♪ but i am only human but i'm capable ♪ ♪ of the things that you thought weren't capable ♪ ♪ the conversation's easier said than done ♪ ♪ the temptation better when it's gone ♪ ♪ those around must come around ♪ ♪ so when i go i'll come around again ♪ ♪ oooh my heart is numb ♪ ♪ ohhh my head is numb ♪ ♪ oh my god i am ♪ ♪ this is "nightline." >> phil: tonight, felipe teet. the french tightrope artist

mesmerizing the crowd. >> i am in control, there is no fear. >> there is somebody out there on a tightrope. >> phil: 50 years after his death defying walk documented in the oscar-winning "man on wire," behind the scenes as he prepared for the anniversary of the world-famous stunt and on site for his new performance. joined by his friend sting, singing a song he wrote for the occasion. at 74, can felipe teet still cheat death? plus in the middle with maren morris. the swinger who swung wide, from award-winning country artist to legit pop star, opening up about her wig life changes. >> i had to throw the playbook out and start over. >> phil: her public divorce and coming out as bisexual. >> my life looks completely 180. >> phil: what she says now about taking a step back from country music. >> you cited a lot of reasons. misogyny, racism.

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z's baking the house special. arisa's styling a new look. and steve's filling his biggest order ever. with the first ever comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, these business owners get five years of value on gig speed internet and advanced security, all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years. that's a lot of bread. you got this. the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. switch today for a limited tim. ♪ >> phil: good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm phil lipof. on a ran come august morning 50 years ago, people in new york city looked up and saw a tiny speck in between the world trade center towers. a death-defying stunt that stopped people in their tracks

and captured the world's attention. today, that highwire artist, philippe petit, is as fearless as he was that day. here's "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> all of a sudden, the density of the air is no longer the same. the murmur of the city dissolves into a squall whose chill and power i no longer feel. >> juju: with the grace of a dancer, philippe petit floats 20 feet above the ground, across a high wire. at 74 years old, a mesmerizing display of balance and defiance. ♪ you remember me ♪ >> juju: with his good friend sting serenading his feat. ♪ on the fields of holly ♪ >> juju: it's been 50 years since petit's death defying walk between the twin towers, a dot appearing in the sky, capturing the world's imagination.

at st. john's cathedral in new york city, surrounded by hundreds of adoring fans, he's celebrating his place in history. >> it's a lifetime, 50 years, yet it's nothing. i look and see all the detail of my work then as if it were yesterday. >> juju: petit is one of the world's most renowned performance artists known for daring walks on wires hundreds of feet above the ground without any safety net. what's your relationship with the wire? >> i spent a lifetime trying to create work in which my whole mind and body almost secretly communicate with the cable, so it's a very intimate, personal relationship that i created with an apparent inanimate piece of steel. but to me, it's really vibrant, full of life. >> juju: the frenchman burst onto the scene in 1971, shocking the crowds in paris by walking between the spires of the notre dame cathedral. two years later, he reappeared on a wire strung between two

pylons at the sydney harbor bridge. but it was his breathtaking walk between the twin towers in 1974 that sealed his celebrity, chronicled in the oscar-winning documentary "man on wire." >> there is somebody out there on a tightrope walk between the two towers of the world trade center, right at the tippy top. >> juju: and the feature film "the walk" starring joseph gordon-levitt. the renegade artist boasting of the illegal nature of his walks. how many times do you think you've been arrested? >> actually, i know because i was counting. i have been arrested more than 500 times in my life. >> juju: my goodness. >> but not for bad things. for artistic crimes. >> juju: "nightline" got rare behind-the-scenes access as the artist prepared to commemorate his most infamous walk. what's the elevation? >> 20 feet. >> juju: 20 feet.

