Kip Moore Celebrates No. 1 Hit ‘More Girls Like You’ in Nashville
"I feel so blessed that I get to do this, it's an overwhelming feeling sometimes," said Moore.
Nearly a year after releasing “More Girls Like You” to radio, Kip Moore celebrated the song becoming his fourth chart topper. On Tuesday (Feb. 13), Moore was joined by the song’s co-writers in Nashville at Analog at the Hutton Hotel where each was honored for the song’s success with plaques and medallions in a room surrounded by friends and industry professionals.
Before the No. 1 party kicked off, Moore and songwriters Steven Olsen, David Garcia and Josh Miller met with members of the press to discuss how the song originated. As Moore’s co-writers explained, “More Girls Like You” almost never came to fruition as the singer had already planned a day at the lake when his publisher called to remind him of his writing session.
“It was an evening write and Nate Lowery, our publisher, I think he maybe put it on the schedule and Kip was about to head to the lake and go wakeboarding,” Olsen recalls. “And if you know Kip, you know that’s near and dear to his heart. So luckily, by the grace of God, Nate called Kip right as he was about to leave and being the guy that Kip is, he doesn’t like to cancel.”
When the four friends started writing, Moore was telling them about his recent travels to Costa Rica, the idea of family, and where he was at in his life when the idea for the song came together. The singer’s first No. 1 since “Hey Pretty Girl” in 2013, the song is similar in meaning and authenticity to his former chart topper.
“‘Hey Pretty Girl’ was super authentic to the way that I felt in that moment,” he explains. “I didn’t have a family, but I was thinking about it in terms of when I do go that route, that’s how it would feel. And I think with this one [‘More Girls Like You’], the maturation of where I was at in my life, I wrote in that capacity of how I was growing. And we were all talking about it in the room, how my life would change.”
Moore recalls the song falling out quickly following the guitar part at the track’s start as each of the writers threw out lines. He further explains that the lyrics in the bridge hold the most meaning to him.
L-R: Josh Miller – Songwriter, David Garcia – Songwriter, Kip Moore, Steven Lee Olsen – Songwriter; Photo Credit: Ed Rode
“For me, it was always the bridge, and it still is. ‘Your soul is pure gold / It must have been true love that you were grown in,'” he tells Sounds Like Nashville while reciting the lyrics. “I think a lot of times when you meet people, you can tell what their surroundings have been most of their life and things that they’ve been taught and the way that they grew up. So for me, that’s what I’ve gravitated towards in people, not only in women, but in people in general is what kind of soul do you have? I want to be around good souls, so that was a very poignant part of the song for me and still is.”
Moore admits that while he thought “More Girls Like You” was a strong song, he never predicted that it’d become a hit.
“I don’t want to ever have that kind of arrogance,” he admits. “I really loved the song and I felt like it was a good song, but I never know what’s a hit, to be honest . . . Anytime you get a hit record, it’s something you should cherish. You don’t know when you’re going to get ‘em again and I think for all of us, it’s special.”
These are words Moore further expounded on during his speech later in the evening at his No. 1 party. After thanking his fellow songwriters, publishers Brett James and Nate Lowery at Cornman Music, as well as his management team, publicists and label, he spoke about what he has observed during his travels to Maui each year.
“I was just in Maui surfing, which I do every winter, and I have all these conversations with people in the airports and coffee shops, and they get their one week vacation and they’re miserable,” he notes. “I talk to them and they’re so sad about going back to the life they’re going back to. I feel so blessed that I get to do this, it’s an overwhelming feeling sometimes.”
He adds, “To any of the fans that do see this video, that have stuck with me through thick and thin, through all the ‘Wild Ones’ up and downs . . . there’s so many people in my corner. I feel so, so blessed. I know this could be the last time I’m up here, I’m very well aware of that. I hope not, but if it is thank you all for the ride. For the people that have been behind me, I’m truly grateful for this life and for everything that has come with it.
