You might not know his name yet, but Matt Morris is no stranger to the music game.

His father is country singer Gary Smith, and at age 11, Morris won over the folks at Disney Channel to earn a spot on “The Mickey Mouse Club” It was on that show, alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell and other now-superstars, that he logged some serious performing time and began a lifelong friendship with Justin Timberlake.

Friday’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon proved to be a monumental introduction for the singer/songwriter. With 83 million viewers glued to their televisions around the world, Timberlake and Morris performed their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which now holds the #2 spot on the iTunes singles chart.

Morris’ first studio album, When Everything Breaks Open, is out now on Timberlake’s Tennman Records, and famed Austin guitar wizard Charlie Sexton and Timberlake co-produced the project.

“It’s an elaborate album, and it goes a lot of places,” Morris told MTV News. “So many people came together — Justin, Charlie, Edie Brickell and Patty Griffin [as backup singers] — not to mention all the musicians from L.A., Austin and Denver who all put in on this. It’s like this collective artistry that is bigger than me. It’s amazing.”

As was obvious from their “Hope for Haiti Now” performance, Morris shares a special relationship with his label CEO.

“Justin and I have been friends for a long time, and we have this unspoken musical connection,” he said. “He’s got his finger on the pulse. … And I don’t think it’s an intentional thing. I think it’s just part of who he is. He just gets it. He brought something that was really current and in the moment — and not in the pop-music or pop-world sense, but like in a real essence-of-creativity sense — he brought something really special to this album.”

Morris hasn’t picked a single yet, and fans seem to responding to a few songs equally, (“Money,” which features JT, is in the running, and “The Un-American” is being picked up by college radio), but with a spot on one of the most-downloaded songs in the country, he’s setting his aspirations high.

“It would be a rock-star dream to have Lady Gaga put together an outfit for me to wear at a big televised performance,” he laughed. “So, Lady, if you’re out there watching this right now, I wear a size-48 jacket, 30 waist. Call me.”

Learn more about what you can do to help with earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti, and for more information, see Think MTV. Visit HopeForHaitiNow.org or call (877) 99-HAITI to make a donation now

Also:

iTunes Users Praise Justin Timberlake And Matt Morris’ “Hallelujah” All The Way To #1

The Hope For Haiti Now compilation will reportedly debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart this week, but it was the two pals’ somber cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that struck a particular chord with viewers. However, according to Morris, there was almost another song the pair went with for the telecast instead.

Timberlake and Morris, who’ve known each other since doing time on The Mickey Mouse Club together in the early ’90s, also toyed around with the idea of covering the Beatles’ “Help.”

“It didn’t compare to what naturally came out of rehearsing ‘Hallelujah’,” Matt Morris tells Spinner. “There was a gravity to the event that influenced the performance of the song. When you approach a cover, especially one that has been covered as frequently as it has, we tried to make something beautiful. Anyone can make something new: change the time signature or add an instrument into the mix, but the melody of this song doesn’t need much. It hardly needs anything.”

Ultimately, the version of “Hallelujah” they went with was the one popularized by Jeff Buckley on his 1994 Grace album

As of yesterday, Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris’ take on “Hallelujah” from the Hope For Haiti Now telethon was the most downloaded track on iTunes from the charity event. Now it’s simply the most downloaded song on iTunes, period.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Related posts:

1. Matt Morris and Justin Timberlake to sing “Hallelujah” for Haiti
2. Matt Morris–Colorado’s Justin Timberlake?
3. Bono, Sting, Justin Timberlake to perform at Haiti Telethon

2 Responses to “Matt Morris Talks About ‘Musical Connection’ With Justin Timberlake”