Megan Moroney had a busy Friday. The country singer dropped a brand-new song, “You for Me (Smoky Mountain Demo),” on Nov. 6, and she wrote it with the same three songwriters she’s up for a big award with this month.
Megan, 29, was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Douglasville, near Atlanta. She broke through in 2022 with “Tennessee Orange,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Her third album, “Cloud 9,” came out on Feb. 20 this year and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It was her first No. 1 album.
Give the new song a listen first.
Megan Moroney’s brand-new song, “You for Me”
Now for the bigger news. At the CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 18 (8 PM ET on ABC), Megan is up for Female Vocalist of the Year. She’s also up for Song of the Year as one of the writers of “Beautiful Things,” which she wrote with Jessi Alexander, Jessie Jo Dillon and Connie Harrington.
To be clear, this is Megan’s own country song. It’s not the 2024 pop hit of the same name by Benson Boone.
Megan’s “Beautiful Things” came out as a single on Oct. 27, 2025. It climbed to No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. If you’ve never heard it, the official lyric video lets you follow along with every word.
The official lyric video for “Beautiful Things”
So who was it written for?
It wasn’t written for a boyfriend. Megan wrote it for her little niece.
When she first sang it live in early August 2025, Megan told the crowd, “I have a little niece. She just turned two a couple days ago”.
A 2-year-old can’t follow a song about heartbreak, of course. Megan explained that “there was something about seeing a little baby girl that’s perfect and angelic” that got her thinking about everything the world might throw at her someday.
Some of her worries were small. “Oh my God, maybe someone won’t invite her to a party or something.”
Others were a lot bigger. “She is inevitably going to get her heart broken one day. I have to write a song so that she can listen to that when it happens, so she can feel no sadness ever.”
When she first previewed the song on Instagram, her caption said it plainly: “I wrote this song with my niece in mind.” She added, “I wanted her to be able to have a song to listen to when & if she ever needs it.”
Before the song was even released, Megan shared a live version from a show in Charleston. It’s a chance to hear it with a live crowd, back before anyone could stream it.
Megan Moroney sings “Beautiful Things” live in Charleston
Family has been part of Megan’s music from the start. “I grew up playing guitar with my dad and my brother. They taught me how to play guitar,” she said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. She also sends her mom new songs. “When I write songs, I send my mom a little work tape from my phone,” she told Southern Living’s “Biscuits & Jam Live.”
Megan later put out an official fan video for the song, too.
The official fan video for “Beautiful Things”
As for that protective streak, Megan knows exactly where it’s headed. Talking about her niece, she admitted: “I am going to be a nightmare of a mom.”
Somewhere out there is a little girl who’s going to grow up with a song that was written just for her, by an aunt who wanted her to have it ready.