February 2026 Digital Cover Story: Megan Moroney’s Third Studio Album Captures an Artist Fully Stepping into Her Identity

Megan Moroney is more confident in her artistry, as fans will hear across her new album, Cloud 9.

Videos by American Songwriter

“I nerd out about songwriting,” Moroney tells American Songwriter. “My parents have said I’m the happiest they’ve ever seen me, the day after writing a song that I love so much. I write about things that mean a lot to me.”

The rising superstar is beloved by fans for her bold, yet emotional songwriting, qualities that are amplified on her third studio album, out on February 20. The collection of 15 songs finds Moroney stepping deeper into her artistic identity and putting forth her confidence like never before. She’s riding into 2026 on a high as the album’s lead single, “6 Months Later,” hit No. 1 on the country charts in January, while its follow-up single, “Beautiful Things,” is currently climbing the charts.

“I think this chapter is me writing songs in this very confident, happy headspace that I don’t know that I’ve ever made an album in that kind of headspace. There’s a lot of humor in the album, too. My personality really shines through in a lot of these songs,” she continues, pointing to, Oh how the turns have tabled, in “6 Months Later” and Now who’s batshit certifiable, baby? in “Medicine” as some of the most humorous lines. 

Despite the more empowered place the album finds her in, Moroney asserts that she still maintains her “emo cowgirl” persona with songs like “Waiting on the Rain” and “Wedding Dress,” the former of which she describes as a “devastating” track she wrote after a breakup.

“I was really heartbroken about a relationship ending, but it wasn’t the end of the world, where in the past, it had been the end of the world,” she explains. “That did break my heart, but I’m going to be fine. I think that’s what happens when you’re confident and sure of yourself.”

Meanwhile, Moroney breathed new life into “Wedding Dress,” a previously unreleased track that appeared online in 2022 and quickly became a fan favorite. The track was written after the singer was convinced she’d found the man she wanted to marry, not long after meeting him, but when they eventually broke up, she realized she’d been living in a fantasy. The singer says she’s not the type who has dreamt of her wedding day since childhood, but admits she has fallen into the common trap of romanticizing a person or relationship. She decided to rewrite the song in 2025 to capture how she feels now.

“I think my type has been the problem,” she says. “I go after potential. I had our future created in my head that wasn’t a reality. I think those heartbreaks hurt worse because they weren’t real, and you never get to live up to the potential that you created in your head. Once I finally got over it, I was able to write the verses in a way that told the story and explained really complicated emotions. It allowed me to clearly write the story of that feeling.” 

“Wedding Dress” is one of many examples on Cloud 9 of how she’s processing her emotions instead of burying them. She wrote the sentimental “Beautiful Things” for her niece, offering a message of support to stay strong when the world tries to break her down as she sings, Lies can break a fragile heart / And doubt can crush your dreams / But honey, just take it from me / The world is hard on beautiful things.

“That little lyric change in the last chorus made me want to cry when I wrote that in the studio last minute. I just felt like I needed that tag,” Moroney observes of the song that also serves as a message for her younger self. “‘What would I tell her if she were really upset? Just hold on, just breathe.’” 

Moroney tapped a pair of all-star collaborators to help bring these messages to life: Ed Sheeran and Kacey Musgraves. The Georgia native met Sheeran when he requested she play a round at the Bluebird Cafe with him in 2025. After the show, the two exchanged emails, and she started pitching songs for them to collaborate on, with “I Only Miss You” being the last one she sent. The global superstar agreed to appear on the traditional country sound and even rewrote the verses.

“Getting to hang with him at The Bluebird, you could just see how much he loves songwriting and songs,” Moroney praises. “It’s definitely a dream come true to have a collab with him.”

[RELATED: LISTEN TO OFF THE RECORD PODCAST WITH MEGAN MORONEY HERE]

Another heart-tugging moment appears on “Bells & Whistles” featuring Musgraves, as the lyrics offer a healthy dose of self-awareness as Moroney sings, She lets you be right when you’re wrong as can be / I know why you like her / She’s sweet, and she’s simple / She’s like me without the bells and the whistles.

“Bells & Whistles is about embracing that some people think you’re too much. I’m making fun of myself for being a lot, but I’m like, ‘Someone will love it,’” the singer says. The song is made even more special by the presence of Musgraves, an artist whom Moroney has been a longtime fan of and cited as one of her favorite songwriters. She initially pitched the Grammy Award winner to merely sing background vocals on the track, but much to her delight, Musgraves not only agreed but took it upon herself to sing the second verse. It was a truly full-circle moment, as Moroney recalls waiting outside Musgraves’ tour bus in 2014 when she was still an aspiring artist.

“I’ve never happy cried in my life, but when I heard the mix of her singing on it, I happy cried,” Moroney professes, adding that she got the mix to the song back 11 years to the day that she stood outside Musgraves’ bus. “I hope it’s inspiring to any of my fans who have this dream that feels so far away, because if you would’ve told the girl that waited outside of Kacey’s bus that I would have a song with her, [it’s] one of the coolest moments of my life.”

The title track sets the tone for the album that captures Moroney’s life at an all-time high. While the concept of the title track is a love song, “Cloud 9” is more of a love song to her fans, born out of the euphoria of being on the Am I Okay? Tour in 2025 that allowed her to deepen her connection to her fans through the music.

“When I think about Cloud 9 and that concept, it reminds me more of that time of my life where I was having night after night on the Am I Okay? Tour where I was like, ‘I don’t understand how life could get better than this.’ I’m not even on cloud nine, I’m above cloud nine,” she raves. “I wouldn’t have been able to write that song if I wasn’t so happy with my career and feeling so lucky to be alive every single day.”

That elevated sense of self is reflected on the album cover that depicts her all in pink, climbing a ladder among a sky full of pink clouds without a worry in the world.“Pink is strong, confident, and sassy, but soft. I feel like, because now I’m so sure of myself, I can allow that softness. I think the entire album is a confident take on trying to figure out your life, not having it all together, but being confident that it’s going to be okay,” she proclaims. “And I feel like that’s the story of my life.”