Country music star Maren Morris took the stage on Dancing With the Stars during its Grammy Night special on November 10, 2026, delivering a live performance of her hit song “The Middle.” The performance was part of the show’s highly anticipated dance-off round.
Morris performed the popular track originally released in 2018 as a collaboration with electronic music producer Zedd and musical group Grey. The song became an international hit and earned widespread recognition for its catchy melody and upbeat sound.
Her appearance was connected to a head-to-head dance competition featuring actress Jenna Dewan and professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy against actress Tatyana Ali and professional dancer Jan Ravnik.
Both couples performed a cha-cha to “The Middle,” while Morris sang the song live in the ballroom. The dance-off gave the contestants an opportunity to earn additional points from the judges as the competition moved closer to the semifinals.
The Grammy Night episode featured several major musical performances, bringing Grammy-winning artists and well-known songs to the ballroom. Morris shared the spotlight with Brandy, Monica and Sheryl Crow, who also performed during the evening’s dance-offs.
Brandy and Monica performed their Grammy-winning collaboration “The Boy Is Mine” for the rumba competition between Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov and Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach.
Meanwhile, Sheryl Crow performed “All I Wanna Do” for the cha-cha matchup between Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold and Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas.
The special episode celebrated memorable songs from Grammy history, with the remaining seven couples performing individual routines before taking part in the head-to-head competitions.
Morris’ appearance brought a different musical element to the show, as the singer performed one of her best-known pop collaborations in front of the live audience.
However, her performance also generated mixed reactions online. Some viewers questioned whether “The Middle” suited Morris’ vocal range, with social media discussions focusing on her live delivery rather than the song itself.
Despite the divided audience response, the appearance gave the Grammy Night episode another major musical moment and brought the 2018 hit back into the spotlight.
Dancing With the Stars Season 35 airs on ABC and Disney+, with episodes also available to stream on Hulu the following day.
