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Megan Moroney marked a meteoric rise in her career in 2023.
The Georgia-born songstress delivered a powerful debut album (with a deluxe edition following months later) in the midst of joining Brooks & Dunn on tour. Her inaugural collection included breakthrough ballad “Tennessee Orange,” going viral. But Moroney, 26, took the stage on her first-ever headlining tour and noticed legions of audience members screaming the lyrics to every other track on Lucky, including “I’m Not Pretty” (a video she co-directed with a clear vision, and featured some of her best friends), “Girl in the Mirror,” “Sad Songs For Sad People,” (which she said was the “least-streamed song” from her debut project) and others. Sitting with iHeartCountry in the green room at a local venue in Nashville, Tennessee, Moroney pulled out her phone to reminisce on an unforgettable moment from her headlining tour at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.
“It's the most absurd thing,” Moroney said with a smile as she watched the video from Buckhead Theater again. “They're not singing, they're screaming as if someone has personally offended them. And I love that.”
Moroney reflected on a whirlwind year during an interview at The Electric Jane in Nashville, Tennessee, where she hosted and performed during an exclusive pre-New Year’s Eve bash earlier this month. The reigning CMT Music Awards Female Breakthrough Video of the Year winner (“Tennessee Orange”) teamed up with Windsor to throw the New Year’s Eve party, wearing the Isabel Velvet Rhinestone Trim Dress and eye-popping heels paired with it. Moroney, a longtime fashion lover, is known for “being over-the-top on stage,” and embracing stunning looks in her signature gowns, cowgirl boots and sparkling accents. Holidays — including New Year’s Eve — “are just a reason to go even more over-the-top,” she said of her style advice. “I definitely don’t half-a** outfits… (holidays are a time for) more sparkles, bigger hair.”
“It's definitely been my most insane year yet,” Moroney told iHeartCountry as she reflected on 2023, and looked ahead to her plans in 2024. “It feels surreal. …I've been trying to purposely take time to slow down, and there's not too much time for that, but it's been crazy and awesome and next year's going to be better.”
Moroney is continuing collaborative work with mainstays in the genre. This year, she joined Old Dominion on the heartache duet, “Can’t Break Up Now,” appearing on the award-winning band’s latest full-length record, Memory Lane. She joined Old Dominion on stage at the 57th annual CMA Awards last month at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville, and performed with the reigning Vocal Group of the Year at the same venue on their headlining tour on December 15. Moroney also salutes legendary mother-daughter duo The Judds on the star-studded A Tribute To The Judds album that released in October. Moroney delivered a stunning solo rendition of '80s classic “Why Not Me.” Other artists appearing on the tribute album include Lainey Wilson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Jelly Roll, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Wynonna Judd and many others.
Next up, Moroney is gearing up to join powerhouse country star Kenny Chesney on his headlining stadium trek. The “Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour,” which also includes Zac Brown Band and Uncle Kracker, will kick off in April in Tampa, Florida, with stops in Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee and other destinations before coming to a close with three back-to-back nights in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“It's truly hard to process because I thought I was going to be an accountant,” Moroney said, calling up the story of country star Chase Rice inviting her to open for him at the Georgia Theater during her freshman year of college. “My expectations were doing taxes. So, the fact that I get to show up in these cities and every show is sold out, they sing every word to every song…it's just like the coolest thing ever.”
Moroney said she feels “like I’m hanging out with my friends,” when she takes the stage. She connects with crowds of people resonating with every emotion she displays in her music, including their collective anger during “Sleep on My Side,” and sadness when she launches into “Why Johnny.” Moroney wrote her first song at 19 years old, when she opened for Rice, and “from that point on, I knew I wanted to move to Nashville,” (though her “realistic parents” supported her in finishing her degree first).
The Lucky artist knows the human experience is to “go through the same experiences, whether we talk about it or not.” For Moroney, songwriting is “therapeutic,” and she aims to use that craft to help others who relate to her own personal experiences. “To have it help other people too just makes it even better.
“I've been taking every ounce of free time that I have to write and be in the studio, so I'm just keeping the ball rolling,” Moroney told iHeartCountry, hinting at follow-ups to Lucky on the way soon. “I know that my fans are excited for new music, so try to keep them happy.”
Moroney rang in 2024 with a pre-New Year’s Eve celebration, and she’s set to return to a Nashville stage for the star-studded New Year’s Eve Bash. Other performers include Trace Adkins, Kane Brown, Cody Johnson, Brothers Osborne,Carly Pearce, Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson and many others. The five-hour broadcast will include dozens of performances and collaborations throughout the night. NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH will air live on Sunday, December 31 (7:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT, 10:30 PM-1:05 AM, ET/PT) on CBS with steaming on Paramount+.
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