Megan Moroney was an unsigned artist when her breakout hit, “Tennessee Orange,” achieved viral fame. Released at the end of 2022, the song’s narrator is a University of Georgia Bulldogs devotee who finds herself essentially committing sacrilege when she falls for a University of Tennessee Volunteers fan. The song’s instant popularity inked Moroney a record deal with Arista Nashville, and she has gone on to release two incredibly successful full-length albums, Lucky and Am I Okay? During a Sept. 2 public appearance in Nashville, the ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year winner shed some light into how her breakout hit came to fruition.
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Megan Moroney Recalls “Tennessee Orange” Songwriting Process
When Spotify approached Megan Moroney for an opportunity to appear on their Fresh Finds program, the “6 Months Later” songstress knew she couldn’t say no.
“I was like, ‘Okay, Spotify is gonna promote this song and they have a bigger reach than I do, so I definitely need to do this.’ Because as an independent artist, you take whatever you can get,” Moroney said during an interview with songwriter Diane Warren.
The streaming giant needed an unfinished song, and thanks to her bachelor’s degree in marketing, Moroney knew just the one.
“I was like, well, I’ve got this football song. It’s like the second week of football season, so maybe they’ll like this one. And then my marketing brain, I’m like, that’s easy to market this time of year anyways, it’s a song about Georgia and Tennessee football, kind of,” she said.
🖇️ | Megan shares about the process of releasing ‘ Tennessee orange ‘ in an interview with Diane Warren. pic.twitter.com/qTQ7lolIsn
— Megan Moroney Tour & Updates (@megmoroneytours) September 3, 2025
Essentially, “I released it just because Spotify asked me for a song, and I was like, this football one will probably work. And then it changed everything,” explained the “No Caller ID” singer, 27.
[RELATED: Megan Moroney Fans Get Engaged as She Performs a Breakup Song]
What’s Next?
Building upon the organic success of “Tennessee Orange,” Megan Moroney has established herself as one of country music’s foremost stars. And the CMA Award-winning artist is far from finished. She’s been slyly dropping hints about her forthcoming third studio album. In July, her producer, Kristian Bush, said they were wrapping up work on the still-untitled project.
“This next set of music is a lot happier than what you would expect, but I feel like that’s just where I’m at in life,” Moroney previously told Audacy’s Katie Neal. “I feel like for once I’m just chillin’, I love it.”
Featured image by Natasha Moustache/WireImage
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