Megan Moroney released “Cloud 9,” her third studio album Friday. In the two years since her last full album, Moroney gave fans four singles from “Cloud 9,” a live tour recording, a Christmas EP and two other stand-alone singles.
The title track, “Cloud 9,” opens the album with a dreamy sound. Moroney sings about how happy she is in her relationship and how nothing can bring her down from her high. “It's a long, long way, way down / Down to cloud nine,” she said in the song.
“6 Months Later” was the first single from the album, released in June 2025. The catchy tune hooked listeners almost a year before the album’s release. With a dance-music beat, Moroney sings about an ex trying to reconnect after she’s successfully moved on and almost laughs at their attempts.
Keeping the same moment of the previous song, “Stupid” tries to make excuses for a man who ignores Moroney. Moroney sings about how he would be stupid enough to mess things up with someone like her, making excuses for his inadequacies because she likes him.
The following track “Beautiful Things,” mellows the vibe and sings as a comfort to the girl from “Stupid.” Moroney removes the confident demeanor from “Stupid” to reveal a more vulnerable side of the doubt that comes with a romantic interest, or disinterest. The song addresses the harshness of the world, comparing mean friends and lovers to nature and natural disasters.
Track eight, “I Only Miss You,” includes the first of two features on the album with Ed Sheeran, who spoke about wanting to transition to country music on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Sheeran starts the track with a soft and smooth narrative, followed by Moroney, as their voices blend beautifully to convey the emotion tied to missing someone you thought you were over.
“Wedding Dress” follows the same soft sound and theme of missing someone, this time, worrying the feeling may never stop, even when meeting someone new.
The chorus’s line, “So let me miss him now / But God, don't let me miss him in a wedding dress,” shares her fear of being stuck on him.
At its start, “Change of Heart” seems to keep the mellowness of the previous two tracks; however, it changes to a loud, almost aggressive, dance beat at the chorus. Moroney reminisces fondly of a previous relationship, wondering if she made a mistake ending things. She comes to terms with how bad the relationship was, while, as the title suggests, having a change of heart and looking back at the positive memories.
Continuing from “Change of Heart,” “Bells & Whistles” shows Moroney, joined by Grammy award-winning country singer Kacey Musgraves, harmonizing about the new girl in an ex’s life. The song includes how the new girl is simple without the “bells and whistles” and implies she lets him get away with his wrong behaviors. It also features a unique 10-second whistling interlude before the final chorus.
“Wish I Didn’t” opens with a quicker tempo and more upbeat feeling than its previous track. It's another single from the album, and Moroney warns her new partner not to make her regret falling for him, despite the bad she has heard about him. She hopes he makes good decisions, because otherwise, she’ll make him regret losing her.
“Who Hurt You?” follows with a less upbeat sound, as Moroney sings, “I guess I should've known / I'd be out here all alone.” Moroney sings on the track about how she’s not the first girl to experience heartbreak.
The last track, “Waiting On the Rain,” sharply contrasts the energy of the first track. It's simple guitar and sweeping instrumentals, starting with thunder sounds. At the beginning of the album, Moroney is happy, in love with nothing bringing her down. At this point in the album, she is waiting for something to go wrong to end the relationship. She sings, “Waitin' on the rain, waitin' on the flood / Waitin' for the good to go bad, like it always does.”
Over the course of almost an hour, Moroney takes listeners from the euphoria of a relationship going perfectly, through moving on and finding confidence, then missing them again and again. With two beautiful features and her familiar country-pop sound, Moroney delivers yet another album to keep on repeat. From the “Cloud 9” feeling on track one to the rainy skies on track 15, there’s something to dance, cry, scream and smile to.
Rating: 4/5
