Justin Moore will likely soon have his 11th No. 1 hit, this time with the sweet “With a Woman You Love.” The song, from a forthcoming new album, was written by Moore, along with Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill and Jeremy Stover. For a man who has made a successful career out of songs like “You Look Like I Need A Drink” and “Why We Drink,” the song could be perceived as a bit of a romantic departure for Moore, but he says it’s really just him showing another side of who he is, as a husband, a father, and an artist.
“Everybody’s going, ‘Oh, is this softer side of you or whatever,'” Moore tells Everything Nash. “Early in our career, I think the first love song we put out was ‘Til My Last Day.’ And I remember kind of being a little anxious about putting it out, ’cause we hadn’t done that yet in our career. And I think it was off the second album we put out ‘Til My Last Day.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know if people want to hear this from me, or if it’s gonna work.’ And I don’t know that we’ve put a love song out that hasn’t gone No. 1 now. So it’s been kind of fun to see people react to the different types of music we put out there, including love songs.”
It was actually Moore’s wife, Kate, who suggested that he consider putting out a romantic tune, advice he wisely discerned he should heed.
“Actually Kate, my wife, ten or 11 months ago goes, ‘You know, you hadn’t put a love song out in a long time.’ It had been a little bit. We’re celebrating our 15-year wedding anniversary this year. And we just celebrated being together for 20 years. So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll put it out for you,'” he adds with a laugh.
Moore’s debut single, “Back That Thing Up,” was released in 2008. Since then, the 38-year-old has amassed hit after hit, including ten previous chart-topping singles. It’s a success that Moore admits he sometimes still has trouble wrapping his mind around, while sometimes it’s a view that inspires him to still work as hard, if not harder, than he did in the beginning.
“It’s crazy; this is our 15th year doing this, so I almost feel like we should have more,” Moore concedes. “But each day’s different. I’ll look up and go, ‘I can’t believe that this has happened, or we’re doing this right now.’ The most surprising thing to me is that this is our 15th year … I can’t believe that.”
Moore has the drive to continue to write, record and perform, while also giving himself some well-deserved credit for how far he has come, and the trajectory of his still-growing career.
“Obviously the fans have been wonderful to us, but I remember coming out with a group of guys and gals, and there’s only a couple of us still doing it at this particular level,” Moore reflects. “Other folks are having great success in other ways, but it’s pretty amazing, really.”
Moore credits not only his fans, as well as his unstoppable work ethic, but the people he has surrounded himself with, including his record label, Valory Music Group, since the beginning.
“I’ve been very fortunate that my team around me has been really, really great,” boasts the singer. “And my label, to be honest with you — you hear horror stories from other artists about what they’re dealing with at their record label. And I’ve been with the same record label my entire career. The fact that they’ve continued to work their butts off for me … Especially when I came out, the radio sounded like one thing. And then in the middle of my career, it completely shifted and did something completely opposite of what it started as. We kind of bent a little with our music, but we never really jumped off that edge and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna chase this because this is working.’
“And the fact that country radio stuck with me during that particular time is a huge reason why I’m still doing it,” he adds. “Now it’s kind of shifted back to more of what we do as far as the sound of music on the radio. But it says a lot about the relationships that we’ve been able to make.”
Find “With A Woman You Love” and all of Moore’s music by visiting his website.
