NEW MUSIC: DEMI LOVATO | MIDDLE (WITH GREY & ZEDD)

Zedd, Grey, and Maren Morris’ hit single, “The Middle,” almost didn’t come to fruition because of the lead vocalist's drama. One of the biggest hurdles to jump was finding the perfect vocalist for the song. It took over a year before they stumbled onto Maren Morris, a singer Zedd had had never heard of before listening to her demo. Some top billing female vocalists took a shot at the lead vocals for the song, including Camila Cabello, Anne-Marie, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Bebe Rexha, Lauren Jauregui from Fifth Harmony, Daya, and Elle King. The three closest to making the cut were Camila Cabello, Anne-Marie and today, we get the version with the lead vocals from Demi Lovato with Grey and Zedd. Initially, the song producers and writers wanted Demi. In the end, however, she chose “Sorry Not Sorry” over “The Middle," which in the end was a good move. The songwriters next approached Camila, but just a tad too late. Her hit, “Havana,” was starting to climb the charts, making her incredibly busy. Finally, the project was thought to be finished with Anne-Marie on board. But, of course, it didn’t work out. Due to conflicts with her feature on Marshmello’s “Friends,” she had to back out at the last second. The producers were ready to give up on “The Middle” until Zedd came across a demo that they missed: Maren Morris’. They loved the country singer’s vocals and how well it matched Sarah Aarons’ vocals, who wrote the song and sang in the original demo.