Florida Georgia Line Song Analysis

Florida Georgia Line consists of two country singers, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard. Ever since the two met at college, their careers have taken off. Florida Georgia Line is well known for its hit, “Cruise” which has had over one million downloads sold and topped both country radio charts. Due to this success, a remix was created with Nelly. This original song was released in 2012, and is part of the album, “Here’s to the Good Times,” whereas the remix was released in 2013.

Cruise featuring Nelly, was produced by Joey Moi. Moi used Def Leopard as a template for the tune of this song and the instruments used include electric guitar, vocals, drums,bass, and banjo. Florida Georgia Line and Nelly begin the song by singing together. This creates a unique sound, noticeably different from its original. Throughout the song, Nelly and Florida Georgia Line do sing together with Nelly having a rapping solo. This rap is by far the biggest change in the remix. As for the original version, it came about simply playing around on the guitar. After listening to the sound for a little, the chorus came out, and the song took off. It made its way from a couch to number one on the charts. With tweaks here and there from the producer, their soon to be number one hit was ready to go. Numerous pop

stations had expressed their desire for a new version of “Cruise” and one of the members, Brian Kelley had heard Nelly was a fan of the song and liked the idea of a pop/rap piece added to it.Nelly’s part in the song was written by Nelly himself, and they each had help from singer and songwriter Chase Rice. Florida Georgia Line could not have enjoyed the remix any better; “I don't think we could have picked anybody better. It fits what we're doing, it fits what he's doing. He's a country boy at heart,” they mention. This was not the first time Nelly found himself in the country scene. In 2004, he was featured in Tim McGraw’s song, “Over and Over.”
This song is quite different compared to many of the songs discussed in class. Many of the bands we talked about stuck to their usual genre. Rarely will you find rap/pop artists and country singers collaborating on a piece together. However, one song discussed in class does strike me as similar to “Cruise” featuring Nelly. Aerosmith’s remix of “Walk this Way” featuring MC Hammer also includes artists of different genres.
In my opinion, this is a great piece of music. The added sounds by Nelly add flare and allow for even more people to open up to this music. Yes, the song is catchy to begin with, although, Nelly’s addition adds an entirely new dimension for Florida Georgia Line. Others should be drawn to it because of its ability to hit a wider range of fans, and its newly acquired unique sounds, thanks to Nelly. “Even if you’re not totally into country music, it’s just a feel good song that can work for anybody,” Hubbard states.
This song is more than deserving to be talked about in our class. The unique sound proves how far all music has progressed. Decades ago one would never see find a country song with an entire section in it dedicated to rap. Like mentioned earlier, Aerosmith’s remix of “Walk this Way” has numerous similarities to “Cruise.” I believe “Cruise” would have been a great choice to show the class how other songs have also mixed genres in a single song. Another interesting connection Chase Rice makes with old Rock songs is that many successful ones have started with the chorus. In an interview with radio.com, Rice explains how much potential he knew this song had even states, “A lot of the old rock songs started with the chorus, and they all went to No. 1. This one was the same way.”
The term “Bro Country,” coined by Jody Rosen of New York Magazine, is one that without a doubt applies to the song “Cruise.” Bro country refers to the partying, young white American who just wants to have fun.

Rosen explains how this song can be noted as turning point between the older generation of country music to bro country. I could not agree more. In the older generation, country had a much more southern feel, usually slower in speed as well. Songs like “Cruise” are prime examples of how the music industry, country music specifically, has had to make changes to entertain newer generations. I believe this is an important piece in history, and should definitely be discussed in

class.