Country Rebel
By now you’ve surely seen at least one of country singer Justin Holmes’ viral performance videos online. Or perhaps you first discovered his music after his original song “Damn Addiction” took social media and music services by storm in 2022.
Whether you’re a new fan of Holmes’ or a longtime supporter, this article should teach you more about who he is as an artist and a person. Hopefully we answer some of the biggest questions you may have about him!
Holmes was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky.
During a conversation with Country Rebel, Holmes spoke about the artists who inspired him growing up. He listened to a variety of music, from R&B, to heavy metal, to punk. In fact, the first artist he ever saw in concert was MC Hammer of “U Can’t Touch This” fame.
But Holmes always felt the strongest connection to country music. He grew up admiring many 80s and 90s artists, especially Alan Jackson, Tracy Lawrence, and Randy Travis. He always respected them because they “kept it country” when others did not.
Additionally, Holmes admired Ronnie Milsap’s ability to blend the blues with country music in a perfect way.
Holmes’ grandfather also introduced him to older, “storyteller” songs, especially stuff from George Jones. To this day, Holmes views Jones as “A mythical creature in country music.”
Though Holmes’ all-time favorite guy has always been a fellow Kentucky native, Keith Whitley.
“There’s no emulating the Kentucky Bluebird, for sure,” Holmes says.
Holmes enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of 18. He served as a Security Forces member for 14 years, primarily as a weapons instructor.
While in the military, Holmes kept his passion for music alive by playing guitar and performing for his friends. He also started writing songs during his time in the service.
Although Holmes often dreamed about becoming a country artist, his military life didn’t make that dream seem viable. Now that he’s chasing his musical dream, Holmes is a proud veteran who often shares his appreciation for active-duty servicemembers and fellow veterans.
Holmes is married, though his wife lives her life out of the spotlight.
However, Holmes says his wife is his biggest fan behind the scenes. She has always encouraged him and pushed him to pursue his dreams, giving him faith he could make a country music career happen.
Holmes says his wife “has been the rock of it all” for him throughout his musical journey. She always wants to hear his songs, and will listen to them “a thousand times.”
Holmes is a proud father of three kids. He doesn’t share photos of his kids on his public social media pages, but they play a huge role in his life behind the scenes.
Much like his wife, Holmes’ kids are some of his biggest cheerleaders. “They’re so proud of me, they’ve always backed me,” he says. His kids get “so pumped” to hear his music whenever he has something new to share.
Country singer Justin Holmes has profiles on all major social media sites for his music career. You can follow him here:
Country Rebel first connected with Holmes in 2017 over one of his cover videos he posted on Facebook. The brand shared the video across its network of Facebook pages, and it went viral.
That video’s success marked the start of a longstanding partnership and friendship between Holmes and Country Rebel.
That 2017 viral moment wasn’t the only time Justin Holmes took the internet by storm. His second major viral moment occurred five years later. But the seeds were planted in 2019.
That year, Country Rebel hosted its “George Jones Sessions” at the George Jones Museum in Nashville. Over 30 artists delivered acoustic performances during the sessions. The artists shared some of their original songs and also performed covers of Jones’ music.
Holmes was one of the artists who participated in the “George Jones Sessions.” He performed several of his original songs that day, including one he wrote called “Damn Addiction.”
Some of the “Damn Addiction” lyrics are:
“Good, strong glass of whiskey. Bringin’ my inhibition down. You’re my damn addiction. Every time you come around.“
Fast forward to January 2022. Users on Soundcloud and TikTok discovered Holmes’ “George Jones Sessions” performance of “Damn Addiction.” These users took the audio from the performance and used it in thousands of videos on TikTok.
The song generated over 220,000 streams on SoundCloud in just one month.
Views on the official Country Rebel video of Holmes’ performance also increased at a dramatic rate. The performance currently has over 4.1 million views on YouTube.
Country Rebel launched Country Rebel Records in February 2022. It only seemed fitting to sign Holmes as the label’s first artist.
After that, Country Rebel Records officially released the audio of Holmes’ “Damn Addiction” performance to all major music services.“Damn Addiction” has since been streamed over 16.3 million times on Spotify alone.
Some of Holmes’ other songs include “Red,” “Drink You Down,” and “Heartbreak Honky Tonk” just to name a few. Country Rebel Records previously released the audio from Holmes’ “George Jones Sessions” performance of “Red” on all major music services.
“Drink You Down” was Holmes’ first studio recording to be released as a single. “That whole experience was eye-opening to say the least,” Holmes says about being in the studio for the first time.
Holmes followed up with the release of the ’90s country-inspired track “Heartbreak Honky Tonk.” You can stream “Heartbreak Honky Tonk” and all of Holmes’ songs on Apple Music or Spotify.
“Drink You Down” and “Heartbreak Honky Tonk” are two of several songs Holmes recorded during his time in the studio last year (2023). Watch the official music video for “Heartbreak Honky Tonk” below, and stay tuned to learn about all of Justin Holmes’ future releases!
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