Carrie Underwood Turned Down Florida Georgia Line Collaboration
Oh you’ve got to love this.
So back in February during the annual Country Radio Seminar conference in Nashville, Carrie Underwood was asked a question about the challenges women face in country music, and she expressed some frustration about her trouble finding good songs to record.
“It’s hard for me to find demos. It’s hard for me to find songs. Because songwriters aren’t writing for women. Why would they? I mean, that’s their job. That’s what they’re going to do every day. They’ve gotta pay their mortgage. Put their kids through college. They’re giving the consumers what they want, which is dude songs.”
Carrie’s comments probably deserve their own dissertation and examination, but it speaks to the frustrations women in the mainstream country industry face, and how that problem is a nuanced one, including how it’s marketplace appeal for “dude songs” that is contributing to this difficulty for women. Yes, it’s easy to say, “Well just write your own songs Carrie,” and that’s probably a fair suggestion. But not every performer is a great songwriter, including big ones like George Strait.
But the aftermath of Carrie’s comments is where the story gets good. So after numerous publications went to print with Underwood’s statements, Florida Georgia Line decided they would step up to offer help (or exploit the publicity) by reaching out to Carrie with a proposition. And instead of going through back channels as would be the norm, they did it publicly through their social media channels.
“Whether you know it or not, we are huge fans of you and we have always wanted to do a song with you we’ve just been waiting on the right one,” the duo said. “We’d really love for Carrie Underwood to hear this song. We think it would be a massive collaboration. We’d love to send it to you. We don’t have your email or your phone number, so we’re just gonna play a little.”
But of course, this homage was just a front for making a public spectacle of their offer to “help” Carrie Underwood with a collaboration so they could siphon off some publicity from the situation for themselves. The song the duo played a snippet of appeared to have the title of “Feels Good.”
But apparently Carrie Underwood was not feeling good about any of it. Underwood never replied or even addressed the Florida Georgia Line proposal publicly, which left many speculating if Carrie had snubbed the Bro-Country duo.
Well, while recently speaking to Cody Alan of the CMT Hot 20 Countdown, the duo confirmed that Carrie Underwood had indeed given them the Heisman on their collaboration idea.
“We got turned down on that one,” Tyler Hubbard confirmed to Cody Alan. “You don’t win ’em all. I guess she didn’t love it as much as we did, but that’s alright.”
Brian Kelly of the group tried to save face by saying, “I think she said she’d love to and it was amazing, but it was right around her book tour release so she was super busy, and didn’t really have time.”
But Tyler Hubbard butted in, saying, “We got turned down. We got turned down Cody.”
Hey, hats off to Florida Georgia Line if they really were trying to help. But their derivative style of Bro-Country is exactly what has put country women in a precarious position in the the mainstream. That said, there has been a spike in successful songs by women recently, though mostly of the pop variety like “The Bones” by Maren Morris, and Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope”—both of which went #1 on radio. Ingrid Andress and “More Hearts Than Mine” is about the only one that deserved a #1, but only received it on the MediaBase chart, not Billboard.
Either way, good on Carrie Underwood for not feeling like she needed to accept help from Florida Georgia Line for attention.
We’ve got the scoop on your favorite @FLAGALine collaboration with @justinbieber and maybe a new one with @carrieunderwood ?? Check out what the boys have to say: pic.twitter.com/FLR3kNPK44
— CMT Hot 20 Countdown (@cmtHot20) April 28, 2020
Fuzzy TwoShirts
May 3, 2020 @ 10:31 am
Not that Carrie Underwood is a Country singer… but bwahahahaha those two dudebros are so dumb…
I tolerate them more than Jason Al-get—over-my-affair-probably-Can’t-spell-affair-takes-off-his-shoes-to-count-higher-than-ten-and-thinks-the-national-anthem-ends-with-start-your-engines-but-secretly-is-glad-Columbus-killed-those-engines-Dean because at least they’re just knuckleheaded twenty somethings.
Charles
May 3, 2020 @ 2:43 pm
They’re actually in their mid to late 30’s. That’s what’s sad about it
Matt
May 4, 2020 @ 6:39 am
Well to be fair, they were 25 and 27 when they started out and released “Cruise” back in 2012, so chances are their musical age hasn’t grown much since then.
