It would have been quite a season, but if we ever get it, it’s probably because hell has frozen over…
Kip Moore has built an entire career on being authentically himself and apologizing to no one for it. He started his career with a #1 right out of the gate with his debut single “Something ‘Bout a Truck” back in 2012, and the Georgia native has routinely fallen into the “severely underrated” category throughout most of his career. And yet, it’s never really mattered. He’s carved his own path, earned his own fans around the country, and even around the world, building an impressive and sustainable career without much help from the likes of country radio.
Since then, he’s been incredibly consistent in putting out stellar records like, Wild Ones (2015), Slowheart (2017), Wild World (2020), and most recently, Reason to Believe (2026), just to name a few.
And because he’s refused to cave to the powers that be, and what the PR and marketing folks might think is a good idea, it’s led to some very interesting stories, several of which he told the guys on the In The Trenches Podcast this week.
From turning down an almost seven-figure check to do a hokey Pop-Tarts commercial, to turning down a chance to be the leading man on the (used-to-be) hit TV series The Bachelor, he’s seen it all, but I actually had no idea he was ever offered the The Bachelor, which he explained was around 2013 or 2014, and if you’re a fan like me, you know that was the heyday of the franchise.
The Bachelor in 2013 was Sean Lowe (truly one of the best guys they’ve ever had on the show), and The Bachelor for 2014 was Juan Pablo Galavis (a horrific disaster), and I can only imagine what it would have been like to watch Kip on the show, even though I know he would never do it… hey, it’s never too late and the show is due for a decent season anytime now (especially considering the drama of Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette getting canceled just days before it was supposed to air, for good reason, but I digress…).
Kip says that he remember people from his label or team, I’m guessing, trying to convince him to do it, because “8 million people watch it,” and he told them that he had barely started to get his music career off the ground and that was the last thing he was going to do. actually, he told them he didn’t “give a s***”how many people watched it, and they were “crazy” for thinking that was even an option.
I mean, I can totally see where they were coming from, but as someone who has been a fan of his for a long time, it’s pretty funny to think anyone would try to get him to do something like that:
“I remember turning down a big look at the ACM’s that was with a big pop star. I said, it don’t make sense for me, they’re great. I don’t have anything against what they do, like, music is subjective, but I’m not just gonna do something to do it and make the thing about the thing.
And I’ve always tried to stick to that. I remember, ‘Do you want to be ‘The Bachelor?’ It’s like 2013, 2014, and I was like, are you kidding me? We haven’t even gotten this thing… it’s just now getting off the ground. That’s the last thing I’m gonna do right now. ‘But 8 million people watch it.’
And I said I don’t give a s*** how many people watch this thing, you’re crazy if you think I’m gonna go do this. So you gotta have a compass as an artist, and know what you’re trying to do. I would have never came out of that shadow. Would have never happened.”
In hindsight, it’s easy to tell those were all the right decisions for him, but it took a lot for him at the time, a much lesser known, less successful artist just starting out, to do that, and it’s easy to see how he would’ve stayed that country singer from The Bachelor, or the Pop-Tart commercial guy, forever, when his music is worthy of so much more.
I can’t lie, though, I might keep holding out for a Kip Moore Bachelor season…
The full podcast episode is available below.
Kip is on tour through November of this year.
Kip Moore 2026 Tour Dates
June 11 – Nashville, TN – Grand Ole Opry House
June 12 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park *
June 13 – Des Moines, IA – Lauridsen Amphitheater *
June 19 – Grolloo, NL – Holland International Blues Festival #
June 21 – Munich, DE – TonHalle**
June 23 – Zurich, CH – X-TRA**
June 25 – Cologne, DE – Carlswerk**
June 27 – Chelmsford, UK – State Fayre #
July 11 – Columbus, NE – Platte County Fair
July 17 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 *
July 18 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage *
July 23 – Hampton, NJ – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
July 24 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater *
July 25 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater *
July 26 – Webster, MA – Indian Ranch
August 1 – Listowel, ON – Hayloft Music Festival
August 7 – Port Wentworth, GA – Port Wentworth Amphitheater *
August 8 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy *
August 20 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center *
August 21 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed *
August 22 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill *
September 5 – Obetz, OH – Obetz Zucchinifest
September 6 – Chilton, WI – Calumet County Fair
September 10 – Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery *
September 11 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre *
September 12 – Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront *
October 17 – Pretoria, ZA – SuperSport Park Stadium
October 23 – Cape Town, ZA – GrandWest Arena
October 24 – Cape Town, ZA – GrandWest Arena
October 30 – Melbourne, AU – The Forum
October 31 – Melbourne, AU – The Forum
November 6 – Brisbane, AU – The Fortitude Music Hall
November 7 – Brisbane, AU – The Fortitude Music Hall
November 13 – Sydney, AU – The Enmore Theatre
November 14 – Sydney, AU – The Enmore Theatre
November 21 – Christchurch, NZ – Christchurch Town Hall
November 22 – Auckland, NZ – Auckland Town Hall
^ – with Cody Johnson
* – Billy Currington & Kip Moore: Live In Concert
# – Festival
** with Jackson Dean
