Megan Moroney's next album is well underway, and the subject matter is a little different from what her diehard fans have come to expect.

During an interview with People on the red carpet of the American Music Awards on Monday night (May 26), Moroney said that as her new batch of songs is shaping up, she's noticing that the music is more "light and carefree and happy" than what she's released in the past.

That's a big change for the self-proclaimed "emo cowgirl," whose fan favorite songs include heartbreakers like "Hair Salon," "No Caller ID" and "Why Johnny."

Even her breakout hit, a love song called "Tennessee Orange," has some sad elements behind it, and her latest album title track, a giddy love song called "Am I OK?," acknowledges that being happily in love isn't familiar territory.

Read More: Here's Megan Moroney's Ice-Cold Advice for Getting Over an Ex

But Moroney says that her approach to honest songwriting is simple: She writes 'em like she lives 'em. This time around, that method is taking her into more bubbly territory.

"I just try to live my life and write about it," explains the singer, who says that her album is "probably like 80 percent written."

"Just like the last ones — I was writing about my life experiences. So the strategy behind it hasn't changed. It's still the same," she continues.

Personal songwriting has been a North Star for Moroney since her career's earliest stages, and she's seen just how powerful it can be to write from the heart.

"There's definitely strength in being painfully honest, even if it's hard to talk about whatever it is," she reflects. "And I feel like I've got a fan base of younger girls that really look up to me. So if I can be the one that tells them it's going to be okay, or I once felt this way and now I don't — I think it's brave, and I don't feel weaker for it."

Read More: Megan Moroney Got a Note From a Fan That Changed Her

A shift towards rosier subject matter doesn't mean that heartbreak will be totally absent from Moroney's next batch of songs. She jokes that it "wouldn't be a Megan Moroney album without some heart-wrenching thing."

Part of that is simply because sadness is, in a certain way, an emotion she likes to feel.

"I do like being sad, though, of course. I think it feels good to be sad," she told Taste of Country Nights' Evan Paul in a recent interview, before adding, "Sometimes."

The Best Photos of Megan Moroney

Check out the best photos of rising country star Megan Moroney.

Gallery Credit: Nicole Taylor

More From Taste of Country