Make You Say
by Zedd (featuring Maren Morris)

Album: Single release only (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Zedd joins forces with Maren Morris and the American DJ duo Beauz (the brothers Bernie and Johan Yang). Over Zedd and Beauz' bouncy, effervescent synth-pop beats, Morris tells her ex he'll regret breaking up with her. His new girl won't love him like she did and he'll miss how she kept making him say "Oh my god."
  • The jaunty electro-pop tune is the second collaboration between Zedd and Morris following their 2018 hit "The Middle." Zedd previously worked with Beauz on the remix for another of his 2018 songs, "Happy Now."
  • Zedd started working on "Make You Say" with Beauz around the time of the "Happy Now" remix. They went back and forth slowly, refining the production. "We never finished it - we got through two drops, there was no vocal yet, and we didn't have an immediate plan to release anything, so we were in no hurry," Zedd told EW. "I played the track here and there live to get some real, live feedback, and then one day, I went into the studio with Charlie Puth, and I was just playing him records I was working on. We were actually going to work on something completely different but he really loved that song so we wrote a topline for it."

    Zedd played Morris the demo after they'd performed "The Middle" at the May 2022 Hangout Music Festival. She asked Zedd if she could take a stab at it if Puth wasn't recording it. Morris laid down a vocal demo that Zedd loved, and the next day he met the country star in Nashville, where they recorded the final vocal.
  • Zedd and Morris laid down "Make You Say" in the same Nashville studio where they recorded "The Middle." Morris admitted it was "a little spooky" recording in the exact spot and with the same people four years later.
  • The Colin Read-directed video illustrates the roller coaster of emotions typically experienced during a breakup. The visual takes place entirely in Morris' home with animations overlaid on live-action footage. Read shot the clip entirely on iPad using the video-animation app FlipaClip. "It's such a vibey melody and making the music video was definitely a first for me as far as choreography and animation go," said Morris. "The fans are gonna flip."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.