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After years of speculation and rumors, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, the voices behind Florida Georgia Line, shared more insight on what led the ‘Bro-Country’ duo to break up. Like any modern-day split, the duo shared their sides of the story on separate episodes of the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, airing just two days apart.
The statements come after renewed interest in their fallout sparked by Kelley's not-so-subtle release ‘Kiss My Boots’, a track that appears to reinforce Kelley’s previous statements that a reunion is not in the plans.
When asked by Holler about the single earlier this year, Hubbard preferred to stay quiet, only commenting, “I'm probably just fully focussed on what I'm doing, you know, not letting that stand in the way too much.” However, Hubbard opened up a bit more during his latest podcast appearance, which aired last week.
To start, Hubbard revealed that the split was initiated by Kelley, who expressed his desire to pursue a solo career. Hubbard admitted he was caught off guard by the decision, especially considering the success they had achieved together.
"We were kind of in a sweet spot that we had worked for 10 years to get to", Hubbard stated. Despite his initial surprise, Hubbard expressed his willingness to support Kelley, which he has continued to voice in the years since their falling out.
However, Hubbard soon realized the practical difficulties of balancing both Florida Georgia Line and a solo career. "I don’t have the capacity to do two careers, and also it’s going to get super sticky", he explained, highlighting the logistical challenges they would face.
Brian Kelley appeared to agree a lot with what Tyler Hubbard stated, however, he underlined that discussions about pursuing solo projects started in 2016. He emphasized his desire to continue with Florida Georgia Line, while also exploring a solo project.
"There are going to be songs that I write that…aren’t going to fit the brand of FGL", Kelley explained. He proposed the idea of performing longer concerts that incorporated both FGL as well as solo songs.
Kelley claimed the duo agreed to hold off on solo projects until their recording contract ended, thus he was surprised when Hubbard released a song with Tim McGraw in 2021, breaking their agreement. This move signaled to Kelley that their paths were diverging, leading him to focus more on his solo work. After the release of his debut solo EP in 2021 and a full album, Kelley sensed the end of FGL when Hubbard communicated that they were "kinda done".
Since the split, both musicians have pursued successful solo careers. Tyler Hubbard released his debut EP, Dancin’ in the Country, a No. 1 hit with ‘5 Foot 9’ and two albums including and his latest release, Strong. Brian Kelley, on the other hand, released his debut solo EP, BK’s Wave Pack, followed by a full album titled Sunshine State of Mind and his newly unveiled album, Tennessee Truth.
While it seems like podcast episodes released the same week might be the closest we'll get to a Florida Georgia Line reunion anytime soon, it appears that both Hubbard and Kelley are ready to leave the split in the rearview mirror as they continue to cruise on with their solo projects.
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