At the beginning of this year, Florida Georgia Line gave fans a shock by saying they’d pursue solo projects apart from each other. But they also said they’re not breaking up the duo, and in a recent chat on Tim McGraw’s podcast, FGL member Tyler Hubbard goes further.
Speaking with McGraw on the country icon’s Beyond the Influence podcast on Apple Music, Hubbard opened up about how he and his hit-making partner, Brian Kelley, are still very much a thing. They just need some space to recharge.
“I was just with [Kelley] yesterday and we were doing a photoshoot and doing some press for the new record,” Hubbard says. “There’s just a freedom that feels exhilarating, man, on both sides. And something about that really channels creativity. And so, now we’re getting to experience a really cool wave of creativity on our own and grow that and nurture that and be supportive of each other.
“It feels like it’s only going to make us stronger,” Hubbard goes on, “and able to grow outside of our typical boundary that we’ve set, our FGL box that we’ve built for ourselves over the last decade. We were always a package deal. With that comes moments where you can’t quite grow on both sides. And so I think this season of growth for both of us is going to be amazing, and it already has been amazing.”
McGraw responds with support for Hubbard and Kelley’s plan, saying he and fellow country star wife, Faith Hill, have gone through the same process. They spend time working together, then go their separate ways for a while, before coming back together with a renewed creative spark. But then again, McGraw does have a little skin in the game — he and Hubbard teamed up for one of those outside projects FGL told fans of, dropping the patriotic duet, “Undivided,” in January.
No matter what Hubbard and Kelley do on their own, though, Florida Georgia Line is still going strong. The duo will release their fifth studio album, Life Rolls On, February 12, and their latest single, “Long Live,” is currently just outside the Top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay radio chart.