DIPLO AND MAREN MORRIS UNVEIL NEW TRACK “42”

Story: Ralph Greco, Jr.

Grammy-winning artists Diplo and Maren Morris share a new track, “42” today—listen here. Co-written by Ryan Tedder (Beyoncé, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber), the new song marks the first collaboration between the two global superstars, who have long been searching for an opportunity to work together.

“42” follows Diplo’s recent house tracks “Diamond Therapy,” “Favela Joint” and “Stay High,” released via his own label Higher Ground. Earlier this year he shared his second country album, Diplo Present Thomas Wesley: Chapter 2—Swamp Savant featuring collaborations with Sturgill Simpson, Morgan Wade, Orville Peck, Elle King and more.

Maren recently unveiled a two-track EP, The Bridge, featuring “The Tree,” which she recently performed alongside Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”—and “Get the Hell Out of Here.” Maren was just honored with the Changemaker Award at Variety’s seventh annual Hitmakers celebration for her work as a songwriter and advocate for change in music.

Over the course of a 20-year career that began with his now-legendary Philly club night Hollertronix, Diplo has collaborated with the world’s biggest stars and toured the world over. Born in Mississippi and raised in Florida, he and his era-defining labels Mad Decent and Higher Ground continue to champion genres and artists from around the world, and further ventures include a publishing company and various book, film and TV projects. The now thirteen-time Grammy nominee is also a member of the iconic Major Lazer, one third of LSD—the psychedelic supergroup with Sia and Labrinth whose debut album has been streamed over 3 billion times—and half of Silk City with Mark Ronson—whose Platinum-certified, Grammy-winning “Electricity” with Dua Lipa topped charts worldwide.

Maren Morris is one of the leading voices in music today, a powerhouse armed with incredible vocal stylings and songwriting chops, sheer talent and an undeniable presence. In addition to a Grammy win and seventeen nominations, Maren has won five ACM Awards, five CMA Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, with several additional wins and nominations. She has also broken streaming records, performed on late night TV multiple times, guest hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and toured the world over, selling out venues across the globe. She has released three critically acclaimed albums—HERO from 2016, GIRL from 2019 and Humble Quest from 2022—and her hit collaboration, “The Middle,” with Zedd from 2018 is six times Platinum-certified.

Ralph Greco, Jr. is the devilishly clever nom de plume of professional writer/musician Ralph Greco who lives in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. He is also a podcast co-host, but as everyone has a podcast these days, this fact is of very little consequence.Ralph can be reached by writing ralphiedawriter@gmail.com