As Maren hits #1, she cheers Kelsea on and plans a new tattoo

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m_marenmorriscmafest081017-5

ABC/Mark Levine

ABC/Mark LevineIf you’re hoping Maren Morris’s next single will be the first taste of new music from her sophomore album, well, you’ll likely have to wait a little longer. The Texas native tells Billboard she expect to release a fourth single from her 2016 debut, Hero, as the follow-up to her #1, “I Could Use a Love Song.”

With that self-penned tune becoming her first solo chart topper, Maren says she hopes the climate for female artists on country radio is improving.

“It’s maybe a little healthier, but we definitely have a ways to go,” she tells Billboard. “When you look at the chart, there’s just Kelsea Ballerini and me in the top 20, so we still have work to do.  Hopefully Kelsea’s ‘Legends’ will go to #1 soon.”

“What makes me the most happy,” Maren says of “Love Song” going #1, “is that it means that you can just be yourself, not compromise your art and still be successful at radio. I am hoping it’s not just a step forward for me, but for other female artists as well.”

“I Could Use a Love Song” is competing in the category of Best Country Solo Performance Grammy at the Grammys on January 28 in New York City.  Meanwhile, Maren tweeted she’ll definitely be immortalizing her first #1 with a tattoo — and added the hashtag “#SorryDad.”

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