Photo: Rona Liana Ahdout for Cosmopolitan
Megan Moroney said she wanted to make it “so obvious” who her heartache ballad, “Who Hurt You,” is about.
Moroney caught up with Cosmopolitan in an interview that [published on Thursday (July 23). When asked whether any of the tracks on her newest album, Cloud 9, prompted any questions from friends and family, the singer-songwriter said she aimed to be as clear as possible. She responded:
“In ‘Who Hurt You?,’ I made it so obvious who it’s about that it was, like, you could google it, and that was the point of ‘Who Hurt You?’ In the past I got frustrated with people. I was trying to hint at things, and then people would be like, ‘Who is it about?’ And I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna lay it out there. I might as well put his first and last name in it.’ Songwriting is fun, and it’s not meant to be taken so seriously. On ‘Break It Right Back,’ which was on my last album, my dad was like, ‘You can’t say that.’ But that’s because my dad was there and he knew that what I was saying happened exactly how I wrote it. And my dad was like, ‘You cannot put that out,’ and I said, ‘It’s too late. It’s already been recorded. But thanks for your input.’”
Moroney went on to tell the outlet that she’s “not dating anyone” now, “so I literally have no distractions” on tour. Though she said she might “be on the prowl again” once her arena tour wraps up this fall, Moroney said “it’s been so nice to have my friends and family out [with me] and that not be an aspect of my life that is any sort of problem for me….Life is peaceful. I got a dog in February. That’s what I needed all along—no man, a dog.”
Moroney has been connecting with fans across the country on her tour. The Emo Cowgirl told TODAY earlier this week that the “best form of revenge” on an ex is “having an arena full of people scream, ‘God, I hate how gross you are.’ Every single night. Louder than I could ever imagine.” That lyric appears in “Who Hurt You?”: “You said you needed less flashy, more fun/ Oh, of course she’s twenty-one/ On your arm through the bar/ God, I hate how gross you are/ And how did I not see it?/ Your ego, it needs feeding/ Endlessly, relentlessly/ At the cost of me/ And I'll move on, and I'll find better/ But you'll stay the same forever/ And ever, happy never.”
“I am so excited for my fans and I to dive into this new world of Cloud 9 together,” Moroney said when she announced the highly-anticipated record. “Similar to the first two albums [2023’s Lucky and 2024’s Am I Okay?], it’s all written about honest, personal experiences, but these songs were written by the strongest, most confident version of myself I’ve ever been. My feet feel firmly planted in my artistry and it was fun to play around sonically, while still sticking to my roots of what my fans and I love. Cloud 9 is a state of mind, and I have no doubt this will be the best chapter yet.”
JULY
24 | Monticello, IA – Great Jones County Fair
25 | Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
26 | Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
28 | Denver, CO – Ball Arena
AUGUST
1 | Portland, OR – Moda Center
2 | Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
5 | Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
7 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
8 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
11 | Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
14 | Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
15 | Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
16 | Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
18 | Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
21 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
22 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
SEPTEMBER
13 | Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
15 | Stockholm, SE – Annexet
18 | Cologne, DE – Carlswerk Victoria
19 | Tilburg, NL – 013 Poppodium
21 | Paris, FR – Le Trianon
23 | London, UK – Eventim Apollo
26 | Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
27 | Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
28 | Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
OCTOBER
1 | Belfast, UK – SSE Arena