If Ryan Follese looks or sounds familiar, it’s because he was in a band that were, at one point, one of the biggest in the country. Hot Chelle Rae had a brief run of invincibility from 2011 to 2012, where their singles “Tonight Tonight” and “I Like It Like That” were everywhere and went platinum. Even though that record had a couple more bops on it, no single caught on quite like its predecessors, and Hot Chelle Rae hasn’t had an official release since. However, that doesn’t mean music from the members stops – Ryan Follese has since launched a solo career and just debuted the music video for his new single, “Float Your Boat.”
“Float Your Boat” comes off Follese’s debut EP, which has a bit of a different sound than he was used to playing with his previous band. His EP goes in the direction of your standard country pop, and while country is a new territory for him, the pop sensibilities are familiar enough that you can tell that molding into this different genre was probably a breeze. The collection of six songs is, overall, pretty solid, and Follese clearly has a knack for crafting songs no matter the style.
The music video for “Float Your Boat” is all about having a good time, as Ryan Follese hangs out and has a party on a boat – sort of like the children’s birthday party Hot Chelle Rae go to in their “Tonight Tonight” video. Some things never change I guess.
