I'm Not Pretty

Album: Lucky (2023)
Charted: 114
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Songfacts®:

  • "I'm Not Pretty" was inspired by Megan Moroney's ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend scrolling through the singer's Instagram page at 2:00 a.m. The girlfriend accidentally "liked" a Spring Break snapshot of Moroney taken in 2016 in Panama City Beach, Florida.

    Instead of raging, Moroney flips the script, crafting a playful anthem out of the mayhem.

    "I feel like everyone can relate to that - either you've creeped on somebody or someone's creeped on you," Moroney told Billboard. "I could've been weirded out by the situation, but I wrote this kind of snarky song and it made me feel better."
  • In the opening verse, Moroney weaves a wicked tale of her ex's new flame haunted by thoughts of her – and boy, does she have the receipts! The poor girl's secret's out, as she accidentally double-tapped one of Moroney's vintage Insta gems.

    Then, the chorus kicks in with a cascading melody as Moroney continues to slam-dunk the new girl's obsession, which has now extended to her physical appearance.

    Like the Queen of the Mean Girls committee
    But hey, whatever helps
    Keep on telling yourself I'm not pretty


    No doubt, she's ruling the "Mean Girls" domain, but hey, Moroney's way too cool to flinch.
  • "I'm Not Pretty" is the opening track of Moroney's debut album, Lucky. She released it as the record's second single.
  • Moroney co-wrote the song alongside singer-songwriter Ben Williams and siblings Micah and Mackenzie Carpenter. Williams also helped Moroney pen her breakthrough single, "Tennessee Orange," plus five other tracks on Lucky. Micah and Mackenzie Carpenter and Megan Moroney are all Georgia natives.
  • Sugarland's Kristian Bush produced the song along with the rest of Lucky. He pairs the song's playful and clever lyrics with a relaxed and down-home beat and twangy guitar.

    Travis McNabb plays percussion and drums, Justin Schipper steel and slide guitar, Benji Shanks electric guitar, Steve Mackey bass, Brandon Bush keyboards, and Kristian Bush contributes acoustic guitar.
  • The song's music video divides women into two groups:

    There are the "nice girls" with matching platinum-blonde locks and pastel-pink attire. They sip champagne while solving complex math problems.

    The other group are the "mean girls" with dark hair and clothing. Their attempt at baking a cake goes up in smoke as they're too busy tearing down other women to focus on their own lives and projects.

    Moroney co-directed the video, which she envisioned from the moment she wrote the song.

    "I cast my best friends in real life to be in it, and thought it was really important to portray the difference in the nice girls that seem to mind their own business and the mean girls who spend all of their time tearing down others," she explained. "Moral of the story: Nice girls always win!"

Comments: 1

  • Davey from SocalHeard the last two seconds of this song on radio. Looked up the title on the radio station website. Had to find who played that stunning slide guitar!
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