Georgia has become a hotbed for music talent in the past few years, from Macon?s Jason Aldean, Leesburg?s Luke Bryan, to two members of Lady Antebellum, the Zac Brown Band, Sugarland and Billy Currington.
Even this year?s ?American Idol? winner, Phillip Phillips, is from Georgia.
?I don?t think it?s any rhyme or reason to it,? Oconee County native and country rapper Colt Ford said recently while shooting a music video outside Athens. ?It?s just, you know, things are popular right now and a lot of Georgia artists are doing good.
?But the one thing that we have in common is we don?t sound alike, which is really cool. You don?t get me and (Bubba Sparxxx) mixed up together. You?re not going to get Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band confused and you?re not going to get Brantley Gilbert and Luke Bryan confused. Jason Aldean sounds like he sounds and Sugarland. Thomas Rhett has his own sound. You?ve got little Lauren Alaina doing good.?
Several Athens area natives have been busy making a name for themselves in the music business this past year as well.
Monroe native Tyler Hubbard may not be a name many recognize at the moment, but country fans might recognize the name of his group: Florida/Georgia Line.
Florida/Georgia Line, which also consists of Ormand Beach, Fla., native Brian Kelley, released their first album, ?Here?s to the Good Times,? this month. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 10 on the overall Billboard Top 200 chart.
The album also clinched an award, with the highest album sales of 2012 for a new country artist.
Their first single from the album, ?Cruise,? reached the top of the Billboard Country Singles chart on Dec. 15.
The group took part in CMT on Tour this fall, which included Jake Owen and Love and Theft. They will hit the road with Luke Bryan on his first headlining tour, ?Dirt Road Diaries,? in early 2013, although no shows are planned for the local area.
Colt Ford released his fourth studio album in 2012 and as always had help from a wide variety of music business veterans from Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley and even Wayna Morris from the legendary R&B vocal group Boyz II Men.
The album debuted at the top of the Billboard Country charts in August, giving Average Joe Entertainment, a label Ford started with longtime friend and Valdosta native Shannon Houchins, its first No. 1 hit. The album came in at No. 5 on the overall Billboard Albums chart and was not the only hit for Ford this year.
?What?s very unique is Georgia and what?s been going on in Atlanta the last 10, 20 years is you?ve got the rural area and you?ve got a lot of country artists doing their thing, and then in Atlanta you?ve got the whole urban scene exploding,? southern rapper Bubba Sparxxx said. ?It?s just a mixing of flavors and you?ve got me and Colt who mix it all up.?
Another local talent that has tasted stardom this year has worked with Ford a lot in the past.
Jefferson native Brantley Gilbert, who has had a huge following for years while playing the club and bar scene, tasted success in 2011, co-writing the Jason Aldean hit with Ford.
But 2012 has been Gilbert?s breakout year.
Gilbert, who at one time was signed to Average Joe?s Records, signed with Big Machine Records? Valory Music Group.
Valory re-released his album from a previous label, ?Halfway to Heaven,? and Gilbert earned two No. 1 hits with ?Country Must be Country Wide? and ?You Don?t Know Her Like I Do.?
This past summer, Gilbert toured with country superstar Toby Keith on his ?Overdrive? tour. In July, he announced his first headlining tour called the ?Hells On Wheels Tour? with shows including Uncle Kracker on some dates.
It was announced that a second leg of the tour will begin at the end of January, with Tifton native Kip Moore opening for him.
?The coolest thing that?s going on with Georgia is that none of us sound alike,? Ford said. ?We?re all very different, but we all grew up pretty much the same. We have that common thread, but at the same time we all sound different and I think that?s most important.?
Gilbert, Moore and Florida/Georgia Line, will be three of the five artist that have been picked to play at the Country Radio Broadcasters (CBR) for the 2013 New Faces showcase on March 1. They will be playing in front of radio programmers, the people who chose which songs are played on the radio. Previous New Faces performers have been Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Taylor Swift.
? Follow reporter Karah-Leigh Hancock at www.facebook.com/KarahLHancockABH or www.twitter.com/KHancockABH.
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