<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen the Academy of Country Music Awards nominations were revealed<\/a> on Tuesday morning (April 9), \u201cTennessee Orange\u201d hitmaker Megan Moroney<\/a> scored six nominations, including new female artist of the year and female artist of the year, making her the leading female artist nominee heading into the awards show on May 16 (she ties with Morgan Wallen for six nominations, while only Luke Combs has more nominations this year, with eight).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was still in bed, because I just got back from the CMT Music Awards, so I started seeing my phone blowing up with the news,\u201d she tells Billboard<\/em> of learning of her ACM Awards nominations. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to me that I\u2019m nominated for new female artist and female artist at the same time \u2014 I didn\u2019t even know you could do that, so I think that was the most surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMeanwhile, she also earns nominations in the visual media of the year and music event of the year categories, for \u201cCan\u2019t Break Up Now,\u201d which she collaborated on with country group Old Dominion. That\u2019s in addition to her nominations as both writer and artist for her college football-framed, star-crossed romance single \u201cTennessee Orange\u201d in the song of the year category. She wrote \u201cTennessee Orange\u201d with Ben Williams, David Fanning and Paul Jenkins.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m also really proud of the song of the year, because I care so much about my songwriting and my songwriter friends,\u201d Moroney says. \u201cI think it\u2019s all just insane. It is a dream to be nominated and to be the top female nominated this year, I\u2019m just like, \u2018What the heck?’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThese six nominations are a testament to the rocket ride the Georgia-born singer-songwriter has been on since she began releasing songs such as \u201cHair Salon\u201d and \u201cWonder.\u201d But it was \u201cTennessee Orange\u201d that went viral in 2022 and Moroney was quickly signed to Sony Music Nashville\/Columbia Records. Currently, Moroney has two songs in the top 25 on the Billboard<\/em> Country Airplay<\/a> chart: \u201cCan\u2019t Break Up Now\u201d and her own \u201cI\u2019m Not Pretty.\u201d Her headlining Lucky 2.0 tour launches next month, while this spring and summer will also find Moroney playing stadiums, in support of Kenny Chesney\u2019s Sun Down 2024 Tour, as well as a performance at massive country music festival Stagecoach. In September, Moroney will make the trek overseas for a 15-show headlining Georgia Girl tour in the U.K. and Europe. <\/p>\n \n\tAll of it serves as evidence of the success of an artist who has managed to blend eye-catching, Southern-soaked glamour with live shows that have an intimate, confessional feel, and songs that poetically expose a spectrum of deep-seated emotions and musings.<\/p>\n \n\tMoroney says she\u2019s grateful for the ACM Awards nominations, knowing that they are voted on by her industry peers. \u201cI feel very embraced by the country music community, and that is the cherry on top,\u201d she says. \u201cMy fans have been so supportive and showed up for me. So that the industry would recognize what we\u2019re building together, it means a lot to me. And it\u2019s reassuring to know that the songs that I\u2019m writing and all the work that my team and I are putting in every day is paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards will air on May 16 via Prime Video, streaming live across more than 240 countries and territories from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Moroney hasn\u2019t yet given too much thought just yet to how she will celebrate if she takes home some one or more ACM Awards trophies, saying, \u201cI\u2019m just taking it all in today. But I think I would definitely celebrate with some tequila or something. My songwriter friends are going to be there and just getting to hang out with everyone that I don\u2019t always get to see when I\u2019m on the road is just such a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBuilding on the momentum of her 2023 debut studio album Lucky<\/em>, Moroney recently began letting fans in on new music, including \u201cNo Caller ID\u201d and \u201c28th of June,\u201d seeding an impending new album release. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe album is 98%, maybe 99% done. I\u2019m just kind of tweaking the mixes and stuff,\u201d she tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cThere are no drastic changes in sound, but I do think the happy songs are happier and the sad songs are sadder. I think it\u2019s a great look into the last year of my life and my songwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThough she says there are no straightforward collaborations on the album, she does hint, \u201cI do have someone pretty cool singing some background vocals on one of the songs.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThough her career is still on the ascent, Moroney has some big, sparkling dreams for expanding her empire: \u201cI hope I\u2019ll have a bar on Broadway, and I would love my own boot line, since I\u2019m obsessed with boots, as everyone knows. That is definitely on my radar. I\u2019m still in a building period right now with my career, but it\u2019s something I think about and something we\u2019re trying to plan for.\u201d<\/p>\n