Justin Moore is the debut studio album by American country music artist Justin Moore. It was released on August 11, 2009[2] by Valory Music Group, a subsidiary of Big Machine Records. The album includes the singles "I Could Kick Your Ass", "Back That Thing Up", "Small Town USA", "Backwoods" and "How I Got to Be This Way". "Small Town USA" became Moore's first number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2009. Moore co-wrote all but one of the songs on the album.[2]

Justin Moore
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 11, 2009
Recorded2008–09
Genre
Length31:20
LabelThe Valory Music Co.
ProducerJeremy Stover
Justin Moore chronology
Justin Moore
(2009)
Outlaws Like Me
(2011)
Singles from Justin Moore
  1. "I Could Kick Your Ass"
    Released: 2008[1]
  2. "Back That Thing Up"
    Released: July 28, 2008
  3. "Small Town USA"
    Released: February 10, 2009
  4. "Backwoods"
    Released: October 19, 2009
  5. "How I Got to Be This Way"
    Released: June 1, 2010

History edit

This album was part of a special promotion called "So You Want to Be a Record Label Executive." This promotion placed Moore's music on social networking sites such as MySpace and iLike, where fans could make playlists consisting of ten songs, and the top ten songs that are picked were included on Moore's album.[3]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Engine 145     [5]
Roughstock(favorable)[6]

The album received mixed reviews from music critics. Karlie Justus of Engine 145 gave it three stars out of five, saying that Moore "pull[s] off his[...]influences with a country authenticity more capably than any other country up-and-comer at the moment;" she added that many of the other songs seemed to repeat the theme of "Small Town USA," but that "Grandpa", "Like There's No Tomorrow", and "Hank It" "rely on important details that obviously matter."[5] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the album a favorable review, saying that "Moore isn't making a record to not be on the radio, that is his goal, and he wants to bring a heavy dose of southern, country charm and twang back to it."[6] The album received a two-and-a-half star rating from Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who said that Moore "sees no shame in pandering" and called the album "anonymous country-rock."[4] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin placed three tracks from the album on his top 10 list of Moore's best songs: "Small Town USA" at number three, "Backwoods" at number five and "Back That Thing Up" at number ten.[7]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Jeremy Stover, with additional co-writers as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."How I Got to Be This Way"2:58
2."Small Town USA"
  • Brian Dean Maher
  • Moore
  • Jeremy Stover
3:38
3."Backwoods"
  • Jamie Paulin
  • Justin Moore
  • Jeremy Stover
2:35
4."Like There's No Tomorrow"
  • Moore
  • Maher
3:28
5."Good Ole American Way"
  • Moore
  • Maher
2:47
6."I Could Kick Your Ass"
  • Moore
  • Maher
3:13
7."Back That Thing Up"
2:35
8."The Only Place That I Call Home"3:23
9."Grandpa"
  • Moore
  • Paulin
3:27
10."Hank It"
  • Moore
  • Maher
3:00
Total length:31:09

Personnel edit

Chart performance edit

Singles edit

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Certifications
(sales threshold)
US Country
[12]
US
[13]
2008 "I Could Kick Your Ass"
"Back That Thing Up" 38
2009 "Small Town USA" 1 44 * US: Gold[14]
"Backwoods" 6 69 * US: Gold[15]
2010 "How I Got to Be This Way" 17 101
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Justin Moore Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Self titled album of Justin Moore". Justinmooremusic. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  3. ^ Petruziello, Francis (October 14, 2008). "Justin Moore wants you to produce his album". The Cleveland Leader. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Justin Moore review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Justus, Karlie (August 13, 2009). "Justin Moore review". Engine 145. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (August 11, 2009). "Justin Moore review". Roughstock. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  7. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (August 16, 2017). "Justin Moore's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Justin Moore Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  9. ^ "Justin Moore Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  12. ^ "Justin Moore Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 622. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
  14. ^ "American single certifications – Justin Moore – Small Town USA". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. ^ "American single certifications – Justin Moore – Backwoods". Recording Industry Association of America.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Justin Moore – Justin Moore". Recording Industry Association of America.