Tyler Hubbard Recalls Sharing ‘Miss My Daddy’ With His Mom
Tyler Hubbard never intended for you to hear "Miss My Daddy," his most personal lyric to date. The new ballad about his late father was written to capture a moment in time.
"This was before I even decided I was gonna do a solo record," he shares.
How Did Tyler Hubbard's Dad Die?
Roy Hubbard died on Feb. 24, 2007 in helicopter crash, leaving behind his wife and their three kids. He was just 43 years old, and off-and-on throughout Hubbard's time with Florida Georgia Line, the country star has referred to how that event shaped his life. On his new self-titled debut album, he offers a full testimony.
"As I was putting this album together I decided, 'Yeah, I think this is an important song" and part of my story, a big part of my story. It shows a different side of who I am,' Hubbard tells Evan Paul of Taste of County Nights. "I hope that can be healing and therapeutic for a lot of people."
The Tyler Hubbard album also includes the chart-topping "5 Foot 9" and his new single, "Dancin' in the Country," a co-write with Keith Urban.
Hubbard's full interview first aired on the Taste of Country Nights, On Demand Podcast. Below are highlights, with questions shortened for clarity.
Is it a gift or a curse to have your first solo single go No. 1?
I think that's a gift, man — I think that's a gift. That feels good and I'm grateful.
Are you nervous about doing it again?
I feel more motivated than anything at this point. It's kind of nice to have that first one behind me, and I'm excited for what's to come.
Are you ready for the weight of the messages from fans who relate to "Miss My Daddy"?
I think so. The power of music is incredible. A lot of times it can be really healing and therapeutic, and also, just the emotions that music can bring up. It's pretty special. It's a gift and I take it as a responsibility to lean into that gift a little bit.
Chase Rice recently shared that all the destructive things in his life can be traced back to not knowing how to deal with his dad's death. Have you had any similar thoughts?
I would say I was definitely impacted by losing my dad in a lot of ways. I tried to be really intentional at that time. I was 20 years old — I was still a kid. I was still figuring things out, but I'd heard enough stories to know, "OK, this can go one of two ways."
I really wanted to stay on a path that would make him proud and serve me well. I tried to be intentional about that over the years. If I developed anything unhealthy, I tried to deal with it and tried to just maintain good mental health and emotional health around that.
Did you share this song with your mom?
I did. I figured maybe in some way it would be helpful for her to hear it too. She liked it and said she was emotional and she could relate and missed him a ton. I just thought it might be cool for her to hear my heart, because we don't talk about it that often, about how we're currently feeling or doing.
That was 15 years ago so we miss him every day, but it's definitely gotten easier. But then there's some times where a wave will hit you.
You wrote your new single "Dancin' in the Country" with Keith Urban. What does he bring to a songwriting room that's unique?
He's one of the best guitar players in the world, so that's pretty unique. He brought a big part of that energy and that song and where it was going that day and was pretty big in leading the charge on that. Keith also has a great ear — he knows what a hit sounds like. He was great, even lyrically and melodically and everything, just keeping it on the tracks.
Did you set out to write that kind of song wit Keith, Ross Copperman and Jon Nite?
We just got in the room and I was in the mood to write something fun. I told 'em from the beginning, "Let's just write a fun song that makes you wanna dance."
The title's not groundbreaking, but that was sort of the point — we didn't need to write some groundbreaking, lyrically genius song. We just wanted to write something fun that would literally make you wanna dance.
You've said that this song was inspired by nightly dance parties at your house. What are we playing at those dance parties?
Little bit of everything. Right now it's big on "Fishin' in the Dark." I don't know why they're on a "Fishin' in the Dark" kick, but they are. Shania Twain, too — it's funny. That's a new one. Especially my daughter. We're like two days into Shania Twain pretty heavy. But we keep it mixed up.