Tyler Hubbard spoke about why he and former duo partner Brian Kelley opted to go solo after building their careers as Florida Georgia Line for more than a decade.
Hubbard appeared on the latest episode of Bussinâ With The Boys. The podcast episode (warning: language) was recorded in March, and premiered on Tuesday (May 7). Throughout the conversation, the Georgia-born singer-songwriter spoke about making big breaks with Kelley and enduring the ups and downs along the way. Hubbard said itâs been âthe wildest ride. Looking back, I wouldnât trade anything. I wouldnât change anything. It was just incredible, but it really kind of set me up for what weâre doing now.
âFor me, it was really unexpected,â Hubbard replied when asked why the duo opted to go solo. âBK came to me and said âman, Iâm really feeling like I wanna do a solo thing. And Iâm like, âreally?â Iâm like, we were just getting out of our first deal. We were kind of in a sweet spot that we had worked 10 years to get to, and Iâm like âbro, why donât we just ride this thing out for like five more years? Ten more years? And then we can do the solo thing or whatever.â But again, I wanted to support him. He was adamant, like, âno, nowâs my time. I really need to do this for myself.â And Iâm like âwell, hey, whatever you need to do, bro. What do you want from me?â Heâs like, âI just want support,â so Iâm like, âalright, you got it, bro.â Weâve had an incredible ride. This is where itâs going to go. Letâs do it, and crush it, and you never know. Maybe itâll bring us back together and we can have a reunion tour or whatever. But he definitely initiated the whole thing from the beginning and it kind of â when I say âcaught me off guard,â it wasnât that we had never mentioned it before. It was just one of things where I didnât think it was going to happen then.â
Hubbard said it was âthe right timeâ for Kelley to pursue a solo career, and he considered remaining in Nashville as a songwriter. he said it was âjust sort of timing and life in general just sort of led us in that direction, and something that now Iâm really grateful for. Itâs been a lot of fun rebuilding. ...itâs incredible doing something with your friend and having a partner, but taking the dynamics back to the basics of me getting to be the leader that Iâd like to be, and getting to do it on my own, and getting to kind of build culture around the type of culture that I want to build.â Hubbard noted that he and Kelley were in their early 20s when they started Florida Gerogia Line, âyoung, dumb and on a mission,â and now they can rebuild with âmaturityâ and âgratitude.â
During the podcast, Hubbard shared that he and Kelley had vulnerable conversations with one another as they talked about whether to continue Florida Georgia Line. He said âhonestly, it felt like a divorce,â and compared the idea of staying in the duo while simultaneously going solo to a marriage, but âyou wanna go sleep with the neighbors and come home at night and me be cool with it. âĻI canât do both.â
Hubbard said he insisted that either the duo deserved 100% effort or Kelley deserved 100% effort, rather than splitting his focus 50-50. He âgave him the choice and chose to go do the solo thing,â and there were âdefinitely some weeks of healing, I would say.â
Hubbard and Kelley announced in February 2022 that they were âtaking a breakâ as a duo. They confirmed on Monday evening (May 6) that their bar in Downtown Nashville, FGL House, has closed after several years of operating. Theyâve since pursued their own solo projects, including Hubbardâs sophomore solo album, Strong, which released last month. Kelley is due to release his album, Tennessee Truth, on Friday (May 10). The 12-track collection will include a few previously-released songs, including âTrucks, Ducks, Bucks & Beer,â âSee You Next Summerâ and âKiss My Boots.â
Watch a clip from Hubbard's Bussinâ With The Boys conversation here (warning: language).