)
- Greg Kurstin – mixing, engineering (track 13)
- Stefan Johnson – engineering (tracks 1, 5)
- Oli Jacobs – engineering (tracks 2, 11, 14)
- Joel Little – engineering (tracks 4, 8)
- Denis Kosiak – engineering (track 4)
- Rob Moose – engineering (track 8)
- Jimmy Robbins – engineering (track 9), vocal engineering (3), editing (6)
- Jack Manning – engineering (track 11), engineering assistance (2, 10)
- Jack Antonoff – engineering (track 11)
- Julian Burg – engineering (track 13)
- Matt Tuggle – engineering (track 13)
- Evan Blair – vocal engineering (tracks 7, 10, 12)
- Adam Burt – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 3–6, 10, 13, 14), mastering assistance (9, 12)
- Brady Wortzel – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 3, 4)
- Noah McCorkle – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 3–6, 10, 13, 14), mastering assistance (9, 12)
- Dani Perez – engineering assistance (tracks 2, 10)
- Joey Miller – engineering assistance (tracks 2, 10)
- Jozef Caldwell – engineering assistance (track 2), mixing assistance (14)
- Geo Botelho – engineering assistance (track 9)
- Naomi McPherson – engineering assistance (track 9)
- Brandon Hernandez – mastering assistance (tracks 9, 12)
Remove ads
Charts
Release history
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads