Megan Moroney is tied with Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley for the most nominations at this year’s CMA Awards, with six each. Moroney has been nominated a total of 13 times, winning in 2024 for New Artist of the Year.
“I feel like since I won Best New Artist, so many amazing things have happened,” Moroney tells the Country Music Association. “With the CMA Awards happening so soon, I’ve seen a lot of the old clips resurfacing, and it just makes me emotional, honestly, to see how shocked I was. It honestly felt like an out-of-body experience, so it’s like I’m watching someone that’s not even me. It’s amazing, and I just feel like since then, so many amazing things have happened.”
Moroney reveals that she was so surprised by her 2024 win, that she refused to part with her first trophy.
“I did sleep with my CMA Award last year,” she recalls with a laugh. “I tucked it in. I have this Instagram for my fans, like a private account. I posted it on there. But, I slept with it. And now, it resides in my room. It’s got prime real estate on the shelf.”
Megan Moroney On Her 6 CMA Awards Nominations
Among Moroney’s numerous CMA Awards nominations is one for Album of the Year, for her 2024 Am I Okay? record.
“I think it’s amazing,” the 28-year-old boasts. “To have my sophomore album nominated for Album of the Year, I feel grateful that the industry recognized it. And I’m excited to celebrate my producer, Kristian Bush, and celebrate the songwriters that helped me make that album. I’m a songwriter first, so to have a whole body of work recognized, and not just a single, means a lot to me.”
Moroney’s other nominations include Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year (as artist and director) for “Am I Okay?,” Single and Song of the Year for “Am I Okay?,” and Musical Event of the Year for her “You Had To Be There” duet with Kenny Chesney.
“This is the biggest year of nominations for me,” Moroney acknowledges. “It feels like a big celebration for my whole team, and all my songwriters, and everyone I work with. Even my fans that have got me here, so I’m really excited.”
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Megan Moroney’s Friendship With Kenny Chesney
Megan Moroney grew up idolizing Chesney. After touring with him in 2024, Moroney penned “You Had To Be There” in tribute to Chesney. It’s also Chesney whom she called first, even before her parents, after finding out about her CMA Awards nominations.
“Kenny Chesney is a great friend, and a great mentor of mine,” Moroney says. “He took me on the Sun Goes Down Tour last summer, and since then, we’ve just become really good friends. I wrote him the song ‘You Had To Be There,’ and that’s what’s nominated for Musical Event. He’s just the best. Before I met Kenny, I was obviously a really big fan, and didn’t know what to expect. But Kenny Chesney is exactly the kind of person you think he is. He’s so kind and generous. And if I needed him right this second, he would pick up and give me whatever advice I needed.
“So I feel really lucky to have someone who’s on top of the mountain that I’m climbing, and he has a lot of great advice, whether it’s life or career,” she adds. “I’m really excited to spend the CMA Awards with him. We’re going to have a great time.”
Moroney will perform her current single, “6 Months Later,” during the live broadcast. The 2025 CMA Awards will air live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena tonight, beginning at 8:00 PM ET. The show will stream the next day on Hulu.
Find out everything to know about the 2025 CMA Awards here.
Photo Credit: CMA / Acacia Evans