"Common" is a song by American singers Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile, who appears as a featured artist. It was released on February 8, 2019, as the first promotional single of Morris's second studio album, Girl (2019). Written by Morris, Greg Kurstin, and Sarah Aarons, the song is a pop-influenced track that addresses shared humanity and social division through a duet between Morris and Carlile. "Common" was praised by critics for its message and vocal performances, reaching at number 49 on the US Hot Country Songs chart. The song was promoted with live performances and a behind-the-scenes video documenting its recording.
Contents
Background and release
"Common" was written by Morris, Greg Kurstin, and Sarah Aarons during a songwriting session in Los Angeles. After returning home, Morris decided to invite Brandi Carlile to record the song as a duet after receiving a letter and a copy of Carlile's album By the Way, I Forgive You. Carlile recorded her vocals separately with Kurstin in Los Angeles while Morris joined the session via FaceTime. The track was released on February 8, 2019, serving as the fifth track of Morris's second studio album, Girl.
Morris said "Common" was released ahead of the 61st Annual Grammy Awards to coincide with the nominations received by herself, Carlile, and Aarons, describing it as "a fun celebration to put this song out for the pre-order of [Girl]".
Composition
"Common" incorporates influences of pop, featuring somber piano sounds with layered vocal harmonies. Lyrically, it balances hopelessness with hope and addresses social division. The lyrics suggest responsibility for resolving that extends to everyone, including those privileged. According to Jon Freeman of Rolling Stone, "Common" pairs sparse synthesizers with an "uplifting" beat as Morris and Carlile alternate verses before joining in the chorus. He wrote that the song takes "a more somber, alienated look at human relations" and concludes by emphasizing the similarities between people.
Promotion
Morris debuted "Common" at Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival in Mexico on February 3, 2019. They performed the song for the second time at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on March 13. Two days later, a making-of video for "Common" was released; it documents Morris and Carlile recording the duet in the studio before performing it live for the first time at Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival. The video concludes with the two embracing after the performance.
On March 29, Morris and American singer JoJo dueted "Common" on a stage at Wiltern in Los Angeles, Calif. Calling the song "brotherhood-of-man anthem", Variety's Chris Willman noted JoJo's verse as "an unlikely but vocally capable ringer for Carlile". On June 10, Morris performed the track with Carlile at the CMA Music Festival, which held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville Sunday.
Critical reception
Lauryn Snapp of iHeartRadio described "Common" as a "feel-good track". The Boot's Angela Stefano chose the song as one of the five songs essential on Girl, describing them as "especially worthwhile". In a poll held by Taste of Country, the song's video ranked 11th at their Best Country Video of the Week, earning 0.27 percents.
Personnel
Credits were adapted from Tidal.
Maren Morris – lead vocals, songwriter
Brandi Carlile – featured vocals
Greg Kurstin – producer, songwriter, recording engineer, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, organ, percussion, piano, synthesizer
Sarah Aarons – songwriter
Alex Pasco – recording engineer
Julian Burg – recording engineer
Matt Tuggle – assistant engineer
Michael Freeman – assistant engineer
Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing engineer
Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
Jacob Braun – cello
Alma Fernandez – viola
Charlie Bisharat – violin
Songa Lee – violin