Justin Moore: The Real Champagne Papi

To anyone who has ever made fun of country music (I’m looking at you dad!), please watch this video. Then, watch it again. Then go ahead and remind me how “all country music is meaningless and sounds the same” while you jam to Drake in the background. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that “Hotline Bling” is quickly taking over the U.S. It’s quite scary that a song about receiving a booty call from an ex-girlfriend is virtually more well-known than all of Justin Moore’s songs combined.

giphy (9)On Tuesday Nov. 3, Phoenix radio station KNIX Country 102.5 posted a video of Justin Moore reading the lyrics to “Hotline Bling,” demonstrating the song’s senseless (and just plain dumb) lyrics. Featuring Moore’s southern accent and sarcastic tone, the hilarious video quickly went viral and was played more than five million times the day it was posted. On YouTube, most of Justin Moore’s more-popular music videos have a maximum of ten million views for the entire period they’ve been online. One could argue that “Hotline Bling” has made Justin Moore more famous than his hits like “Small Town USA” and “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” did!

Justin Moore grew up working on his grandparent’s cattle farm in a small town in Arkansas. He began singing at the age of two, and continued to pursue his dream of making music throughout his youth. Upon graduating high school, he moved to Nashville where he eventually earned some opening spots on tours with artists like Luke Bryan, Trace Adkins, and Brooks & Dunn.

In 2008, Moore released his first single, “Back That Thing Up,” and made it onto Billboard’s “Country Top 40” chart. He released a second single, “Small Town USA,” in 2009; it reached number one on Billboard’s “Hot Country” chart and paved the way for his self-titled debut album.

Fast-forward a few years and Moore is still going strong. In 2014 he received the New Artist of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music Awards. He just released his (cleverly-named) latest single, “You Look Like I Need a Drink,” on Oct. 30. while he continues to work on his fourth album.

Justin Moore is a great example of a kid who had a dream, and reached it through hard work and dedication. I am hopeful that he’ll continue to release high-quality work and mark his territory in the country music world. Move over Drake because Justin Moore is the real Champagne Papi.

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3 Comments

Filed under Blog Post 4, Music Videos, Reflection

3 Responses to Justin Moore: The Real Champagne Papi

  1. Amanda

    Hannah,
    I’m sorry but I completely disagree with this entire article. I may be biased, as a huge Drake fan, and goer of three of his concerts but this article doesn’t make much sense to me. I find it really difficult for country artists and rap/ hip- hop artists to be compared as if they are in the same genre, and encompass similar cultures and meanings within their songs. A song takes on its own unique significance and feel when it is recorded to a specific beat, by a specific artist, and listened to by a specific audience. Of course a hip hop song is going to sound absurd if sung by a man with a thick country accent, just as a hip- hop artist may sound absurd trying to read lyrics of a country song. I think this article makes a lot of assumptions about one artist and genre based on one specific song. I have no doubt Justin Moore is a great artist, but I think to compare him to Drake is a little of an overstretch and somewhat random of a comparison.

  2. Adam Keyrouze

    Wow that’s a bold statement! I never thought I would hear a girl speak against Drake! But as a fan of both Drake and Justin Moore I can understand what you are saying. While I agree some hip-hop/rap songs lyrics are just plain useless and made only for catchy headlines and chorus’, the same thing happens in country music as well. But on another topic like you said, Justin Moore is an awesome artists to see achieve success due to his upbringing and it’s great to see him continue to put out such good songs. One of my favorite songs of his is Til My Last Day but once again it’s not as popular compared to songs like Hotline Bling. I think the one day that’ll change but today’s culture is more centered around pop music.

  3. Tyler Dial

    Hannah! This is so awesome. I know you’re gonna get a lot of hate for this but I stand by you! To be fair, I don’t listen to much Drake but this video makes a very good point. I don’t think we should be saying who’s better and who’s worse but I think it is very important to point out the differences in lyrics. For example, if you compare “hotline bling” to Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over,” you can see the difference in not only the writing styles but in the honesty of the songs. I think Justin Moore has done a great job of keeping his traditional country roots in a market that is pushing the boundaries.

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