Interview: Tyler Hubbard (Florida Georgia Line)
TEG Live have announced today that multi-Platinum-selling artist and country superstar Tyler Hubbard will be touring Australia this October following his headline performance at CMC Rocks earlier this year.
Already riding on the success of being one half of the platinum duo Florida Georgia Line, Hubbard is on a career high with 21 No.1 US singles on country radio, countless awards and sold-out shows on the back of the self titled album achieving over 1.33 billion global streams. The artist’s latest album Strong is on track to greater success.
Sheldon Ang Media was invited for a chat with Tyler Hubbard on his upcoming tour, the latest album Strong and his affection for Australia.
Sheldon: Congratulations on a successful career that you have forged for yourself in music. It feels like we can gauge one’s success by Googling their name and the first thing that pops up is, how much are they worth. That applies with your name.
Tyler: Well that’s funny. I always click on those and I’m astounded by how much they think I’m worth…Sure. I’ll take it.
Sheldon: You’ll be touring in Australia in October. You must be really excited about it.
Tyler: Yeah man, I’m really excited. I love Australia. I’m excited to come spend a little bit of time here. I’m here right now for CMC rocks, and that’s amazing. It’s going it’s to be my appetizer for October. I can’t wait to come back.
Sheldon: You were in Australia in 2019 with Florida Georgia Line. So what is it about Australia that you love the most?
Tyler: Oh, I love the weather. I love the nature. I love the food. I love the fans. The people here are great. So, I feel right at home when I come here, and it’s a lot of fun. And it’s hard to want to leave.
Sheldon: In 2021, you and Brian Kelly decided to take break from Florida Georgia Line, so you’ll be performing in Australia as a solo artist. How does that differ on stage, say the dynamics? Do you feel there is more flexibility on stage?
Tyler: No, it feels pretty similar. I mean, obviously there’s the one last person on stage to engage with or interact with, but it feels really natural. It’s been a fairly easy transition. It did take a few shows to kind of get there, but I have a great band who have been with me for a long time. And so I get to engage with them and engage with the fans. And I got pretty comfortable pretty quick with that dynamics. It’s also me.
Sheldon: A lot of people know you from the duo Florida Georgia Line. In your upcoming tour, will there be performing the older mega hits such as Meant To Be and Cruise? Or will the setlist be purely from the solo artist of Tyler Hubbard?
Tyler: I’m not positive what the setlist will be. But I’ll probably throw a few of the throwbacks in there in the mix, you know, probably Cruise, maybe Meant To Be…to give people a little taste of the past, if you will, songs that I was fortunate enough to get to ride on and be a part of. So, yeah, I’ll probably do that, but it’s hard to say as the setlist always changing, and I don’t want to make any promises.
Sheldon: That comes to my next question. You will release a new album (Strong, already released). So I guess this will be a bit of an album tour as well.
Tyler: Oh yeah totally. I’ll be playing some of the new music off the new album, some of the older music of the debut album and then I’ll just. You got it. I’ll be I’ll be playing the new album.
Sheldon: Tell us more about the album.
Tyler: Yeah, totally. I’m excited about it. It’s a fun album. I think it’s going to be the perfect soundtrack of the summer. So here in Australia, you guys can, rock on by October – nice and familiar. Everybody can come party and cycle.
Sheldon: And country music is very popular in Australia and America. What is it about country music that resonates in both countries? Is it the lyrics? The storyline?
Tyler: I think it’s probably the lifestyle, you know? I feel right at home in Australia, and I think a lot of people resonate with just the lifestyle, but our genre tends to lean into the outdoors. And I think this genre really, or specifically, shines a light on people’s lifestyles and things they like to do. And I think they connect and relate. And I think that’s what makes it a beautiful genre. And it is cool to see it grow in here.
Sheldon: And popstars like Beyoncé as well are doing country music. Do you feel like there is a new wave in country music?
Tyler: I don’t know about a new wave, I do feel like it’s a hot, hot genre right now. And this is going to get into a time where it’s growing a lot and it’s expanding. And we’re bringing new people to the genre in the market. So I think it’s great. And I think it’s, it’s fun to kind of watch.
Sheldon: Finally, how is it like to perform in front of thousands of people, to your fans? Do you feel the energy or do you feel like individual eyes looking at you?
Tyler: Oh yeah, I definitely feel the energy. Yeah. It’s awesome. And I think especially here in Australia, the fans are passionate about music and it’s a it’s a lot of fun.
Sheldon: Do you feel like you know Australian fans a bit more passionate compared to American fans?
Tyler: I think it does depend. I probably depends on the weekend, but I think I’m just surprised that the passion is definitely. It’s definitely similar. If not better over here – which is crazy because we’re so far from home. And, it’s just wild that our music has made it over here and that we’re able to come here and hang with such a large fan base. It’s awesome.
Sheldon: All right, Tyler, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate this conversation we had. And hopefully we can see you very soon.
Tyler: Oh good buddy. Thank you. Thank you so much, Sheldon.
Tyler Hubbard will be touring Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast in October. Ticketing info are on TEG Live
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About Sheldon Ang Media: Perth based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to almost 100 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), KNOTFEST (Melbourne), Coldplay (Perth), KISS, P!NK, Tom Jones, Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart with reviews shared by the likes of UB40, Delta Goodrem, The Wiggles and Toni Childs on social media. The founder Sheldon has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (that’s her below), Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 40 artists. He’s also a contributor as a music journalist on Triple M Radio.
