Megan Moroney Says She's 'Never Been More Single' and the Love Songs on Her New Album Explain Why (Exclusive)

The country star's highly anticipated sophomore album 'Am I Okay?' drops July 12

Megan Moroney is booked and busy.

The 26-year-old is Nashville’s newest darling, and after taking Music City by storm with her No. 1, double platinum hit "Tennessee Orange" off her debut 2023 album Lucky, she’s releasing her second record Am I Okay? just over a year later.

“This version of Megan has way less days off! I thought that last year’s Megan was busy, and now it's like my whole entire life is planned out until 2026," the Academy of Country Music award-winner tells PEOPLE exclusively in the latest issue. "I feel like everything has been taken up a notch."

Related: Megan Moroney Is in Her 'Lucky Era' with the Release of Debut Album: 'I'm Just a Normal Person' (Exclusive)

Moroney, who is currently out on Kenny Chesney's Sun Goes Down tour, has branded herself as a proud “emo cowgirl,” which to her, means embodying a particular combination of wearing her heart on her sleeve and occasionally oversharing, all of which she adeptly does on the new record.

“I am pretty emotional. But with the amount of sad songs on the album, I think there's also enough songs that are empowering and confident, and I think that those two different sides of the spectrum are very real," she says. "Some days I wake up and I feel so confident, and then other days I wake up and I try not to text him, you know what I mean?”

Moroney's relatability is one of her superpowers, as is seemingly churning out hit after hit. With Am I Okay? dropping merely a year after Lucky, Moroney knows the two projects might draw comparisons.

So, she’s got the elevator pitch for the second record ready to go.

“It sounds like Lucky's cooler older cousin that can drink,” she says with a laugh, “and I think that just sonically, it feels more advanced. I wrote it with the intention of playing bigger venues. I’m touring nonstop, and the songs just feel more grown up. I think the emotions are more intense on this album than Lucky," she says.

Related: Megan Moroney Thought She Was Going to 'Pass Out' Upon Learning Olivia Rodrigo Loves Her Music (Exclusive)

Am I Okay? boasts radio hit "Indifferent" as well as the raw ballad "28th of June" which deals with the pain of moving on from a relationship— a genre of song that Moroney has down to a science.

“There's definitely strength in those vulnerable songs to be able to say, ‘This situation hurt me,' and I am going to be OK, but it's also okay to say that I am hurt by the situation,” she says.

In fact, Moroney confesses that she’s so laser focused on her red-hot career that most other things have taken a bit of a backseat— including dating.

“I really don't have time for it right now,” she says. “I tried dating for a second and then I quickly realized that now is not the time. I think in the album you get that vibe. The love songs were very short-lived!”

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Speaking of love songs, however, Moroney pulled off a bit of a twist with the titular track.

"Am I Okay?" is not the "sad song everyone is expecting," she says, "and I'm very excited for them to find out that out."

Still, the country star realizes her life is "chaotic" by nature, and "unfortunately a lot of my personal life revolves around my work life, so that's why dating right now is just not something that's in the front of my mind. I don't really worry about it too much,” she says. “And as far as dating currently, I don't think I've ever been more single!”

Instead, Moroney is able to dedicate whatever free time she has to her friends and family, whom she credits for helping keep her grounded.

“As far as my everyday life, I feel like it's not that different. My best friends are still my best friends, and they are not in the music industry, so they make me feel very normal," she says, before adding with a laugh, "and I’m still calling my mom three times a day."

For more on Megan Moroney, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

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