Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is a Country Music singer from Poyen, Arkansas.
In 2008, he signed to Valory Music Group, an imprint of the country label Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint. After his debut single "Back That Thing Up" made some initial buzz, his debut album dropped in 2009 on the heels of the breakthrough song "Small Town USA". Both it and followup Outlaws Like Me two years later notched a myriad of radio hits such as "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" and "Til My Last Day".
His third album, Off the Beaten Path, produced the hits "Point at You" and "Lettin' the Night Roll", followed by a brief detour into cover song territory when the label chose to issue a cover of Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" (featuring that band's lead singer Vince Neil) from a multi-artist covers album. When that song bombed, he went back to the drawing board for his fourth album, Kinda Don't Care, whose singles "You Look Like I Need a Drink" and "Somebody Else Will" both slowly climbed to the top as well.
Moore's music has been somewhat divisive, due to his blend of traditional country sounds and modern rock and R&B styled production. While some critics feel that his authenticity shines through the gloss, others label him a wannabe without the chops. Despite the division, he has had a fairly constant presence and strong album sales.
Discography:
- Justin Moore (2009)
- Outlaws Like Me (2011)
- Off the Beaten Path (2013)
- Kinda Don't Care (2016)
- Late Nights and Longnecks (2019)
Tropes present in his work:
- Cheap Heat: "Small Town USA" got several edits that replaced "David Allan Coe and a six pack of Lite" in the first chorus with the name of the station playing the song.
- Christmas Songs: He recorded a cover of "Run Run Rudolph".
- The City vs. the Country: "Bait a Hook" has a country boy expressing disdain for the new city boy that his ex has snagged, dismissing him with the line "He can't even bait a hook".
- Declaration of Protection: "Til My Last Day".
- Everytown, America: The subject of "Small Town USA" and "This Kind of Town".
- Loudness War: Some of his songs have somewhat harsh sounding production, such as the excessive crash cymbals on "Lettin' the Night Roll".
- Ode to Intoxication: "Why We Drink" lists off various reasons that the narrator chooses to drink alcohol.
- Stuffy Old Songs About the Buttocks: "Back That Thing Up" sounds like it's one... until the line "Ain't no time to play today, no rolling in the hay" makes it clear that "Back that thing up" is an Innocent Innuendo referring to a truck.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: He's only 5'7" and very skinny, so he appears this way next to his wife, Kate.
