Megan Moroney's first hit chronicles a journey this Georgia native never thought she'd take: On “Tennessee Orange,” which hit No. 1 at country radio last year, she's a proud UGA Bulldog who had the misfortune of falling in love with a cute kid from Knoxville—so deeply fallen, in fact, that he wears the colors of his alma mater's archrival Volunteers to watch a football game behind enemy lines.
Since then, the success of “Tennessee Orange” (and that of his major-label debut, “Lucky”) has taken Moroney, 27 this week, even further away from home. Last summer he went on a nationwide stadium tour with Kenny Chesney, and on a recent morning he was on the phone from Cambridge, England, before a headlining concert promoting his second album, “Am I Okay?” It's a set of dark but witty country songs about the messiness (and excitement) of Zillennial romance; As with “Lucky,” Moroney made the LP with producer Kristian Bush of the hit country duo Sugarland.
At the Country Music Association in November. At the Grammy Awards, the husky-voiced singer will compete as the only woman nominated for new artist of the year, and she is also considered a contender for best new artist at the Grammys. In August, Moroney made 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 talk about his songwriting, his creative ambitions, and the album he can't stop listening to.
You've been traveling much of the year. How can you stay in touch with the emotion of a song you've played dozens or hundreds of times while also avoiding falling apart on stage?
I think that'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 important thing is that on show nights I don't drink, nothing. You go on a Kenny Chesney tour and you're like, Oh, we're going to drink rum and coke every night. But alcohol really affects my voice. Also: not getting sick, which is really difficult. But every day I put an unusual amount of hand sanitizer in my bag.
Do any of those precautions take the fun out of the road?
Making music is my dream and I love it very much, but it is a job. When I started spinning, it was playing 25 minutes, the first of three. [acts]on a Jamey Johnson tour. You could definitely party afterwards. Now, I meet 50 people before the show, then I do 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. When the show ends, I'm ready to go to bed.
“Your song”Hell of a show”gives an idea of the artist's existence.
He says: Yes, my life is very bright and shiny, but there are nights when I literally have to wipe my tears before going on stage because my personal life is in chaos. It's also a thank you to my fans for being there for me because those 90 minutes can make me forget about the personal things I'm dealing with.
“Yes, my life is very bright and shiny, but there are nights when I literally have to wipe my tears before I go on stage because my personal life is in chaos.”
—Megan Moroney
Although it is an intimate acoustic ballad, “Hell of a Show” conveys the same idea as Taylor Swift's mega-pop.I can do it with a broken heart.”
Her phrase “I cry a lot, but I am very productive” is somewhat manic. But I'm like, “Oh my God, same thing!” That song sounds like what it feels like to have to do that. You have so much adrenaline on stage, even though you cried earlier in the day. So she goes and plays to 75,000 people, and then she comes out and I'm sure she's like, “I'm a psychopath for being able to do that.”
In “The sky at 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 for them. This was the first time I wrote a song about grief, but I wanted it to be a universal song that wasn't so focused on my situation. I wrote it with Jessie Jo Dillon and Matt Jenkins, and we talked about the people they'd lost, and I thought, “Okay, this is how my family felt. Does this align 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 liked country music in New Jersey. So I think it's very special to my aunt and cousin that I wrote a country song about their story. They live in Boston now, so there will definitely be a time when I play it there during the tour. I hope I can get over it.
“Indifferent“It's more of a '90s rock tune than a 2020s country song. Did you set out to make a rock song or did “Indifferent” just require that approach?
The latter. We wrote it on an acoustic guitar, but we already had the downbeats that you could tell were going to 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 we need to best tell that story. In this case I liked that it wasn't like anything I had done. At first I was a little scared, but I thought there was no reason to do the “Lucky” album twice.
There's a bit of a '90s rock revival going on. You can hear it on Sabrina Carpenter's new album.
Dude, it's fucking good. I've been listening to it obsessively. In fact, I had to turn it off to do this interview.
Do you identify with the way she embodies the blonde bombshell?
Everything he is doing is incredible and is very aligned with his music. I love how girly and feminine it is; It's kind of what I do with my style. And it's great to see someone who's been at this 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 getting over country music.
I'm in the process of writing my next album (I only have a few songs) and I don't want to limit myself in any way. One of my big bucket list items is to have a crossover song with a pop artist. But I still have a long way to go in the country. I'm going to write all the country songs I can.
In your opinion, do you present the crossover song in a pop star's song, or vice versa?
I would love to write a song with a pop artist and then we produce it in a way that suits both of us. I love how popular country music has become and how it's seeping into pop culture a little bit. Collaborating with Tate, it was interesting to see how many fans we have in common.
What did you do? Maren Morris's announcement Last year you left country music?
I think now you wouldn't even have to announce that. Genres don't have boundaries 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 fan bases that will follow them wherever they go. But as far as Maren wanting to do other things, that makes a lot of 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 of the year at November's CMA Awards.
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
Let's finish with a lightning round. What's the most unlikely celebrity encounter you've had in the last two years?
Probably Kendall Jenner at Stagecoach.
When was the last time you cried?
The last night of Kenny's tour. I walk off stage after my performance and my entire team and my entire family have their phones up, videotaping me. Looking back now, it's nice, but I was sobbing, totally overwhelmed. It was a cry of gratitude.
Dumbest thing you've spent money on recently?
I bought a vacation for me and my ex-boyfriend. I'm sorry.
