NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Country
Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is set to explore the
music and career of Florida Georgia
Line – the duo comprised of Tyler Hubbard from Georgia and Brian Kelley from Florida – in the exhibit
Florida Georgia Line: Mix It Up
Strong. The exhibit traces the duo's friendship and
collaboration, from their meeting in college to their swift
emergence as a multiple-award-winning, genre-blending, fan
favorite. Florida Georgia
Line: Mix It Up Strong opens Friday, Jan. 21, and runs through Jan. 1, 2023.
Florida Georgia Line burst onto
the country music charts in 2012 with their first single, "Cruise."
The song became a record-breaking #1 country hit, and its remix
featuring the rapper Nelly hit #4 on Billboard's all-genre
Hot 100 chart. Their sound – a blend of hip-hop cadences,
small-town themes and country instrumental flourishes – helped
usher in a new era for the country genre. "Cruise" earned diamond
certification from the Recording Industry Association of America,
becoming the first country single to attain sales and streams
equivalent to 10 million units. They went on to earn a second
diamond-certified single with "Meant to Be," a 2017 collaboration
with pop singer Bebe Rexha.
"Florida Georgia Line expanded
the country music audience and created some of the most popular
recordings in the genre's history by embracing hip-hop and rock
influences," said museum CEO Kyle
Young. "In less than a decade, Brian
Kelley and Tyler Hubbard have
had twenty-five singles reach gold, platinum or multi-platinum
status, with two of those singles – 'Cruise' and 'Meant to Be' –
reaching the elite plateau of diamond sales certification. Very few
artists in any genre accomplish that feat even once. The museum
looks forward to exploring the duo's distinctive music and career
in this special exhibit."
Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley met in 2008 at a weekly on-campus
student worship service at Belmont
University in Nashville,
Tenn., where they both attended college. Both were
influenced by a wide variety of music styles, and they began
writing songs and performing music together, hoping to earn a
living as songwriters. During this time, they led worship music for
a youth group in Lebanon, Tenn.,
and showcased their original, secular material at local songwriter
rounds – eventually booking weekend shows across the Southeast.
In 2011, Music Row-based company Big Loud began handling their
artist development, publishing, management and record production.
Producer Joey Moi, a partner at the
company, took them into the studio to develop their sound,
incorporating elements similar to the popular recordings he
produced for rock band Nickelback. Hubbard and Kelley credit him
with helping them establish the catchy, polished, genre-blending
sound heard on "Cruise" and subsequent hits.
The following year, the duo signed a record deal with Republic
Nashville/Big Machine Records and released the album Here's To
The Good Times.
The Country Music Association named the album's first single,
"Cruise," Single of the Year and honored Florida Georgia Line as Vocal Duo of the Year in
2013, their first of three consecutive wins in that category. The
pair released many more #1 country radio hits, including "Get Your
Shine On," "Stay," "H.O.L.Y." and "Sun Daze."
The duo's success extends to songwriting and music business
ventures. Tyler Hubbard and
Brian Kelley wrote many of
Florida Georgia Line's best-known
songs and penned hits for other artists, including Jason Aldean's "Burnin' It Down" and
Cole Swindell's "Hope You Get Lonely
Tonight." They also launched their own label (Round Here Records)
and song publishing firm (Tree Vibez Music), signing Corey Crowder, RaeLynn and Canaan Smith, among
others.
Objects featured in Florida Georgia
Line: Mix It Up Strong include instruments, awards,
stage and screen costumes and personal artifacts. Some
highlights:
- A serape Kelley wore in Florida Georgia
Line's 2016 music video for "H.O.L.Y."
- The Selmer Bundy II saxophone Hubbard played as a child
- Hubbard's Alvarez AD-60SC guitar, which he customized and
played early in the duo's career
- A diamond certification award from the Record Industry
Association of America (RIAA) for "Cruise"
- A note from Hubbard's high school classmates and teachers
wishing him luck with his music career in Nashville
- A ball cap Kelley wore when playing on his high school baseball
team, the Seabreeze Fighting Sandcrabs
- Kelley's Takamine GB7C Garth Brooks Signature acoustic guitar,
which Kelley used when writing "Cruise" and other hits
- Racing suits and helmets Hubbard and Kelley wore in the 2016
music video for "May We All" (feat. Tim
McGraw)
- Ensembles worn by the duo on the cover of their 2019 album
Can't Say I Ain't Country
- Hubbard's first guitar, a Sigma DM-3 acoustic guitar, which he
acquired in fourth grade
"I still remember being at the Country Q studio with
BK [Brian Kelley] recording
'Cruise,' and having this feeling like we had created
something special," said Tyler
Hubbard. "And I'll never forget when BK said, 'We're gonna
sell a million copies of this song.' I thought he was shooting
for the stars then! Neither of us had any idea what would happen
next. To be chosen for an exhibit is the ultimate honor as an
artist, and we can't thank the Country Music Hall of Fame
and Museum enough. I can't wait for opening day, when we
can stand back and take in this blessing with everyone that's
supported us along the way."
"When Tyler and I decided to go all-in and see where
FGL would take us, we lived by two mottos," said Brian Kelley. "The first being, 'Anywhere
that would let us play our songs – didn't matter if it
was a bar, coffee shop, club or if the crowd
was 10 people or 50 people – we would go just to be able
to perform.' And, the second, 'Shake a million hands, to
make a million fans.' Fast-forward to today, and all that
has happened over the past 11 years. It's truly
mind-blowing. We are both dreamers and always striving to go
big. To have the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum now feature our wild ride is surreal and humbling.
I couldn't be more excited about this exhibit and to be
able to relive each step of our journey. Here's to the good
times!"
In support of the exhibition's opening, Tyler Hubbard and Brian
Kelley will participate in a conversation and performance in
the museum's CMA Theater on Sunday, Feb. 6,
2022, at 2 p.m., discussing
their career and sharing personal stories and memories associated
with the artifacts included in Florida
Georgia Line: Mix It Up Strong. Tickets will be
available at CountryMusicHallofFame.org on Friday, Dec. 10.
More information about this exhibit can be found at
www.CountryMusicHallofFame.org.
Suggested Tweet: @CountryMusicHOF announces details
of Florida Georgia Line: Mix
It Up Strong. The exhibit will run from Jan.
21, through Jan. 1, 2023.
About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum:
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects,
preserves, and interprets country music and its history for the
education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibits,
publications, and educational programs, the museum explores the
cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum
is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit
501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of
Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American
Alliance of Museums, and is among the 10 most-visited museums in
the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio
B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF
Records, the Frist Library and Archive, and CMF Press. Museum
programs are supported in part by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts
Commission and Tennessee Arts Commission.
More information about the Country Music Hall of
Fame® and Museum is available
at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615)
416-2001.
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SOURCE Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum