“Anything anyone can say about me has already been said on the internet, and I’ve read it myself on TikTok,” country singer Megan Morrone says candidly.
The 28-year-old is in the middle of her biggest year yet, so it’s no surprise she doesn’t have time to talk about what people who don’t know her have to say online. Morrone’s latest album, Cloud 9the singer reached number one on the Billboard 200. Her current tour is the largest she has ever embarked on, playing arenas across the United States for the first time.
However, Morrone quickly learned that being the open book she aims to be means that people will make connections between her words and her personal life, even if she’s not there. “The Band-Aid has already been ripped off,” she says. Hollywood Reporter On the last zoom between the tour stops. “It was very tough at first when I realized that when I wrote about things, people would over-analyze my personal life. I didn’t realize how crazy it could get.”
The singer has never been shy about sharing details of her life in her music, and she’s not looking to change that anytime soon. She brings up the song “Who’s Hurting You” from Cloud 9 The one that many fans online have speculated about involves country singer Riley Green. Morrone has not explicitly confirmed that the song is about him or anyone else. And while she never names anyone as an inspiration for the track, she’s not shy about her intentions.
“I might as well have named first and last names,” she says of the song. “With more confidence, I can tell my side of the story, and that’s how I felt in this situation. The other person might have looked at it a completely different way, but that’s the way my story went.”
But Morrone is weary of going any further with this line of thinking because it goes back to the over-analysis that people are so quick to do. “It’s also not that deep,” she stresses.
“People forget that you can write songs about a feeling that maybe you felt strongly for 10 minutes,” she says. “You get so excited, and you can write that song and that song will live forever. But maybe 30 minutes later, you say, ‘Well, it wasn’t that serious at all.'”
Morrone’s strong outlook has helped her push through an ever-growing country audience to achieve mainstream success. Country music has seen a boom in recent years, and the singer is happy that her name has been part of the conversation. “I think people really gravitate toward authenticity, and country music naturally has really deep storytelling,” she says. “After coronavirus, people really craved reality and wanted to hear stories in which they could find music to help them get through situations.”
Below, the country singer weighs in on touring life, being publicly recognized and her thoughts on being a woman in country music.
How’s the tour going?
We have completed the first phase, and the performances definitely exceeded all my expectations. It’s very fun. Fans sing every word so loudly, it feels so much bigger than just a concert. It’s definitely an experience. It’s just one of those things I haven’t addressed yet. I just moved to Nashville in 2020, so to even have two sold-out shows at State Farm Arena – this is the arena I grew up going to see Justin Bieber as a kid. I have to process that this is real, but I’m sure I will in the coming months.
Obviously, the arena tour is different. It comes with new challenges and new fun things too. Did you notice a difference in the way touring on this scale felt for you?
Honestly, it’s been more fun for me because I’ve always had a vision of being able to maximize my creativity and ideas, but in smaller spaces and that kind of thing, you can’t really do all the fun bells and whistles. On this arena tour, everything feels very intentional and thought out. It’s a very creative show. That’s why I enjoy it more every night because I’ll get to do everything I want to do on the show.
What does a day off on tour look like for you?
I love a spa day. I always try to find a Pilates or Lagree studio [fitness] The studio because it makes me feel better. Sometimes, on tour, you’re too tired to exercise, but obviously it makes a huge difference to my mental health, as well as physically. I always try to work out or have a spa day, sleep in, watch Netflix and maybe go shopping, or if there is a body of water, I like to find a boat.
Have you noticed an increase in the number of people who recognize you when you do these things? What are those interactions with fans like?
I was actually on vacation in Florida, and it’s definitely one of those things where now when I’m on vacation, my security guard comes over, which is definitely something new that I haven’t needed in years. But it’s honestly a lot of fun. I grew up going to this place in Florida. It’s like down at 30A. I remember when I was in college, I wrote four songs and I was just a college student there. Now, when I go there, it’s like I can’t go out without people recognizing me and wanting pictures, but they’re so nice. I also know that if I want a real vacation, where I just relax, I’ll probably go somewhere random, not somewhere everyone knows I go.
They definitely know me, but they’re always so nice, which obviously makes a big difference. I’m always happy to take pictures with people. I would say on days when I’m not really feeling it — because there are definitely some days where I can’t have any human interaction. I just stay home and it will be a bed rot day. My friend Kenny Chesney said there are much worse things people can come up to you and say other than “Hey, I like your music, I love you.” I guess I’m still new to this, so I definitely don’t mind.
Have you ever felt worried like you might have an off day and don’t like talking to people much?
Yes I do. Honestly, the only time I really worry is if I’m somewhere without my security guard, because it becomes a safety issue. I want to assume people are nice, but when I get called and no one is with me, it starts to scare me for whatever reason. But honestly, even when I don’t feel like it, I take the photo anyway. If I have time for it, obviously. If I’m going somewhere and I don’t have time to take pictures with 20 people, we have to keep going. But anytime I have time or if anyone gets to know me personally, even if I don’t feel like it, well, it’s going to take 20 seconds of my time, and it’s going to shape their life. I could be in a bad mood afterwards, but I have to smile at least for two seconds.
How do you feel about having your own space carved out as a woman in country music? Being a woman in popular music at all, you’re often held to different standards than your male counterparts.
Honestly, I don’t consider anything like this a problem or something that can’t be overcome. I’m just focusing on my goals, and it seems like maybe it’s going to be hard for me to get here because of that, but I think it can get really negative when you think about it that way. It should be like, “Okay, this might be a little harder for me, but I’m going to do it and this is my goal and I’m going to get there.” It might be annoying that it takes me more effort, and I’m judged more harshly and all this other stuff, but I don’t think dwelling on those things has been productive at all.
How do you feel about social media these days? Do you think comments prevent you from wanting to share information about yourself?
I definitely feel more confident overall. I used to let everything I saw about myself online really stress me out. But as I said, dwelling on negative things never leads to anything productive. It’s hard, but when I see something where someone misunderstands me and doesn’t understand it or twists my lyrics or whatever – there are a lot of people who love me and my music, and maybe… This person has a lot of time on his hands that day, and I just kind of keep moving forward.
