Jason Aldean’s New Single Gets a Florida Georgia Line Assist

With its rat-a-tat drum loop and slinking progression, Jason Aldean’s new single, “Burnin’ It Down,” released this week, is a departure even for the artist who successfully bridged hip-hop and country with “Dirt Road Anthem.” The steamy mid-tempo ballad is the first single from Aldean’s upcoming sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2012’s chart-topping Night Train.

Stagecoach 2014: Rolling Stone’s Best Live and Backstage Photos: Jason Aldean

“Sonically, this track definitely feels like something different for me and what I have typically put out as the lead single off my previous albums,” Aldean said in a statement. “I’ve pretty much always gone with a really guitar-driven song that’s pretty in your face, and this is more of a laid-back thing with a really cool groove.”

That chilling-the-most vibe likely comes from the song’s co-writers: Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. The duo, who are currently on tour with Aldean, wrote “Burnin’ It Down” with frequent collaborators Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins.

In a Facebook post, Hubbard and Kelley wrote, “As songwriters, it’s an absolute honor to have Jason record one of our songs.”

Florida Georgia Line have been ramping up their writing of late as they finish work on their own upcoming new album. 

“It’s been a personal challenge for me and BK to step up the game and get better. That’s how we always approach even life in general,” Hubbard tells Rolling Stone Country. “We’re always trying to improve as people, as artists, as songwriters, as singers in the studio, with our live show. Even when we’re rocking and we get off stage, there’s always an idea for the next show. That’s what keeps it fresh, keeps it fun.”

Aldean and FGL performed two sold-out concerts in Cincinnati and Cleveland this past weekend as part of Aldean’s Burn It Down 2014 Tour.