You have probably listened to a song or two by the Florida Georgia line duo and faced the impossible dilemma on where to place the music. Do they go into your pop folder, or straight into your highly treasured country music one?
The country music world considers Florida Georgia Line to be the fathers of Bro-country. This type of country incorporates rock and hip-hop recording elements into country music; making it harder to categorize their music either as altogether country or entirely pop. They first ventured into bro-country in their 2012 debut single “Cruise”, a song that propelled them to fame and won them a number of coveted accolades.
Florida Georgia Line Members
Florida Georgia Line consists of two American singers; Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard. Having met at Belmont University in 2008, the two decided to try out country music and gave themselves two years to thrive at it.
Their places of origin were the inspiration behind their name; Brian Kelley being from Florida and Tyler Hubbard from Georgia. However, like many country music duos and bands, theirs was also birthed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.
Lyrical Genius
Both Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard take pride in their songwriting talents. They wrote most of their music and wrote plenty of other songs for various artists to perform.
Their Net Worth
At $50 million, the Florida Georgia Line is among the world’s richest country musicians. One thing is sure; their music does sell widely.
For instance, “Cruise” holds the record for the best-selling country digital song of all time. The music sales surpassed a record $10 million (which is quite a fortune).
The duo is also business-oriented and has always used its popularity to push their business forward by advertising their products (such as Old Camp Whiskey) in their music videos. They even have a restaurant in Nashville, TN, which they named FGL House.
Most Popular Song
Their 2012 debut single, “Cruise”, still ranks first among their songs with many of their fans still singing its praise. This is no shocker; since it is Diamond certified, after all.
Quite a number of their other songs are also famous, and not just among country lovers. FGL songs are the kind that appeals to all sorts of audiences.
The Birth of Bro-Country
Although aspects of bro-country existed before, it was “Cruise” that drew attention to this subgenre. While writing about the publicity’ Cruise had garnered, Jody Rosen coined the word ‘bro-country’, a name that has been in use ever since and gained popularity among critics.
Many critics believe that bro-country goes against the conventional country and promotes all that is wrong about music, from objectifying women to reckless freedom that is far from beneficial.
Controversial Music
Despite being the most downloaded country music ever (at over 7 million downloads), “Cruise” and other such music from Florida Georgia Line has often been on the receiving end of negative criticism.
Traditional Country music lovers and artists argue against the drinking, parting and sexual attraction sang about and explicitly depicted in the Nashville duo’s music. They further claim that bro-country is no country at all.
“Can’t Say I ain’t Country”
In what seemed like a response to the controversy against bro-country, Florida Georgia Line released their album “Can’t Say I ain’t Country” in February 2019.
About Splitting Up
For some time now, fans and followers of the Nashville duo have speculated whether or not the pair will continue singing together. This is after they briefly unfollowed each other on their social media.
Brian and Tyler cleared the air about this, explaining that they needed a break from each other during the political season due to their difference in political preferences. They further assured that they are currently on good terms.
Although Brian Kelley recently expressed his desire to start a solo music career, the duo reassured their fans that they are not splitting up any time soon. Kelley will pursue his personal solo career alongside his current duo with Hubbard.
This came as such a relief to many since Brian and Tyler make a heavenly duo and their music is nothing short of a miracle.
New Album Loading
In December 2020, the duo announced their intention to release a new album in February 2020. The album, “Life Rolls On”, will include seven songs, among them; “Long Live”.
Their music may not be considered as purely country or exclusively pop, but one thing is for sure; people do love their music anyway.