‘Gringo’ mariachi singer with surprisingly ‘angelic’ voice goes viral
When Keith Moore starts singing mariachi, jaws drop and audience members audibly gasp.
That’s because he’s a 6-foot-2, 200-pound, blond white guy singing mariachi music. And every time he opens his mouth it’s like a “Voice” blind audition in real life.
“If it’s the first time people hear me sing, they usually turn and look at their friends like they are not expecting it,” Moore, 27, tells The Post. “If it is someone who is [Latinx] or familiar with that culture, they’re usually confused at first.”
Now, after his head-turning vibrato was discovered on social media by Barstool and ESPN personalities, he’s gained almost 25,000 Instagram followers in just one week.
But up until last week, singing was just a hobby for Moore, who lives in the Bay Area and teaches middle school. He grew up listening to his parents blasting the Beach Boys in their Utah home. He began singing as a young child and fell in love with the iconic music of Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli and Mexican singer Vicente Fernández — whose styles, Moore says, are more alike than you’d expect.
“There’s real emotion in the songs,” says Moore, who learned to speak Spanish during a two-year volunteer mission in Costa Rica. “Of course, it’s two different genres, but I feel like if you can sing one you can kind of also do the other.”
He came to love performing karaoke and joining mariachi bands playing on the streets or in restaurants. When he performs with street performers in Latin America, passers-by give him high-fives.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by El Güero Ranchero (@elgueroranchero) on
Moore says he’s shocked at the sudden attention and outpouring of support, especially since he hadn’t posted anything to social media in almost a year — before his videos started blowing up the past two weeks. He’s probably the first singer who went viral on social without a SoundCloud. (Don’t worry, he’s making one ASAP, he says.)
Reactions have been mostly positive on Instagram and TikTok, with numerous users on the latter posting “reaction” videos of when they see Moore sing for the first time.
“No like seriously her voice is angelic,” @kay_gault commented on his Instagram.
“Before you get famous can I sign you up for my wedding next year?” @ljcardenas84 wrote.
“On behalf of all the Mexicans, I’d like to welcome you to the family,” @a.national.acrobat quipped.
Naturally, there’s been some negative reaction as well, with some crying cultural appropriation.
“I’ve seen a couple of people who have said things like, ‘This guy is stealing our music,’ but I’m sorry that they feel that way,” Moore says.
“I just love the music and I love singing it,” he adds.