He is the son of country music star
Gary Morris. He achieved early success when he appeared on the
Disney Channel television series
The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the early 1990s, where he was a cast member from 1991 to 1995 (seasons 4–7). There he met future collaborators
Justin Timberlake and
Christina Aguilera, along with future celebrities
Britney Spears,
Ryan Gosling,
Keri Russell, and
JC Chasez. Morris first experienced success as a songwriter in the early 2000s. Morris collaborated with Aguilera on her 2002 RCA Records,
"Stripped", co-writing five songs with Aguilera and producer
Scott Storch, including the hit "Can't Hold Us Down". Another of their collaborations, "
Miss Independent", went on to become a number one hit for American Idol winner,
Kelly Clarkson. Morris continued his success in songwriting by co-writing with Timberlake the song "Another Song (All Over Again)" for Timberlake's second solo album,
FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The track was produced by
Rick Rubin, and the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Morris co-wrote with Timberlake a song for
Reba McEntire's
Reba: Duets album, which McEntire sang with Timberlake. Morris co-wrote the song "
Woman's World", the first single from
Cher's album
Closer to the Truth (2013). Morris' January 2010 performance of
Leonard Cohen's "
Hallelujah" with Justin Timberlake and
Charlie Sexton on the
Hope For Haiti Now telethon became the most downloaded song from the international broadcast's digital release and went to No. 1 on the iTunes music chart and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 During the same month, Morris released
When Everything Breaks Open on Timberlake's
Tennman Records. The release gained wide distribution through
Interscope Records, garnering much praise in the press. Morris was let go from his deal with Tennman and Interscope in 2011, and continues to write songs for other recording artists.
UnSpoken In 2003, Morris released the independent album
UnSpoken. To promote the album, Morris toured colleges around the United States and gave an interactive session and dialogue with audiences called "Reflections on Artistry and the Business of Music: A Dialogue with Matt Morris." The event consisted of a discussion of Morris' experiences in the music industry, as well as his thoughts about file sharing.
Backstage at Bonnaroo and Other Acoustic Performances EP Morris performed at the 2008
Bonnaroo Music Festival. While at the festival, Morris and producer,
Charlie Sexton, recorded a series of acoustic performances backstage in the
Music Allies recording studio. The songs were compiled as the 5 song
EP,
Backstage at Bonnaroo and Other Acoustic Performances, and released by
Tennman Records September 23, 2008.
When Everything Breaks Open On January 12, 2010, Morris released
When Everything Breaks Open on
Justin Timberlake's label,
Tennman Records. In support of the album, Morris performed on a number of television shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Lopez Tonight.
When Everything Breaks Open was co-produced by Charlie Sexton and Justin Timberlake. The album was recorded largely at Public Hi-Fi, a recording studio in Austin, Texas founded by Spoon's Jim Eno.
Hallelujah On January 22, 2010, Morris performed the Leonard Cohen song,
"Hallelujah", with
Justin Timberlake and
Charlie Sexton during the
Hope For Haiti Now telethon. The recording of the song became the most downloaded track from the album, and it charted in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Live Forever video The first video from
When Everything Breaks Open was for the song, "Live Forever". The video was directed by Matt Stawski, with art by Serge Gay, Jr.. The video takes place in a non-descript suburban neighborhood and is rich with animation.
Shlomo Morris was offered the lead role alongside
India.Arie in a Broadway production produced by
Daniel Wise entitled "Shlomo". The musical is based on the life of
Shlomo Carlebach, also known as the Singing Rabbi. ==Songwriter credits==