Maren Morris, Zedd Perform ‘The Middle’ Live for First Time

One of country music’s most eclectic stars fully embraced her electronic side early Sunday morning.

Just two weeks removed from her performance on the Academy of Country Music Awards stage in Las Vegas, Maren Morris returned to town to perform again, but this time at a house music nightclub.

Honky-tonk, this was not.

At 2:30 a.m., Morris took to the stage in the expansive Omnia nightclub to perform the incredibly catchy “The Middle” with Zedd, her Number One hit on the Dance Mix/Show Airplay Chart.

This was a far cry from the typical Morris audience. Rather than boots, guests donned blinking neon bracelets; the sounds of twang were replaced with hard electronic dance music. In fact, taking the surroundings into account, it’s fair to say that the 2,000 people in Omnia’s main room where there for Zedd, not really for Morris.

Then something happened: Morris won the crowd over.

“I’ve got a very special guest tonight,” Zedd told the crowd. “We made a song together, but we’ve never performed it together. So this is the very first time.”

Donning a long dark coat, Morris took the stage and grabbed the microphone, immediately going into the song. For the next two minutes, the house-music crowd fixated on a country star.

OMNIAで @Zedd と @MarenMorris #TheMiddle の生パフォーマンスほんとに羨ましいよ(´；ω；｀)♥️

それに、賢さんさすが過ぎる??
これ日本で見れないしなきっと??#ZEDD #NoZeddNoLife #TeamZedd #ZeddSquad @greymusic pic.twitter.com/MXvAd8bUJ6

— #chisatty?? ((( ZEDD ))) (@0918cst_) April 29, 2018

Whether it was from the radio or the Target commercial the song soundtracked, the crowd clearly was familiar with “The Middle” and sang the lyrics back to her loudly. Zedd, too, was singing along. Considering the flawless performance, the night owls could have believed that Morris was a pop star, rather than someone deeply rooted in country. (The Texas native won a Grammy for her debut hit “My Church” and was named the CMA’s New Artist of the Year.)

During her short set, Morris didn’t address the crowd, who were gathered under an elaborate chandelier and its surrounding rings that changed color, shapes and combinations throughout the night. Afterward, however, she took to Twitter to post photos and a short clip, writing “Zedd, you throw a damn good party!” 

In the end, it was fitting that Morris took the stage on a Sunday, because for many of the EDM crowd, this was their church – and Morris delivered a moving sermon.