www.whiskeyriff.com
“Soft But Still Confident”: Megan Moroney Reveals Why She’s In Her Pink Era For Upcoming Album, ‘Cloud 9’
Diving deeper into her creative choices.
Entering 2026, it’s hard to point to a hotter artist, except for Ella Langley and Zach Top, than Megan Moroney. Coming off the heels of a highly successful 2025, which saw her not only grab her second-career #1 hit with “Am I Okay?” in June but also lead the way in CMA Award nominations, along with Langley and Lainey Wilson, with six separate nods.
With all of that being said, 2025 was another huge year for the “I’m Not Pretty” singer, and 2026 is looking to be an even bigger one. Of course, this is thanks to her not only setting the release of her third studio album, Cloud 9, for February 20th but also plotting her massive international tour of the same name, which will hit seven countries across 48 shows throughout the year.
Without question, the lead-up to Cloud 9’s release next month has been a huge success for Moroney. Aside from all the teasers, easter eggs and speculation that came before its official announcement, she’s kept the momentum moving greatly through the release of key singles such as “Beautiful Things” on October 24th and “Wish I Didn’t,” which was released today.
Additionally, earlier in the week, she finally released the album’s 15-song tracklist, dropping the bombshell that the highly speculated collaboration with Ed Sheeran, titled “I Only Miss You,” would appear on Cloud 9 along with a Kacey Musgraves duet titled “Bells & Whistles.”
With Cloud 9 just five weeks away, Moroney is finally revealing some of the choices behind both her writing process for the album and her signature use of color in the album’s marketing.
Appearing on The Bobby Bones Show this morning, the “Six Months Later” singer would open up about everything from the aforementioned creative choices and upcoming songs on the album to the evolution of her touring schedule and her now-famous birthday gift from Kenny Chesney, an autographed guitar from Dolly Parton.
As mentioned previously, one of the defining characteristics of Moroney as an artist is her dedication to different album “eras.” Of course, this is primarily highlighted by following a strict wardrobe and social media posting routine, which pairs different colors with different albums. If you recall, her debut album, Lucky, was all green, while her sophomore album, Am I Okay? was dark blue. This time around, obviously, Cloud 9 is all pink.
Hilariously, the Georgia native would note that she refrained from posting anything predominantly pink even before she officially chose it as Cloud 9’s color, noting how much fans are aware of the importance of color to all of her albums.
“For my birthday, before the color was announced in October, I got a lot of pink stuff. I got a pink purse, pink Ugg slippers, and I couldn’t post them or anything or be seen in them or anything because my fans are really sneaky and smart.”
When asked why she ultimately chose pink as Cloud 9’s official color, Moroney would reveal that when she was in the writing process, an unnamed song simply felt “really hot pink” to her. As she continued developing the album, pink simply stuck. As she notes, she felt that pink symbolizes a “softness” in the record that isn’t present on her first two projects.
“Once I started writing the album, about three songs in, there was a song that was really ‘hot pink.’ So that was kinda stuck in my brain, and I continued to write the rest of the album. There’s a softness about ‘Cloud 9’ that isn’t in my other albums.
I kinda chose all shades of pink, but I guess there is that staple hot pink. I think it’s soft but also still confident and empowering. It just makes sense in my brain.”
If there’s one thing that simply cannot be denied about Moroney, it’s the fact that she knows how to market an album. It’s safe to say that rolling with pink for Cloud 9 is going to pay dividends in the future. For now, we’ll just have to wait til February 20th when the 15-track album officially releases.
Before you go, check out her brand new single, “Wish I Didn’t.”
Cloud 9 Tracklist
1. “Cloud 9” (Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Ernest Keith Smith)*
2. “Medicine” (Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)*
3. “6 Months Later” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Rob Hatch, and David “Messy” Mescon)*
4. “Stupid” (Megan Moroney, Amy Allen, and David “Messy” Mescon)*
5. “Beautiful Things” (Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)*
6. “Convincing” (Megan Moroney, Connie Harrington, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jessi Alexander)*
7. “Liars & Tigers & Bears” (Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)*
8. “I Only Miss You (ft. Ed Sheeran)” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, Micah Carpenter, and Ed Sheeran)*
9. “Wedding Dress” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, and Colin Healy)+
10. “Change of Heart” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)*
11. “Bells & Whistles (ft. Kacey Musgraves)” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)*
12. “Table for Two” (Megan Moroney, Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter)^
13. “Wish I Didn’t” (Megan Moroney, Emily Weisband, Hillary Lindsey, and Luke Laird)*
14. “Who Hurt You?” (Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)*
15. “Waiting on the Rain” (Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon)*The post “Soft But Still Confident”: Megan Moroney Reveals Why She’s In Her Pink Era For Upcoming Album, ‘Cloud 9’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.