an inside look at his private training grounds. >> i open the door and i invite people to peek into my world, which is a world of poetry, a world of calm and beauty. >> juju: and his intense process. >> everything is to scale. the masts are 20 feet high. >> juju: most people will not risk their lives on a wire, but they wonder, where do you put the fear? >> there is no fear. there is a certain childlike impatience. i start the performance, and i am solid. i am in control. there is no fear. >> juju: we visited him on a hot summer's day at his home in upstate new york, just in time for his daily regimen. how do you train now? >> i have four high wires. low, medium, high. i dedicate myself three hours a day, an hour and a half of warmup and juggling, an hour and a half on the wire. >> juju: to the music of henry percel, petit glides across the

wire, unbothered by gravity or the effects of aging. >> i have no respect forn't rec. i feel i am in complete control of my art, and i am more solid on the wire and probably more majestic than when i was a rebellious 18 years old, trying to prove things. >> juju: petit grew up outside of paris and quickly found himself attracted to the world of aerial arts. >> i love the fact that to look at a wire worker, you have to look up to the sky. and when you look up, you start flying. you've been inspired. >> juju: what was the first spark as the young, rebellious teen teenager, that drew you into it? >> i'm glad you used the word rebellion. it's really what characterized the beginning of my young life. i remember that i start climbing. many kids like to climb. i think climbing is a way to separate yourself from the world

below. and it's an act of rebellion. so i spent my childhood climbing. >> juju: the act of rebellion driving his desire to reach new heights, spending months meticulously plan his most famous caper. his team preend didding to be part of a construction crew to gain access to the twin towers. let me show you this. what goes through your mind? >> it brings me back to the feeling that morning at 7:00, 7 c. 15 a.m., i step on the wire. the rigging was really not great. i had not been able to check the other side, which i always do before a performance. so i was very hesitant and delicate on the first crossing. then in the middle of the crossing, i start smiling because i knew it was not a disaster. >> juju: hardly a disaster. he became comfortable enough to cross back and forth eight times while balancing 1350 feet above the ground.

>> for the sake of beauty or art? >> it was for no reason. because i just feel it. i say, oh, that would be fantastic, the wire there, you know? >> juju: when you stepped off the wire 50 years ago, you were once again arrested. >> it was illegal, yes. but i became instantly in new york a celebrity. >> juju: the 24-year-old was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, but the charges dismissed. >> to feel like a bird, to go above the ground. >> juju: on the condition that he put on a free performance in central park. the connection, personal for petit. "nightline" spoke with him after the world trade center center was hit. >> my first thought at the loss of life and at the destroying of those two giants was unbelief, disbelief. and, of course, sorrow for the lost human life. >> juju: the legacy of the towers and his iconic walk front and center in his anniversary performance.

>> when you lose a loved one, of course tears come in and you have to grieve. but also sometimes smile and joy and laughter come in because you'll remember the departed in the glory of their life. so i think it is the same. ♪ >> juju: a hush falls over the packed crowd as the show begins. ♪ comprised of 1 distit scenes, the performance named "towering" embodies petit's journey to his historic walk, re-enacted by dancers and musicians. ♪ as well as the main star. his feelings of victory >> sir! >> juju: and the moment he was confronted by nypd. >> don't you do that, sir! >> juju: as the show was about to close, a special surprise.

the premiere of sting's new song, "let the great world spin." ♪ see the way the towers have fallen ♪ >> i've known philip since 1980. he took me to the top of the tower, and he told me the story actually looking down. so i got vertigo. it was kind of easy to write that song, because i sort of lived it with him. >> for me, a good performance is one where you give yourself 100%, and you get a response from the audience. to me, it happened tonight. but what do you think? >> exactly what he said. i agree. >> juju: it's clear that this show is far from the end of petit's high-flying career. you said that you will never retire? >> my age is old, gut my mind is very young. and aggressive and rebellious like i was 3 years old. i hope to continue to tour the world with my art. this is my wish.

>> phil: our thanks to juju. when we return, maren morris has a mantel full of awards for "my church" and other country hits. why she now says she decided to step back from the genre that made her a star. ♪ feels like the holy ghost running through ya ♪ ♪ i found my soul revival singing ♪ your gut is like a garden growing both good bacteria and bad.

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♪ >> phil: welcome back. maren morris is out with brand-new music.

it's an ep called "intermission." that's a spot-on name for the collection of songs chronicling the crazy changes that have gone on in the life of the country-turned-pop star. she sat down with abc's rhiannon ally. >> reporter: maren morris, thank you and welcome to "nightline." >> thank you, so good to be here. >> reporter: i want to take a look back at the past and talk about "the middle," one of your hugest hits you did with zed. ♪ baby why don't you meet me in the middle ♪ >> reporter: i want to take a listen to what you had to say about making "the middle" with "the new york times" "diary of a song." >> it sounds really good. >> the rhythm is so interesting. ♪ looking at you i can't ♪ like walking up the stairs. >> reporter: looking at that whole experience, how did that influence your music and where you are today? >> it was certainly the most bombastic, large song to date, for me. because i hadn't done anything in the pop world yet. it was just everywhere.

