Florida Georgia Line's new love song made 'Songland' judge Shane McAnally mad
Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley have broken country chart and sales records with summer BBQ anthems like "Cruise” and “Meant to Be,” and when they appeared on Songland this Monday, they claimed to be looking for more of the same: “Something with energy… something that’s us,” as Kelley put it. But by the end of the episode, they’d fallen so in head-over-country-boot-heels for a certain sentimental ballad that they changed their tune, so to speak. “We came in looking for one thing, and I think we could possibly be walking out with another,” Kelley second-guessed, after he got an earful of Griffen Palmer’s “Second Guessing.” Monday’s three other submissions were undeniably catchy (Lukr’s underdog drinking song “High Hopes” was particularly a bop), but they were all the expected uptempo bro-country jams. Meanwhile, Palmer’s “Second Guessing” was a first-dance-worthy wedding waltz, a song about finding The one that was practically the country equivalent of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Judge Shane McAnally, a man who’s penned even more country smash hits than the FGL guys and is a sucker for a romantic storyline, was so impressed with Palmer’s “classic”-sounding track that he was literally angry that he hadn’t written it himself. “Of all the songs we’ve heard on this show, from the beginning, both seasons, I’ve never been mad at a hook,” said McAnally. “That was out of this world. How has that not been written? Congratulations on that.” It even sounded like a song that Kelley could have written: He noted that the line, “When I met you, I saw the rest of my life” was something he’d actually told his own wife. The other panelists’ reactions were just as immediate and visceral, so unless the envious McAnally was holding an actual grudge, it was pretty clear that Palmer’s fellow contestants stood zero chance. McAnally’s “congratulations” probably wasn’t premature. Palmer — who called this a “full-circle moment,” having since FGL’s albums were the “first country records [he] knew front-to-back” and the first country concert he ever attended — obviously didn’t need any advantages going into the workshop round. But he got just that when he was paired with McAnally, the only country expert on the show, while the others teamed with popsmiths Ester Dean or Ryan Tedder. McAnally, a two-time 2019 ACM Songwriter of the Year winner, worked his magic with “Second Guessing” — adding more elements of surprise, a second hook that accentuated the waltz tempo, some piano and bigger drums, and a tighter lyrical focus — and by the time he sent Palmer back to the judges’ room to perform the revised version for Florida Georgia Line’s consideration, that almost seemed like a formality. “I expect that this song will be a huge smash; it’s going to be heard on the radio, like, 40 times a day,” McAnally assured Palmer. It remains to be seen if that prediction comes true, But of course “Second Guessing” won this episode, and FGL seemed quite excited about its prospects. “We’re leaving with a love song, and it feels good for us now. It’ll be good for us 50 years from now. It feels timeless,” declared Kelley. And Shane McAnally, who now has co-writing credit on the final Florida Georgia Line version heard below, can’t be mad about that.
Video Transcript
SHANE MCANALLY: Of all the songs we've heard on this show from the beginning, from both seasons, I've never been mad at a hook. That is out of this world. How has that not been written?
BRIAN KELLEY: It's powerful.
SHANE MCANALLY: Congratulations on that.
ESTER DEAN: Congratulations.
- Shane McAnally has had his fair share of success writing country songs but that didn't stop him from being jealous of Griffin Palmer's second guessing lyrics on Monday's "Songland."
GRIFFIN PALMER: (SINGING) Baby, the truth is that since I met you I, I ain't spent one second guessing.
SHANE MCANALLY: Oh!
GRIFFIN PALMER: Lord knows I've tried.
- Palmer was pitching his song to Florida Georgia Line duo Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, and a few of the lyrics hit close to home for Kelley
BRIAN KELLEY: When I met you, I saw the rest of my life. I say that to my wife, which is crazy. I told her that when we met. When I saw you, I was, like, I was ready to start the rest of my life.
- The FGL guys came on to the show looking for something with energy, but were impressed by Palmer's sentimental ballad. And after Palmer worked on some of the lyrics with McAnally, Hubbard and Kelley decided Palmer's love song was meant to be.
TYLER HUBBARD: We were highly impressed.
BRIAN KELLEY: Yeah, we're leaving with a love song. But it feels like it's good for us now. It feels like it can be good for us 50 years from now. It's just timeless.
- So if you're looking for a first dance song at your wedding, look no further.
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE: (SINGING) Because I've turned days into nights, and spent all of my life asking questions. Now I don't spend one second guessing.
