Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd Can Attest Firsthand to the Power of ‘Baby Luck’
There's a superstition in Nashville that having a baby on the way brings a boost of good fortune to a artist or songwriter's career, and Ryan Hurd can attest firsthand to the power of "baby luck." The singer-songwriter, who is expecting his first child with wife and fellow country star Maren Morris, co-wrote Lady Antebellum's newest No. 1 hit, "What If I Never Get Over You."
"They talk about baby luck in this town, and I think we just experienced the first little piece of that with this song going No. 1 right when this baby boy's headed our way," Hurd reflected from the stage during a party celebrating the milestone. The couple is headed into the home stretch of Morris' pregnancy, with their son due in March.
"Maren's feeling great," Hurd continues. "Both our families are in town because we just had a baby shower, and everything's awesome."
Back at the 2019 CMA Awards in November, when Morris had just recently announced her pregnancy, said she was already starting to feel the effects of "baby luck": Seconds before her CMAs performance, actually, she felt a kick from her unborn son.
"He's my good luck charm," she said at the time. While the singer admitted that she and Hurd are a little nervous about learning to juggle parenthood with busy touring schedules, Morris points out that she knows a number of artist moms -- including Lady A's Hillary Scott -- who haven't had to make sacrifices in their careers in order to be parents.
"I look up to so many people in this genre who haven't had to choose between starting a family and also kicking ass in their career," she explains. "Carrie [Underwood] is one of them. I've talked to Hillary Scott in Lady A, Karen Fairchild in Little Big Town -- they all make it work, and they make it look easy and normal, which I think is the most beautiful thing you can give to a kid.
"I've seen their kids backstage riding tricycles, and they have their own catering table with kids' food, you know? It becomes your normal, however you make it," Morris adds.
For his part, Hurd says that the parents-to-be are excited to start their family in their adopted hometown of Music City. "We're really proud to be raising our family in Nashville, and we're really proud to be doing this job," he relates. "It's gonna be really fun to have a little kid tagging along to all this stuff."
Morris and Hurd's son won't just be a big part of their day-to-day life: He's already inspiring his parents' songwriting. As Morris starts gearing up to begin writing for her next album following the release of Girl in 2019, she says that her pregnancy and becoming a mother might well impact her songs.
"I would assume that when I go into the writing room the next time, I'll be writing what's on my heart," she reflected at the 2019 CMAs. "Yeah, who knows. This little guy might be a big source of inspiration. I guess in a year I can probably answer that question better."
So far, Morris has written at least one song about her pregnancy, though it remains to be seen whether or not it ends up on the album. "I had a write the day I found out I was pregnant," she remembers. "I was writing with the Love Junkies [Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose], and they were, like, the first people I told after Ryan. They were just so excited. They're all mothers. And so we wrote a little song to kind of commemorate the news.
"It might end up on the record -- who knows," she adds.
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