- [Interviewer] Premiered your song a couple days ago now,
and it did super well on our site.
So, what has the reaction been like for the song
and divin' into the country world?
- You know, my wife actually woke me up
yesterday morning to tell me that it was top 20
on the country charts, and I was like,
"Wait, what?"
I almost fell out of bed.
I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is insane!"
It's just so mind-blowing.
It's been a long time coming.
I've been working on music for years,
and after we did "God, Your Mama, and Me"
with us and FGL, it just lit this spark in me
to really step outside the box.
I've been a fan of country music,
of music in general, my whole life,
and what I love so much about country
is that it all tells stories.
And I wanna tell my story.
You know, singing about my kids and about my beautiful wife.
It's just, being a good southern boy from Florida
and just good, fun music.
And this debut single is the perfect summer jam, you know?
- [Interviewer] So what's the story behind "Back Porch..."
- "Back Porch Bottle Service?"
Yes, I just call it "Bottle Service" for short.
It's much easier sometimes.
But, for me, I kinda grew out of that phase
of going out to the nightlife clubs
and ordering bottle service.
You know, you spend five grand on a bottle
and no one even drinks it, you know what I mean?
And too many people and crowds.
Why not just kick it with your old lady at home
and just sit on the porch and just, you and her.
That intimate night, I can be the DJ,
play whatever she wants.
Now with my wife, it's either watching Friends,
or playing Mario Kart, which to me
is the perfect Friday night.
So, that's our bottle service night.
- [Interviewer] If you're playing DJ, who are you playing?
- As of right now, I've been playing a lot of Stapleton.
I got my wife hooked.
She got me into Sam Hunt; I got her into Stapleton.
So it's kind of a win-win on both sides.
- [Interviewer] Country trade-off.
- Country trade-off, sure.
- [Interviewer] Did you learn anything from working
with Florida Georgia Line?
Did they give you any advice?
Did you play this song for them before you released it?
- No, I did not, actually.
But I did mention that I was gonna try this
and that it was something I've been really passionate about,
and they gave me their blessing and full support,
but, what I have learned about them
and what's so inspiring from them
is that they always stay in their own lane.
And they're trendsetters.
They're trailblazers.
They don't stick to the standards.
And that's why they're so successfuL!
Because they stand alone.
- [Interviewer] It's like you knew they won
our Trailblazer Award at the Power 100 last night.
- Yeah, see, and it all makes sense why!
Because they step outside the box,
and they take risks,
and that's something I'm wanting to do
and I've always tried to do.
Step outside the box.
- [Interviewer] So I know you just performed
a bunch more songs than just "Bottle Service"
yesterday at your fan party,
so what can you hint to the people
that didn't get to be there to hear those new songs
about song content, sound, all that kind of stuff?
- You know, "Bottle Service," production-wise,
kind of really encompasses, I feel, what the gist
of the album is going to be.
But there's a song called "Rare,"
which actually touches on something that country music
really hasn't touched on, which is using a talk box.
Vocoder, kind of like Bruno Mars, Daft Punk,
that kind of computer sound.
But the song is really about my wife,
it's just an amazing song,
and I get choked up when I sing it.
And then the next single, as of right now,
is gonna be a song called "Night Visions,"
which seems to be a bit of a tearjerker.
Like, I saw lots of people getting welled up and tearing up.
It's a pretty intense record.
And then a song called "Boots On,"
which is just basically about,
you know what, let's just go have fun tonight,
but you gotta keep your boots on.
That's the most important thing.
- [Interviewer] That's the one thing
you've learned from country music:
keep your boots on.
- Keep your boots on.
That's all, yes.
- [Interviewer] Well and obviously,
you have a new Backstreet Boys single,
so what has it been like balancing
the Backstreet Boys life and now this country side?
- I'm a bit of a workaholic, so for me, balance is key.
Most of my boys and I have been having to balance
being dads, and fathers, and husbands,
and Backstreet Boys for years now.
So, what's one more thing to add to the plate?
It's fine with me.
And I have such a great support from those guys,
and we all support each other
to branch off and do your own thing and spread your wings.
So, as long as we communicate, and we plan things out,
then everybody can be happy.
- [Interviewer] And I assume you're playing
all the new music for them, too.
- I have, yes.
One of the songs they liked a whole lot, they were like,
"Maybe we should cover it!"
I'm like, "No, no, no.
"No, no, no."
But no, I mean it's been awesome.
It's really nice to have a great support team,
from your group, for 25 years.
So, it's awesome.
- [Interviewer] Thank you so much for stopping by!
Good luck with everything!
I'm so glad that the song's already being received so well.
- Thank you so much.