Courtesy of Just Tat Em
Audio By Carbonatix
Just Tat Em’s journey is pretty punk rock.
The Instagram singer – legally named Justin Barona — is known for covering requested songs in a peculiar style and, in just three years, has risen to a fascinating level of fame on the platform.
While the singer is not technically sound, often following the wave of his own melody, his passion is evident, drawing both intrigue and ire from his over 100,000 Instragram followers.
Since his debut, the artist has popped, locked and wailed his way to millions of views, countless Cameo requests, famous friends and now sold-out shows across the country at small venues – including Denver’s Lost Lake on June 17.
But here’s the thing: People are unsure whether Just Tat Em’s less-than-conventional singing and dancing is satire. Some are seemingly smitten by his lack of self-consciousness, performing without the weight of meeting a standard. Others seem to be snickering at the artist through snarky comments.
Either way, Just Tat Em doesn’t care. He’s just creating his art, whether you like it or not.
“I’m just expressing myself the best way that I can,” Barona tells Westword. “I don’t intentionally try to be wacky. It’s who I am. It’s what’s in my soul.”
A nomad’s life
Barona, a self-proclaimed “nomad,” began his artistic journey while growing up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
As a kid, Barona lived in an “unsafe” environment, eventually leading to his introduction to the penal system for petty crimes. After going in and out of group homes and working restaurant jobs, he decided it was time to escape. He needed to pursue his art and felt hindered by his surroundings.
“In my heart, I knew this could not be forever. It wasn’t what I was meant to do,” he says. “If you’ve got that urge and that hope in you, you can get yourself out of anything.”
So, at age 20, he saved up some money, bought a tattoo gun (hence the name) and a bike, and hit the road for Orlando – more than 1,200 miles away.
The nomadic lifestyle led to Barona picking up odd jobs throughout the country, tattooing when he could and making friends with an eclectic collection of people, eventually leading to him flipping burgers for a food vendor that served at large festivals like Bonaroo, Electric Forest and Firefly.
Barona even did a regular stint in Denver for around three years.
In Texas, Barona was singing with some friends at a party when one of them complimented his unique voice. Barona felt a shell shatter around him that night, he says. He found his confidence in music. He knew what he wanted to do.
Landslides and ascents
Just Tat Em’s first viral hit was a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” back in June 2023. In it, Barona donned his signature bleached-blonde hair and stood in the Arizona desert outside of his mother’s farm, blatantly feeling the music – whether in perfect pitch or not.
Comments were brutally negative, but the video did amass over 3 million views across platforms, kickstarting his love for the craft. So, Barona set up a Cameo and asked for song requests, making an individualized music video for each. Things picked up quickly, leading Barona to sometimes receive around 30 paid requests a day. Now, he could live off the art.
And the public love started to pick up, too.
Comments went from extremely negative to overwhelmingly positive, almost as if Just Tat Em’s infectious joy was growing on people. Venues and local bands across the country started hitting him up for shows.
For example, in his June posts from Silver Springs, Barona covered some Colorado classics like String Cheese Incident and The Lumineers. All comments were positive.
“When you fit in too much, it takes away the contrast,” he says, noting that he believes there’s magic in just performing and posting it without a second thought or multiple takes. “People are scared to post their true selves. Lose your mind, find your soul.”
Is it some type of post-meta fandom, enjoying the absurdity of it all? Or is it people enjoying watching a man give his all to his art? Does it really matter?
Barona doesn’t think so. As long as people are happy.
“Even if it sounds terrible to some people or great to other people, it’s art,” he says. “I’m just always trying to be a good dude and make my art better.”
The future for Just Tat Em
Just like his peregrine lifestyle, Barona isn’t quite sure what’s going to come next for his music career. He still plans to do covers and host shows, but he also wants to start fully dipping his toes back into his own work.
He wants to blend together his hip-hop roots from the rural East Coast with his new love for singing indie-punk, bringing in some of the friends he’s made along the way.
“My main mission is to drop hits of my own,” he says. “I just believe that I can say things that can help people out. That’s always been more important to me than the covers.”
Meanwhile, Just Tat Em is bringing his eclectic energy to stages across the country, including Denver, bringing on a variety of local bands in each destination. “I put on the locals,” he notes. “They work hard. They deserve to be seen.”
Barona has tapped Denver-based math-punk unit Exhaler for the June 17 show. He’s also playing it by ear on whether he’ll perform with just a DJ or bring in some local musicians to back his covers.
In an Instagram post, Exhaler says it’s “such an honor to share this stage with this amazing musician.”
But Barona isn’t worried about being an “amazing musician”; he’s just living his life one song at a time.
“I honestly don’t believe that I’m special compared to anybody,” he says. “I believe that everyone has it in them. They may just be nervous to sound off-key, but breaking the rules is what makes you stand out.”
Just Tat Em, June 17, Lost Lake Lounge, 3206 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets are available at lost-lake.com.
