Megan Moroney will never forget her time serving as an opening act on Kenny Chesney’s Sun Goes Down Tour in 2024. It was an experience that can really only be understood if you’ve lived it and that’s exactly why she wanted to capture what she was feeling in her new single featuring Chesney himself, “You Had To Be There.”
The song was born during a December 2024 writing trip with Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter and Micah Carpenter, just after Moroney wrapped her run on the trek, an experience she now calls “a pivotal point” in her career and “a highlight” of her life.
Still on cloud nine, she wanted to find a way to put into words just how special that opportunity was — especially thinking back to her college days, sitting in the nosebleeds at a Kenny Chesney show, dreaming of one day performing at that level. “You Had To Be There” became her way of capturing that full-circle moment.
“I knew I wanted to write a song about it somehow, but we were on the beach, we were down in Florida and Micah started playing this thing that sounded like a Kenny song when it opens and it’s like I’m that’s freaking a Kenny Chesney song,” she shared on The Bobby Bones Show. “I had the title, ‘You Had To Be There,’ which is how it kind of felt when I explained the tour to someone that wasn’t there. I’m like, I don’t even know how to explain it, but it was the best summer of my life.”
They ended up writing with Chesney’s voice in mind for the second verse and by the time it was finished, Moroney had the idea to give the song to her fellow country star for a Christmas gift.
“I didn’t know what to get him for Christmas because he has everything, you know what I mean? My end of tour gift was a scrapbook that I made because what do you buy Kenny Chesney?”
Moroney used her creative thinking and ended up hand-writing the lyrics, adding an even more personal touch to the kind gift. However, she went into the conversation with Chesney with a no-strings attached mentality, meaning she emphasized that if he wasn’t into the song, he should not feel obligated to be a part of the record.
“If he hated it, I didn’t want him to feel bad. I know he cares about me. I literally prefaced it with, ‘if you hate this, this is just from my heart and how I feel about the tour and I’m so appreciative that you took me on tour. We do not have to do anything with the song. You can literally never show it to anyone. But I wrote out the lyrics for you.’ And he ended up loving it,” she shared.
According to Chesney, it was an easy “yes” as he felt so overcome with joy and pride learning that someone had written such a special song about him.
“Nobody has more fun, works harder, is more creative – or pranked me harder than Megan,” says Chesney. “When she called to see if I’d sing on her song, a song she said she wrote about me, I paused. Nobody’s ever written a song about me, but nobody’s ever ridden a tiny child’s tractor down my T wearing my clothes before, either.
“The answer was always going to be yes. But what a great thing to sing on a song so well-written, with so much heart and so in the moment. Being out with Megan last year, she really does pack it all into every single thing she does. With her, you do have to be there.”
The Georgia native opens the tune by thinking back on her days as a Chesney fan and the joy she felt getting ready with her friends to head to their nosebleed seats in the venue.
“Brand new boots that we’re ’bout to break in/ Bought some nosebleed seats, summer money well spent/ Parkin’ lot, take a shot, steal a kiss/ And we’re ready to go,” she sings, adding a bit of young love into the mix.
By the second verse, she brings listeners to the present day “seven years later,” and details her “different point of view” from on stage. Chesney joins Moroney on the chorus, blending their signature sounds with ease as they recall the “magic” of that summer tour.
“I see the lights, I hear the band/ Feels like the whole world’s in our hands/ Soakin’ it up, breathin’ it in/ One day we’ll say, “Remember when”/ We were so alive/ I swear that night there was magic in the air/ You had to be there/ You had to be there/ Oh, you had to be there.”
The new track was the most-added song at country radio this week with 117 adds, and it’s already resonating with fans for its nostalgia, heartfelt storytelling, and full-circle sentiment.
With her fan-favorite “Am I Okay?” currently Top 5 at Country radio, Megan Moroney continues to take over country radio, streaming, social media and live shows simultaneously.
She is currently in the midst of her must-see AM I OKAY? headline tour, with upcoming stops across Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma this weekend. The run continues through October.
The post Megan Moroney Turns Full-Circle Moment With Kenny Chesney Into Collaborative Single, ‘You Had To Be There’ appeared first on Country Now.