Sam Cody
May 3, 2020 @ 11:12 am
Carrie’s not any more country than those two shit stains. If she did the Swift move and re-branded herself properly, she’d be swimming in shitty pop songs to sing.
albert
May 3, 2020 @ 11:47 am
man I can hardly believe what I’m about to say because I have wanted to like carrie for so long ….but I agree with you sam . she’s no more country than FGL in so many ways . BUT at least a few of her songs have narratives which , if sung in human keys , would more readily lend themselves to country treatments arrangement-wise . but yeah……just can’t get into her pop-ness whatsoever .
listening to dori freeman’s new one these days .
Chris
May 3, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
In Carrie’s defense, at least I can listen to one of her songs without feeling like I’ve lost 50 IQ points. And at least she is talented, although I do wish she’d dial down the vocal gymnastics. But I can’t disagree, she’s more Celine Dion than Loretta Lynn, more adult contemporary than anything else. AC radio is where she really belongs, but AC stations aren’t playing much that isn’t handed down from Top 40 radio which is all trap-pop and EDM. AC as a genre really doesn’t exist anymore (that’s another radio format which has lost its heart and soul).
Mike Honcho
May 4, 2020 @ 7:27 am
And those red neck margaritas are 2 for 1 at that old marina
DimM
May 4, 2020 @ 12:38 am
At least she shows respect to country music.She had the opportunity to sing shitty pop songs 15 years ago but in the end she always was countrier than FGL and all the other bros.And her duet partners were Randy Travis or Brad Paisley not any Brians & Tylers.
David
May 3, 2020 @ 11:30 am
Did they honestly think they had a chance?
Speaking of songwriting, I like Carrie well enough, but I’m not fully convinced of her songwriting abilities. I know she’s been credited as a co-writer on many of her songs in recent years, but I question how much she actually adds to them. I want to see her solo write a song, or maybe use just one other co-writer.
Sue
May 3, 2020 @ 12:00 pm
The songwriters she works with have been complimentary of Carrie’s writing abilities. As for her comments on demos I think she was more addressing the problem for women in general. She obviously has the clout to work with whatever writers she wants and doesn’t need any help from FGL.
CountryKnight
June 26, 2020 @ 8:33 am
Well yeah, what else are they going to say? Having Carrie sing one of their songs equals a pay day. They are not going to shovel dirt where they eat.
People are so naive.
Bruce Bremer
May 3, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
In for a word, in for a third.
LB
May 3, 2020 @ 1:56 pm
Co-writers that Carrie has worked with such as David Garcia have emphasized how much she contributes to the song writing process.
Randy
May 3, 2020 @ 12:09 pm
Better dumb and rich than just dumb
CaptainBellmeyer
May 3, 2020 @ 12:41 pm
You know, it’s really pathetic that two guys who act/perform songs like eighties college movie jocks would pull off a stereotypical nerdy loser move. Sorry Florida-Georgia Lame, but unlike John Hughes movies no one is going to be impressed with embarrassing public display like that, particularly when it’s obvious a move to boost your sagging sales.
strait country 81
May 3, 2020 @ 1:00 pm
That’s like Chris Brown turning down a sensitivity towards women class taught by Ray Rice.
MYOB
May 3, 2020 @ 1:07 pm
Stories like these makes me appreciate Taylor Swift more. Amen.
albert
May 4, 2020 @ 8:35 am
i think the TS camp did their damage to country music then moved on . now they’ve done it to pop…..so many musical TS clones and , in fact , she’s become one at times . thank God for a few actual singers and actual songs that see the light of day in the pop world ( Cabella , Pink ) cuz TS delivers on neither count , in my less than humble view . she has become a product of her handlers . someone recently played me a video ‘concert’ of TS and band playing live off the floor at a tv taping . Vocals left so much to be desired , as did the lyric writing once the layers of trendy production and ‘noise’ were peeled back .
her success in this genre ( $$$$) is a stain on country music history .
LB
May 3, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
I’m glad she turned them down. They were jerks putting her on the spot publicly when they could have easily reached out to her manager. It put her in an awkward situation, and she would be greatly regressing if she had worked with them.
Aggie14
May 4, 2020 @ 7:48 am
Absolutely correct. I just wish she had done the same to Keith Urban on that horrific “Fighter” song. She sold her soul on that pile of trash, but appears to have learned her lesson.
Gia
May 3, 2020 @ 2:04 pm
Florida Georgia Line are buttholes. They were deleting comments on their Instagram of people telling them that they should’ve reached out privately and they also blocked some people as well, instead of acting like mature adults who recognize that it’s bizarre to pitch songs over social media.
Trigger
May 3, 2020 @ 2:18 pm
It’s like they put Carrie Underwood on the spot, and made it look like she was being the rude one by not responding or by turning them down. Not cool.
