Megan Moroney’s first hit song chronicled a journey that this Georgia native never thought she’d take: In “Tennessee Orange,” which reached No. 1 on country radio last year, she’s a proud UGA Bulldog who’s had the misfortune to fall for a nice guy from Knoxville — fallen so deeply, in fact, that she wears the colors of her alma mater’s archrival Volunteers to take in a football game behind enemy lines.
Since then, the success of “Tennessee Orange” — and that of her major-label debut, “Lucky” — have propelled Moroney, 27 this week, even further from home. This past summer she toured stadiums across the country with Kenny Chesney, and on a recent morning she’s on the phone from Cambridge, England, before a headlining gig in support of her sophomore album, “Am I Okay?” It’s a sharply rendered set of dark yet witty country songs about the mess (and the thrill) of Zillennial romance; as with “Lucky,” Moroney made the LP with producer Kristian Bush of the hitmaking country duo Sugarland.
At November’s Country Music Assn. Awards, the raspy-voiced singer will compete as the only woman nominated for new artist of the year, and she’s widely considered to be a contender for a best new artist nod at the Grammys as well. In August, Moroney put in a surprise appearance with Tate McRae to sing “Tennessee Orange” at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater — an experience McRae calls “a dream” in an email to The Times. Moroney called to discuss her songwriting, her creative ambitions and the album she can’t stop listening to.
You’ve been on the road for much of the year. How do you stay in touch with the emotion in a song you’ve played dozens or hundreds of times — but also avoid falling apart onstage?
I think it’s a healthy level of dissociation [laughs]. Songs like “Girl in the Mirror” or “28th of June” or “No Caller ID” — now it’s about seeing other people feel them.
What about protecting your voice?
The big thing is that on show nights I don’t drink — at all. You go into a Kenny Chesney tour and you’re like, Oh, we’re gonna be having rum-and-cokes every night. But alcohol really affects my voice. Also: not getting sick, which is actually really difficult. But I put an unusual amount of hand sanitizer in my bag every day.
Do any of those precautions take the fun out of the road?
Doing music is my dream, and I love it so much, but it is a job. When I started touring, I was playing 25 minutes, first of three [acts], on a Jamey Johnson tour. You could definitely party after. Now, I’m meeting 50 people before the show, then doing a 90-minute set — and I’m a girl, so obviously I’m getting ready at 11 a.m., whereas a guy needs three minutes. By the time the show’s over, I’m ready to go to bed.
Your song “Hell of a Show” gives some insight into the performer’s existence.
It’s saying: Yes, my life is very sparkly and glittery, but there are nights when I’m having to literally wipe my tears before I go onstage because my personal life is in shambles. It’s also a thank-you to my fans for showing up for me because those 90 minutes can make me forget about the personal s— I’m dealing with.
“Yes, my life is very sparkly and glittery, but there are nights when I’m having to literally wipe my tears before I go onstage because my personal life is in shambles.”
— Megan Moroney
Although it’s an intimate acoustic ballad, “Hell of a Show” puts across the same idea as Taylor Swift’s mega-pop “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
Her line “I cry a lot, but I’m so productive” — it’s kind of manic. But I’m like, “Oh, my God, same!” That song sounds how it feels to have to do that. You have so much adrenaline onstage, even when you cried earlier in the day. So she goes and plays to 75,000 people, then she comes off, and I’m sure she’s like, “I’m a psychopath for being able to do that.”
In “Heaven by Noon,” you imagine your aunt talking to your uncle, who died in the 9/11 attacks. How important is it to you that your fans understand that context?
I think my loyal fans know what it’s about, and maybe that makes it more real to them. This was my first time writing a song about grief, but I kind of wanted it to be a universal song that wasn’t so hyper-focused on my situation. I wrote it with Jessie Jo Dillon and Matt Jenkins, and we talked about people they’ve lost, and I was like, “OK, this is how it felt for my family — is this lining up with your story, too?”
Has your aunt heard the song?
She has. My dad and his six brothers are from the north, and my uncle Dennis was kind of out there for liking country music up in New Jersey. So I think it makes it extra-special for my aunt and my cousin that I wrote a country song about their story. They live in Boston now, so it’ll definitely be a moment when I play it there on tour. Hopefully I can get through it.
“Indifferent” is more of a 1990s rock tune than a 2020s country song. Did you set out to make a rock song, or did “Indifferent” just call for that approach?
The latter. We wrote it on acoustic guitar, but we already had the downstrokes that you could tell were gonna be power chords. When I go into the studio with Kristian, I’m a storyteller first, so it’s about what instruments and what sounds do we need to best tell that story? In this case, I liked that it didn’t sound like anything I had done. It kind of scared me at first, but I figured there was no reason to make the “Lucky” album twice.
There’s a bit of a ’90s-rock revival happening. You can hear it on Sabrina Carpenter’s new album.
Dude, it’s so frickin’ good. I’ve been listening to it obsessively. I actually had to turn it off to do this interview.
Do you relate to the way she embodies the blond bombshell?
Everything she’s doing is amazing, and it’s so aligned with her music. I love how feminine and girly she is — it’s kind of what I do with my style. And it’s just cool to see someone who’s been at it for a while finally get the recognition they deserve.
Megan Moroney performs at April’s Stagecoach festival in Indio.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“Indifferent” makes me wonder if you ever see yourself outgrowing country music.
I’m in the process of writing my next album now — I’ve only got a few songs — and I don’t want to limit myself in any way. One of my big bucket-list things is to have a crossover song with a pop artist. But I still have a long way to go in country. I’m gonna write all the country songs I can.
In your mind, the crossover song is you featuring on a pop star’s track, or vice versa?
I’d love to write a song with a pop artist, and then we produce it in a way that fits both of us. I love how popular country music has gotten and how it’s creeping into pop culture a little bit. Collabing with Tate, it was interesting to see how many fans we have in common.
What’d you make of Maren Morris’ announcement last year that she was leaving country music?
I think now you wouldn’t even have to announce that. Genres don’t really have borders anymore, you know what I mean? People are more focused on individual artists and the music they make, and I think real artists have real fanbases that are gonna follow them wherever. But as far as Maren wanting to do other things, that makes total sense. Do what makes you happy, because this is hard enough. I couldn’t imagine doing this if I wasn’t happy.
Megan Moroney is the only woman nominated for new artist at the year at November’s CMA Awards.
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
Let’s finish with a lightning round. What’s the unlikeliest run-in with a celebrity you’ve had in the past two years?
Probably Kendall Jenner at Stagecoach.
When’s the last time you cried?
The last night of the Kenny tour. I’m walking offstage after my set and my whole team and my whole family have their phones up, video-ing me. Looking back now, it’s cute, but I was just sobbing, totally overwhelmed. It was a gratitude cry.
Dumbest thing you’ve spent money on recently?
I bought a vacation for me and my ex-boyfriend. I regret that.
