Singer-songwriter duo Florida Georgia Line formed in the US in 2010 thanks to the efforts of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. With over seven million downloads, “Cruise” became the first country song to be certified Diamond, and it spent 24 weeks at the top of the country music charts as the best-selling digital country song before being dethroned by Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” in July 2017.
Partying, drinking, driving trucks, and s*xual desire are common themes in “bro-country” music, which “Cruise” helped to popularise. The genre also combines production aspects from rock and hip-hop music. The term “bro-country” has been applied to most of their work after then as well.
Florida Georgia Line Early Life
Worship services at church were when both members of Florida Georgia Line were first exposed to and inspired by music. Brian Kelley, originally from Ormond Beach, Florida, was a standout pitcher for his high school’s baseball team, earning him a scholarship to Florida State University. However, after realizing he was destined for failure in college baseball, Kelley went to Belmont University.
After being inspired by the Christian rock band Casting Crowns, he picked up a guitar and started writing songs. Tyler Hubbard, a native of Monroe, Georgia, was a church worship leader who created a hip hop group, Ingenious Circuit, in his teens. Kelley recalled that he and his pals “drove vehicles, listened to Garth Brooks, Alabama, Lil Wayne, and Eminem” while they were young.
Following their 2008 graduation from Belmont University, the two vowed to give themselves two years to make it as a country duo after meeting in a campus worship group. They started doing club gigs on the weekends and playing odd jobs to make ends meet before moving in together. They self-released their debut EP, Anything Like Me while operating under their own steam (2010). When Nickelback’s producer Joey Moi heard them play at a county fair, he invited all three of them to join him in the recording studio.
The duo’s second EP, It’s Just What We Do, features tracks that were not recorded in a hurry like most country music sessions (2012). The trio took inspiration from Nickelback, Shinedown, and Three Days Grace for their sound, and Moi tried to style the songs’ structures after those of the hair metal band Def Leppard. After “Cruise” received heavy airplay on The Highway satellite radio station and strong sales in the iTunes Store, the attention of major record companies was piqued, and a deal was struck with Republic Nashville and Big Machine Label Group.
How Did Florida Georgia Line Get Together?
In 2008, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, both hailing from Georgia’s Monroe, met while attending Nashville’s Belmont University. Kelley and Hubbard met through a mutual acquaintance; the two had taken the same creative writing class. The two didn’t take long to hit it off and begin collaborating on musical projects. Almost immediately, they were booked to play local Nashville venues. After finishing college, they began sharing an apartment and supporting themselves by performing on weekends while they worked odd jobs.
After independently releasing the Anything Like Me EP in December 2010, the band inked a management and publishing contract with Big Loud Mountain not long after. A second EP, It’s Just What We Do, has begun production. The first single from the EP, “Cruise,” debuted at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in August of 2012. By December, it had risen to the top spot, remaining for an unprecedented 24 weeks.
As the original version dominated the country charts, a remix featuring rapper Nelly sent the song to the top of the pop charts and ultimately to No. 4 on the Hot 100. More than 8 million copies of “Cruise” were purchased digitally that year, making it the best-selling country song in history. Here’s to the Good Times is the first full-length studio album by Florida Georgia Line, and it features all five songs from their EP, It’s Just What We Do.
It became the sixth best-selling album of 2013, ahead of artists like Drake and Katy Perry. Country Airplay chart toppers include “Get Your Shine On,” “Round Here,” and “Stay,” which also topped the Hot Country Songs list. As a result of its widespread popularity, the album was republished in 2013 with the title Here’s to the Good Times… This Is How We Roll. This collection featured the hit duet “This Is How We Roll” with Luke Bryan. The album dominated the Billboard Top Country Albums list for 10 weeks.
Florida Georgia Line Break Up
Together as Florida Georgia Line, Tyler Hubbard (from Monroe, Georgia) and Brian Kelley (from Ormond Beach, Florida) performed their last concert at the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday night. They acknowledged the audience’s unwavering support during their collaboration before playing the set’s closing song, “Cruise.” There were whispers of a possible breakup between the two in February 2022.
“I think ‘taking a break is the proper term, as opposed to breaking up,” Hubbard told People. There will be no parting of the ways, Kelley said. We’re taking a vacation from recording because we’re artists and we enjoy creating independently of one another. “A couple of years ago, we started composing without each other and trying other writers, and now we’re both doing that with our songs.”
Hubbard further explained that he was “excited” for the band’s final run of shows together because it would be “a time to celebrate FGL, celebrate the fans, celebrate each other, and then support each other on the next chapter of our musical and creative journey, which is going to be individually for a while.”
Social media dust-ups occurred in 2020 for the famous deed, with Hubbard unfollowing Kelley during the US presidential election campaign. He said this to radio DJ Storme Warren: “I even called him and told him, I said, ‘Hey buddy, I love you.'” And right now, I adore you in person a lot more than I do in your stories.
That being said, I’m going to go ahead and unfollow you. It’s nothing personal. Even after all this time, I still care about you. Even though you are my brother, I didn’t need to be reminded of that fact every time I logged into Instagram. So it didn’t amount to anything.”
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