As Brian Kelley continues to build his solo career and work on his second album, he’s making sure his fans get the best of the best Country tracks — whether he writes them or not.
LISTEN NOW: Brian Kelley says he will ‘let the great songs win’ with his next project
The former Florida Georgia Line member recently opened up to Audacy’s Rob + Holly about new music and how is approach is differing from his first solo project.
“On the first solo record, one of the goals for me on that record was to be a writer or co-writer on every song,” Kelley said. “Now that I had done that for that first record, I took some time this past fall and really just get dialed in to what the next phase is and where I want to take this.”
After taking some time to ground himself and explore what was next, Kelley says his approach will change. While he still spends lots of time writing, he says he is open to welcoming songs he didn’t have a hand in writing.
“Sometimes it’s easier to just sing a song you love and let the great songs win,” he shared. “Take pride or ego out of the equation.”
He continued, “It’s kind of the Garth [Brooks], Kenny [Chesney] model. They’re both amazing songwriters but they have also built a career on cutting outside songs that they didn’t write. Sometimes you’re the voice for it, sometimes you’re the pen and the voice. And for me, I’m truly building my solo career, and I just wanted to get in that mindset of having some great songs and I love, love, love supporting the songwriting community. I think there’s nothing cooler than that.”
The new approach has gotten off to a great start for Kelley, who has captured fans with his latest release “See You Next Summer,” penned by HARDY, Hillary Lindsey and David Garcia.
“I remember seeing the title down there, ‘See You Next Summer’ and I was like, ‘I hope it’s good!’” Kelley said of the first time he heard the song. “It was like, ‘Damn, they wrote it for me.’ And they weren’t trying to write it for me, I think it was written a year and a half or so before.”
He continued, “I fell in love with the song, it’s the kind of song that you hear a couple times and you just kind of know it.”
Hear more about the new song, plus some hints about what’s to come by tuning into the Friday Night Takeover With Rob + Holly this Friday at 7pm! Plus, get your votes in now for the daily Top 7 @ 7 countdown!
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