Justin Moore, ‘Outlaws Like Me’ — Cover Art Revealed
Justin Moore isn't scared of the sophomore slump. His upcoming album, 'Outlaws Like Me' -- due in stores June 21, has already proven successful, with its first single, 'If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away,' making its mark as the fastest-rising single of the Arkansas native's career. The song, Justin explains, found him.
"I heard the song awhile back, when Rhett [Akins] cut it," he tells The Boot. "Rhett and I are good friends, and he actually co-wrote three or four songs on my new album. I remember telling some people awhile back that I loved that song. We had the whole album cut and we were going through stuff to pick a first single, and my producer happened to see a clip on YouTube. He said, 'Remember, you liked this song awhile back?' I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' It was something that fell from the sky, going, 'You need to cut this song!' So even though I didn't write it, I cut it right away, and I was the main cheerleader to get it to be the first single, because it was very personal to me and a lot of people."
But when it came to choose a title for the album, Justin picked a song he co-wrote, as it reflects much of his journey the last few years.
"It's my favorite song off the record," Justin says of 'Outlaws Like Me.' "The song is battling good and evil with yourself. Everyone's done that. In this business, being out on the road is not always as easy as you thought it would be. This song is about dealing with that and getting back to the person you know you want to be. I just thought it was a good title; it's expressive of where I am in life right now."
The singer-songwriter, who wrote or co-wrote nine of the 10 songs on his self-titled debut CD and 11 of the 13 tracks on his second album, says writing 'Outlaws Like Me' was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "It's probably my favorite song I've ever written," he says. "I've had the title four or five years, and my producer [Jeremy Stover] and I kept going over it and over it, but we couldn't figure out how to write it. Then finally, one morning, we were like, 'We really need to write this song!' It's one of the songs that are very special, and as a songwriter, those don't come around very often."
With two Top 10 singles from his freshman project, it would be understandable if Justin felt a little anxiety about his new set of tunes. But the happily married father of a baby daughter says if anything, he is more confident now than ever.
"I'm a better songwriter. Anything you do as much as we do it, you better be getting better at it," Justin reflects. "I've grown as a person. I'm a dad now. I'm a better husband, a better Christian. The fact that I'm a dad now, the fact that I'm at a different point allows me to do some different things. We still cut an album like the first album with some fun-loving songs, but we branched out a little bit. I'm a much better songwriter, which is a big key to this album."
Look for Justin's new CD, 'Outlaws Like Me,' to hit shelves on June 21. He shares exclusively with The Boot the project's album art (above) and full track listing below.
1. 'Redneck Side' (Kris Bergsnes, Rick Giles, Jeremy Stover)
2. 'My Kind of Woman' (Brian Dean Maher, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
3. 'If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away' (Dallas Davidson, Rob Hatch, Brett Jones)
4. 'Run Out of Honky Tonks' (Justin Moore, Jamie Paulin, Ashe Underwood)
5. 'Beer Time' (Rhett Akins, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
6. 'Bait a Hook' (Rhett Akins, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
7. 'Flyin' Down a Back Road' (Justin Moore, Jamie Paulin, Jeremy Stover)
8. 'If You Don't Like My Twang' (Rhett Akins, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
9. 'Guns' (Justin Moore, Jamie Paulin, Jeremy Stover)
10. 'Sunshine Babies' (Rhett Akins, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
11. 'Til My Last Day' (Brian Dean Maher, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
12. 'Bed of My Chevy' (Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)
13. 'Outlaws Like Me' (Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover)