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

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Butch Vig

Butch VigSongwriter Interviews

The Garbage drummer/songwriter produced the Nirvana album Nevermind, and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream.

Intentionally Atrocious

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.