and i was in south america, like touring at the time, and heard it in a taxi. and i was just like, okay, this is crazy.t which you knew, this song is the song? >> yeah. i mean, you can't deny the reach that it had so quickly and kind of sustained. even now when i play it in my shows, the second it starts, it's pandemonium. >> reporter: it's so iconic at this point. let's talk about the last couple of years. because you've had a lot of changes. you've gone through -- you had a baby who's now 4, little hayes. you were open about dealing with postpartum. you went through a very public divorce, as well. how did those things influence where your music is today? was it cathartic to write about them? or was it difficult? >> all of the above, for sure. it's cathartic. it's therapeutic to write even through your pain. for me, in some aspects of my

personal life and career, i had to just throw the playbook out and start over. >> reporter: you've long been an lgbtq plus ally. you said that there's one song on this album that -- it's called "push me over." you said it gave you a shot of courage to come out as bisexual yourself. what was it about this song that enabled you to feel comfortable withhe world?f >> i think always being an ally to that community has given me a perspective of love and support. it's been a little bit bittersweet, too, because i wasn't ready to make that a headline about my personal life. i had gone on a date prior to that, right, with a woman. and that was very new for me. just as a 30-something, like here we go, we're dating for the first time, truly. but it went so well. i just wanted to write about it and write from a fun, excited place, which is where i was at

mentally. >> reporter: this new ep "intermission," is this the most maren album you're in? >> certainly meeting me at the moment, it's crazy to be able to put everything in this 15-minute window of loss, grief, celebration, sexuality, gratitude. just covering every base emotion i've had. yeah, i'm really proud of it. >> reporter: another big headline you made within the last year, you decided to walk away from country music. you cited a lot of reasons. misogyny, racism. and amongst other things, how has the road been since you made that decision? >> i mean, my life looks completely 180'd, but i think what's interesting about the music business business. it's 80% business, 20% music. but the business aspect of it, even though i was existing within it and being successful in it, i think there was just so much pain and heartbreak.

and that comes whatever genre you're claiming. so for me, country music will always be in my bones as a songwriter and as a texan and as a woman. my heroes are dolly and the chicks. and so i think that it definitely got blown out of proportion. >> reporter: really? how do you think it got blown out of proportion? >> i never sated, i'm leaving country music. i think that was a really exacerbated headline from the article that i was doing for it. people just took it and ran with it. it's really just the business element that i sort of had to -- and have had the privilege to be able to edit and make my own. >> reporter: do you think country music is evolving? >> there's a whole new crop of faces in country music, and i do think it's getting better. it's definitely diversified. obviously there's always room for improvement. it's a decades-long slanted

issue. if you look at the country chart, it's just so slanted towards men. for me, an interesting sort of music business study. why are women supporting women in pop music? can we do the same in country? we have every ability to do so. >> reporter: what do you hope fans take away from your new ep? >> it's been out for a week, and i have just been really, really -- not surprised, but bowled over by the support and the response and the shock, too. because i think -- i mean, i don't think i can do anything that shocking now because i've just covered a lot of bases in my career. >> reporter: does hayes have any idea how famous mom is? >> no. he's been to a lot of shows. but he has no concept. he's 4. but we were at six flags a couple of weeks ago on a day off on the road. "the middle" came on, on the speakers, and i could tell something clicked in his brain of like, wait, this isn't her

show, they're just playing this on the radio. think he was like, that's you! that was really sweet. >> reporter: he must be so proud of you. >> yeah, he's a sweetie. >> reporter: thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> phil: our thanks to reian on. "intermission" available now wherever you get your music. when we return, more success for u.s. olympians at the paris games. if you're living with hiv, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills. good to go unscripted. good to go on a whim. with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider. just 6 times a year. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients, or if you're taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression.

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♪ >> phil: finally tonight, more high-profile wins for team usa in paris. will there be a golden finale this weekend? >> here comes sha'carri richar richardson! >> phil: in the women's 4 by 100 relay, sha'carri richardson coming from behind, winning the race for the u.s., clinching her first gold medal. tara davis-woodall with a leap of 7.1 meters in long jump, that's more than 23 feet. davis-woodhall rushing to elcelebrate gold with her husband, hunter, competing in next month's