Megan Moroney shines on ‘Cloud 9’

Megan Moroney shines in her third studio album, Cloud 9, solidifying her staying power in the country-pop scene. Within Cloud 9, she continues themes from her previous album by singing about the back-and-forth nature of romantic relationships, falling in love, and moving forward. Even with similar topics, Moroney shows growth in herself and her music in the new album.

The album begins with the title track, putting the listener on cloud nine itself with Moroney. To her, things are perfect because of who she’s with, no matter what’s happening in the outside world. However, this song almost feels facetious and the tone gradually gets more melancholy throughout the album.

The next few tracks maintain a similar feel with twangy guitars, simple drums and everything you expect out of a country song.

Moroney hits her stride on “Beautiful Things,” where she slows down and shifts the attention from the relationship to herself. She paints a picture in the chorus with natural disaster imagery to describe the hardship she’s been through. This leads into the hard-hitting line, “Lies can break a fragile heart and crush your dreams. But, honey, just take it from me, the world is hard on beautiful things.”

Another track that stands out is “Liars & Tigers & Bears,” the title directly referencing “The Wizard of Oz.” Moroney is soberingly self-aware on this song. Here she details both the price of fame and what she needs to do to stay in the spotlight. In the second verse, she sings, “Stay in your lane, but evolve and get better. If you sell your soul, we’ll help you break records.” From someone who has a nearly sold-out stadium tour coming up, a direct jab like this is somewhat shocking. Especially considering she’s signed to Sony Music under Columbia Records, two giants in the industry.

After momentarily straying from the romance, Moroney comes right back with Ed Sheeran on “I Only Miss You.” The two singers take a standard duet approach, hopping back and forth on verses and harmonizing together throughout. 

“Bells & Whistles” with Kacey Musgraves is done similarly. While high-profile celebrities like Sheeran and Musgraves are signs of status for Moroney, the two superstars did not do anything to stand out on this album.

“Wish I Didn’t” encapsulates the internal dialogue at the start of a relationship. Knowing this person has a history, but still falling for their charm when they seemingly do everything right. Moroney threatens to expose them by writing a song about them, but still that doesn’t stop her from falling in love.

​ “Who Hurt You?” is the inevitable result of the previous song. There are rumors that this song is about Riley Green, another country star who was supposedly linked to Moroney in 2025. About Green or not, this song cuts deep and is the grandest on the album. It slowly builds to the chorus, then breaks down with hard-hitting drums and guitar riffs. It’s a song to sit alone in your car and scream along to at the top of your lungs after a tough day.

By the conclusion, the album leaves listeners anywhere but on cloud nine. Where it does leave them is in a very three-dimensional place, not romanticizing something that clearly isn’t real. Moroney herself expresses she isn’t on cloud nine, but she isn’t ignorant of her situation. She’s found a place that’s real, and she’d much rather that than lie to herself and pretend to be happy.