Justin Moore Spilling the ‘Dirt’ on His Collaborators
Justin Moore recently released his eighth album; This Is My Dirt. Out of the 12 tracks, 3 were collaborations. During his stint as Kelly Ford’s Backstage Country co-host, Ford asked him to “spill the dirt” on his collaborators.
Justin Moore on Priscilla Block
Ford noticed that Moore hadn’t collaborated with a lot of female artists. Moore agreed, “Maybe the only other duet I’ve done with a female is Miranda [Lambert]. Years ago, on one of my albums, a song called ‘Old Habits.’”
Moore said the collaboration with Priscilla happened because he is such a fan. “Priscilla and I met at a St. Jude event we were doing together, and I was just blown away by her. I had never met her. Quite frankly, I’d never heard of her. This was years ago before she had got rolling. I was just super impressed. I thought she was great.”
He recalled hearing the demo of “You, Me, And Whiskey” and thought of Block. “I just thought, ‘Man, I wonder if I could get her to jump on it.’ And so, I asked.” He admitted he had a lot of fun working on the song because as someone who’s been in the industry for nearly 20 years, he gets a little jaded at times. “To see it through her eyes, that was her first really big hit. First number one. It was pretty neat for me to be like the weirdo old Uncle. I’m so proud of her.”
Justin Moore on Dierks Bentley
Justin Moore only has good words about his “Time’s Ticking” collaborator, Dierks Bentley. “You know, he takes me every time I have a hit song and goes, ‘Man, I love it. It sounds great. So happy for you. Congrats on another big hit,’ or whatever.”
When he heard the demo, he said that the feel and the lyrics of the song sounded like Bentley. “So, I shot him a text and just said, ‘Hey man, I’ve got this song that I just hear you on it.’ He said, ‘Yeah, send it over. I’d love to hear it.’ And it wasn’t 20 minutes or whatever and he goes, ‘Man, I’d be honored to be a part of this,’ which is too sweet.” Moore admitted how thrilled he was to have Bentley be part of the album.
Justin Moore on Blake Shelton
When asked the story behind “Beer Ain’t One,” the song he collaborated with Blake Shelton, Moore sheepishly admitted, “Yeah, there ain’t one is just fun.” He said that the collaboration happened because when he heard the song, he thought of Shelton. “I thought, I got to get Blake on this. And so, I sent him two songs. I said, ‘Hey, I want you to be on one of these.’ And one of them was more of a ballad.” Moore chuckled, “He goes, ‘What are you thinking? Of course, I’m going to do the bigger one!’”
According to Moore, Shelton is humble, which is rare given his stature. “Blake is one of the most, if not the most, unaffected superstars I’ve ever been around. He’s just as down-to-earth and genuine as you could even imagine. He’s always been really good to me. And for him to be a part of this is pretty awesome.”
Justin Moore is spilling the dirt, in the best way, on his amazing collaborators. Tune in to hear Moore sing the praises of those who helped shape his music!