Megan Moroney’s “Mind-Blowing” Year As Country’s Rising Star

Megan Moroney’s career took off faster than she ever imagined. While it takes some artists decades to perform in front of thousands of fans, the 26-year-old is headlining country music festivals just one year after releasing her debut album, Lucky.

“I thought it was going to take time to gain respect in Nashville and build a fan base, but one song completely changed my life,” she says.

That song is Moroney’s first viral hit “Tennessee Orange,” which has now been used in nearly 100,000 TikTok videos. With lyrics about a girl so in love that she’s willing to wear her rival team’s color, the country tune ushered Moroney to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 2022. Fans have speculated that the song is about fellow country star Morgan Wallen (whose favorite football team is the University of Tennessee).

While Moroney admitted she “never exclusively” dated Wallen, she hasn’t confirmed whether “Tennessee Orange” is about him. “It’s doing the songwriters and just the song itself a disservice,” she says of tying a name to a song.

I write songs for myself to be therapeutic, but I also love that my fans can relate it to their own lives.

Even though it may invite fans to form theories, much of the Georgia native’s songwriting is rooted in real experiences. “I write songs for myself to be therapeutic, but I also love that my fans can relate it to their own lives,” she says.

The University of Georgia alum grew up singing in talent shows and listening to artists like John Prine and Emmylou Harris. Still, she never thought she could turn her love of country music into a career. Despite her father and brother being musicians, Moroney settled on majoring in accounting at UGA. However, it didn’t take long to discover she had a natural talent for songwriting, too.

When she was a freshman at UGA, Moroney opened up for Jon Langston, playing covers. There, she met Chase Rice, who told her she could open for him, too — if she could perform an original song. That was all the motivation she needed to write her first song at 19. After that night, her future plans had been decided: “I don’t know how I’m going to make this happen, but I’m going to be a musician.”

Since Moroney’s first EP Pistol Made of Roses came out in 2022, her rise to superstardom has been meteoric. “A year and a half ago, I was still in a church van with a U-Haul in the back of it, and now I have two buses and two trailers that we’ll be growing next year,” she says of life on the road.

While the quick change from performing at small venues to large summer festivals like Stagecoach can be a difficult adjustment, Moroney is staying focused. “There's definitely an overwhelming side of it,” she says of her newfound fame. “Anytime I feel overwhelmed, I have to just remind myself that this is exactly what I wanted and that I've worked really hard to get here.”

That hard work earned her the most Academy of Country Music Awards nominations for a female artist this year. “I grew up watching the ACM Awards,” she says. “My dream would’ve been to just attend one of those as a seat filler or something, so to be the most-nominated female, that was mind-blowing to me.”

She won best new female artist and her award now sits in a room with the rest of her plaques, including her 2023 CMT Award for female breakthrough video of the year. She hopes to fill that room in the future — and that could happen soon.

Taylor’s really changing the music industry and what’s expected of artists, so I respect her so much as a songwriter and I always take comparisons as a compliment.

Moroney is nominated for three awards at 2024’s People’s Choice Country Awards on Sept. 26 for songs off her newest album Am I Okay?. Moroney says the album debuting in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and her single “I’m Not Pretty” reaching country radio’s top 20 were standouts in her milestone year.

Her pinch-me moment of 2024, though, was touring with Kenny Chesney this summer. “He usually brings me up for two songs a night,” she says. One song is “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” which Moroney recalls singing in the car on the way to school when she was younger.

Moroney counts Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, and Miranda Lambert as her musical influences. Fans have even compared the style of Moroney’s track “Noah” to some of The Tortured Poets Department singer’s earlier music. “Just having your name in the same sentence as Taylor Swift is always a good thing,” she says. “Taylor’s really changing the music industry and what’s expected of artists, so I respect her so much as a songwriter and I always take comparisons as a compliment.”

Soon, she’ll get to play more of her music on a headlining tour. On Sept. 10, she officially announced the Am I Okay? Tour, which kicks off in Canada next March. In an Instagram post, Moroney told fans, “I get to play some of my bucket list venues and it’s going to be a very blue, very magical year on the road.” (Moroney assigned her latest album a blue color palette, telling Billboard, “Royal blue is this powerful color — it can be strong and it can be sad.”)

But first, a well-deserved break. After the epic year Moroney just had, she’s looking forward to taking some time off in November and December. “The first thing I want to do with my friends after touring is just have a home-cooked meal, hang out, and do literally nothing.”