For a country duo that smokes up on Saturdays, goes to church on Sundays and mentions Eminem in the same breath as Garth Brooks, Anything Goes is the perfect title for their upcoming second album.
In this week's Billboard cover story, Florida Georgia Line (Brian Kelley andTyler Hubbard) shares the surprising musical influences that took them from playing county fairs to scoring the longest-running No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. While some critics deride their music as too untraditional (or too bro-ish) to be "real" country, the sonic template that created the mega-selling act is much more diverse than you'd think.
Florida Georgia Line's full cover story won't be out until Friday, Oct. 10, but for now, here are five surprising things about FGL's music.
Kelley Ditched Baseball for Music Thanks to Christian Rock
Although he was a left-hand-pitching baseball star in high school, Kelley realized he wasn't good enough to make it in the major leagues after graduating. Around that time, Kelly was listening to Casting Crowns -- a Christian rock group formed from a Baptist youth group -- and was inspired to write his own material.
Lil Wayne Helped Forge Their Musical Connection
"He was blowing diesel smoke [from his truck], listening to Lil Wayne," Kelley remembers about meeting Hubbard. "And I was like, man, that’s how I grew up. Me and my friends rode trucks, listened to Garth Brooks, Alabama, Lil Wayne and Eminem."
They Were Discovered By a Nickelback Producer
Joey Moi, who has worked with Nickelback since their 2003 album The Long Road, saw them play a county fair and knew they could be big. He produced their smash debut Here's to The Good Times and the new album, Anything Goes.
Def Leppard Was the Model for "Cruise"
Moi used the hair metal band as a sonic template for FGL's signature hit, "Cruise." “I came from a world where we spend days in the studio, trying to make a song better,” he tells Billboard. “In my brain, the template is Def Leppard. Everything with them was a monster hook and a giant chorus.”
They Have Three Separate Songs That Rhyme "Party" and "Bacardi"
While they "spend days in the studio" working on the sound of a song, the lyrics just might come together a little faster. Three separate songs -- taken from their debut, their second album and the EP in between -- rhyme the words "party" and "Bacardi." Hey, it's not like the words stopped rhyming at some point.