Brian Kelley tells ETonline that the track was almost featured on the repackaged version of 'Here's to the Good Times.'
Jason Aldean may have taken some heat for his steamy new single, "Burning It Down," but the fact is: he didn't even write it.
The song serves as the lead single -- the launching point -- for Aldean's sixth studio album (Old Boots, New Dirt, out now), but "Burning It Down" almost took a very different path.
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Co-written by Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, along with Chris Tompkins and Rodney Clawson, the sexy song actually came this close to being featured on FGL's repackaged version of their debut album, Here's to the Good Times.
"We were about to record a repackage last November and it didn't make the cut for those four or five songs," Kelley tells ETonline. "I think at that time were like 'let's just pitch it' and see if Aldean likes it. We love the song. We didn't necessarily write it for him, we wrote it that day just to try to write a great song."
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But as far as the duo is concerned, there are no regrets about letting the hit go. In fact, they think it's a "perfect" fit for Aldean's voice. "He crushed it,” they say.
"That's when you know a song is right," Kelley says. "When it works out that way and you hear it back, you hear the cut, and it's like, 'Duh. He should have cut it. It sounds great."
Meanwhile, Florida Georgia Line is busy promoting their sophomore album (Anything Goes, out October 14), featuring the heart-tugging "Dirt" and the also controversial "Sun Daze."
Would you like to hear FGL's version of "Burning It Down"? For more from Tyler and Brian, keep checking in with ETonline.
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