| JUSTIN MOORE Biography:
"It's a dirt road, a fishin' pole, a cold beer sittin on a
tailgate, an old church, a kind word, it's where I was born and raised,
Heaven Ain't That Far Away."
The lyrics from Justin Moore's song, "If Heaven Wasn't So Far
Away," typifies his philosophy on life. In his music and in his life,
Justin embodies the soul and character of a kid from a small town.
Justin was born in Poyen Arkansas, population 272 where he'd was
raised by his parents, Tommy Ray and Charlene Moore, on the family's 100
acres of land. One would have to go to Poyen to really get a sense of
just how "small town" it is. There are no street lights, mostly dirt
roads, a florist in an old trailer and one filling station; however, as
Justin sings in his single, "Small Town USA," it's where "everybody
knows me and I know them and that's the way I believe we were supposed
to live." Listening to the lyrics, you know Justin's music is from the
heart and that he wouldn't want to have been raised anywhere else.
His grandpa "Pa" and grandma Faynette raised cattle and, as a young
boy, Justin would help feed the herd, bush hog the fields and learn
about hard work. His other grandparents, "PaPa" and "Ma" lived a mile
down the road, and "PaPa" taught Justin to fish and hunt and had him in
a deer stand hunting before he was 1 year old.
Justin has been singing since he was 2, and at 8 years old he won the
talent contest at Poyen High School. He grew up singing gospel songs in
church and listening to nothing but Country music. A student of the
genre, Justin can literally sing thousands of Country songs, from old to
new, word-for-word and melody-perfect.
When Justin packed up and moved to Nashville right after high school
at age 18, he already had a manager and an offer as a writer/artist with
Zomba Music Publishing. As things often go in the music business, Zomba
got sold and Justin wound up signing his writing deal with Big Picture
Music, headed by Keith Stegall, renowned producer of Alan Jackson, among
others.
Through his attorney, Justin was introduced to young up-and-coming
producer, Jeremy Stover and, as a result, Jeremy became both Justin's
producer and main co-writer. This quickly led to a recording offer with
Scott Borchetta's The Valory Music Co. And, while it took a few years to
materialize, Justin patience and willingness to wait for the opportunity
to work with Scott and his staff at Big Machine Records/The Valory Music
Company (home to Taylor Swift, Reba, Jewel and Jimmy Wayne) more than
paid off.
2008 proved to be a big year for Justin as he and his band were
fortunate enough to tour with some of the biggest stars in Country
music. January '08 included tour dates with Trace Adkins and Luke Bryan
as well as an opening slot on "The Rowdy Frynds Tour" with Lynyrd
Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr., two of Justin's musical heroes. A show
with Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top was just another highlight of a great
year.
Since bursting onto the Country music scene, Justin has been lauded
as Billboard's "New Country Artist of 2009" and received nominations for
the 2010 CMT Music Awards "Nationwide On Your Side" Award for emerging
artists as well as Music Row Magazine's Breakthrough Artist of 2010.
Justin became the only new Country artist last year to earn #1 single
status (for his hometown anthem "Small Town USA"). The success of "Small
Town USA" made the Arkansas native the first solo artist to have a song
from his/her debut album go to #1 since Taylor Swift's "Our Song" (from
her Big Machine Records self-titled release) in December 2007. The hit
has sold over a half million downloads to-date.
Justin's follow-up single, "Backwoods," followed suite, becoming a
Top 5 hit. His new single, "How I Got To Be This Way" has already
reached Top 40 status. Justin's self-titled album, which debuted on the
Billboard Top 200's Top 10, was recognized as one of the Best Albums of
2009 in The New York Times' "The Year in the Arts" list by music critic
Jon Caramanica - no small feat for a small town boy.
Justin spent the majority of 2009 touring alongside Brad Paisley on
his "American Saturday Night Tour." 2010 finds Justin again, performing
alongside Paisley on the main stage of the superstar's H20 World Tour.
As the approximately 1 million fans to whom Justin played in 2009
will attest, the rising star's live band show is high energy, non-stop,
rockin' country, where his songs tell the truth about a kid from a small
town who's doing all he ever wanted to do -- play Country music.
website:
http://www.bigmachinemusic.com/artist/Justin_Moore |
