Florida Georgia Line is nominated for three CMA Awards — for Vocal Duo of the Year, Single of the Year and Musical Event of the Year, the latter two for their “Meant to Be” collaboration with Bebe Rexha. Although the pair have been nominated 11 times, winning a total of four times, both Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley insist it is still just as meaningful to receive the industry recognition.
“We’re always honored and humbled to be a part of these awards shows, and to be nominated, especially CMAs,” Hubbard recently shared with PopCulture.com and other media. “We have so many memories that we’ve made there over the years. We were there before we were FGL, and watching and being a fan, so that just never gets old to be honest.”
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“To be nominated is kind of a continued validation if you will, just a nod of a hat from the industry and from our peers and from our fans,” he added. “So it’s gonna be a great night. We’re excited, and it’s also always kind of like a little country music family reunion. So we’ll get to see all of our friends and catch up a little bit.”
“Meant to Be” became a record-breaking song on the charts, but even without the success of the song, the guys still love the idea of collaborating with other artists, both in country music and other genres.
“I think it’s just something that we love,” Hubbard said. “We love to learn from other artists, friends of ours. We also love to bring in artists who have had a huge influence in our music and our life. Backstreet [Boys], that’s the band for us that we grew up listening to. George Strait and the Backstreet Boys. Kind of mixing it up.”
Florida Georgia Line has taken something away each time they’ve shared a song with another artist.
“All the collaborations we’ve done, Tim [McGraw] and Bebe, it’s all kind of like that,” Hubbard noted. “Bebe is kind of a newer artist; we’re both kind of learning from each other and it’s a real cool relationship. Same with Tim. He’s kind of a legacy act, so we came out, stepped back and said ‘You’re one of our heroes, man. We’ve learned a lot from you. We literally grew up listening to you. So we’re just going to be a sponge right now, and try to soak up anything you give us.’”
The 2018 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Rebecca Sapp