ADJ
May 4, 2020 @ 8:30 am
This! It was rude to do it publicly the way they did. They could have easily asked through Carrie’s people if they wanted to. They probably wanted the attention. 🙄
Grant
May 3, 2020 @ 2:13 pm
I’m glad to see that FGL’s ridiculously desperate measures didn’t work out.
Normal Street
May 3, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
This might just be the most sensible thing Carrie Underwood has ever done. I am not into her ‘music’ and am unlikely ever to be. Nor am I into FGL and whatever it is they do. Putting Carrie and FGL together would be a new level of awful I am glad we won’t have to endure.
Trace
May 3, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
I didn’t follow FGL in the first place, but I saw everything swirling on Twitter and I commented suggesting that if they are legitimately interested in duetting with her they could find her manager’s contact information in the CMA credential list they send out. Those suckers blocked me! I wasn’t even being rude about it, so I guess that shows the character of them.
Ian
May 3, 2020 @ 7:00 pm
Don’t they have a couple PAs? I bet I could find her managers email and I’m basically illiterate on a computer.
CaptainBellmeyer
May 3, 2020 @ 2:48 pm
A song for Florida-Georgia Line https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=asshole+on+the+i-95&&view=detail&mid=0DB7561AACDC5BF8B97B0DB7561AACDC5BF8B97B&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dasshole%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bi-95%26FORM%3DHDRSC3
Allie
May 3, 2020 @ 3:15 pm
Carrie Underwood is probably still traumatized from that one year FGL hosted the ACCAs or ACAs whatever that show was called and they made a joke about how great it was hooking up with her while she was sitting in the audience with her husband. No clue why I remember that, probably because that whole night with their hosting was crap.
Ceeceebee
May 3, 2020 @ 5:50 pm
Good for her.
Sometimes, I worry women in country will record crappy duets with men just to get on the radio (Drowns the Whiskey, anyone?). Glad Carrie said no.
She may not be country, but she’s levels better than FGL.
Ian
May 3, 2020 @ 6:58 pm
I do like that Tyler said they got iced.
Mike Honcho
May 4, 2020 @ 7:23 am
That Southbound song was even dumber than anything FGL has put out. Pure dogshit.
albert
May 4, 2020 @ 8:40 am
…an absolutely forgettable waste of HER talents and OUR time.
but that wasn’t enough……didn’t she drag maddie and tae along on that pop ride ? probably scarred them for life .
Derek Sullivan
May 4, 2020 @ 1:43 pm
I just want to say that pop or not, I kind of like “I Hope,” and “More Hearts than Mine.”
jim bob
May 4, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
on FGL i was sort of fascinated to learn (from that CMA alone together at home special thing) that they are all quarantined together with their sister wives like some crazy yoga sex death cult. i could not look away, and weeks later it still haunts my dreams. what IS going on here? why are they all by a fireplace? why do they suck? why is there nothing in a hole?
CountryKnight
May 5, 2020 @ 8:25 am
Non-country singer turns down duet with non-country band.
Huzzah!
Woogeroo
May 5, 2020 @ 9:47 am
Smart.
roscoe jones
May 11, 2020 @ 2:37 am
Trig, did you pull that particular publicity shot of FGL on purpose? Because it’s fucking hilarious.
Trigger
May 11, 2020 @ 9:43 am
Any picture of Florida Georgia Line is hilarious. They have no idea how to dress themselves.
Bigbadnurse
August 21, 2023 @ 10:46 pm
BKs broad brimmed hat looks like the ones we nurses used to line the toilets with to catch urine samples. Better yet let him fill it full of warm water and soak his hemorrhoids
Atomic Zombie Redneck
May 14, 2020 @ 9:38 am
I don’t know. FGL writes pretty catchy songs. If Carrie handled the lyrics, they might end up with something decent.
David
May 14, 2020 @ 11:36 am
I wasn’t a fan of how they did it plus I don’t think it would be a good mix. There is a lot of hate for FGL on here but I like them. Their songs tend to be fun to listen to and that’s the point. Far as being country, they are just as country as a lot of artist are. I don’t like some of their choices but there isnt an artist that I liked all their songs.
Bigbadnurse
August 15, 2022 @ 8:55 pm
There’s only one reason fgl would offer to share the spotlight with Carrie underwood and that’s if there’s something in it for them. Attempting to insert themselves in Carrie’s female country singer narrative and prolong what little relevance they still have. Whether you enjoy her style of country pop or not, she is a quality singer with a long standing career. Not a no talent pretty boy flash in the pan like fgl. She’ll be here when they’re gone