Safe to say it worked out pretty well.
The last two years have been nothing short of a whirlwind for Riley Green. Though you can attribute some of that to Ella Langley, thanks to the success of their monster collaborations, “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do,” the Alabama native has launched himself into superstardom pretty handily on his own.
Even ignoring “You Look Like You Love Me’s” massive success, Green has now scored back-to-back #1 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with the aforementioned “Don’t Mind If I Do” and his steamy, viral track, “Worst Way.” In case you were wondering just how rare that feat is, “Worst Way” became just the 39th song in the chart’s history (and the second in 13 years) to go #1 solely written by the artist who recorded the track. With “Don’t Mind If I Do” also going #1 just six months later, Green became the first artist since Taylor Swift to score back-to-back solo-written #1 hits on the chart.
Couple all of the success in the studio with getting a nod as one of People’s “Sexiest Men Alive,” his recent acting debut on Taylor Sheridan’s Marshals and being named as a judge for season 30 of The Voice, Green has cemented himself as one of the biggest stars in the genre recently.
Unlike most stars in the genre, however, Green never thought that he would ever have a music career.
Of course, it’s pretty well known that the “Think As You Drunk I Am” singer always dreamed of being an athlete, playing football and soccer growing up. Famously, Green was also the starting QB at Jacksonville State University from 2007 to 2009 after walking on in his freshman year.
Because of his passion for sports growing up, he never really thought of paving his way in the music career; however, that all changed after he tried his hand at playing at local bars after dropping out of college.
In a recent conversation with Willie Geist on the Today show, the Alabama native would once again confirm that he never really dreamed of being a musician.
“I don’t remember any point through high school or even college thinking like, ‘I might have a music career.’ When I stopped playing ball in college and I was kind of just working construction, I started playing in bars.”
Additionally, Green would admit that he quickly learned that many of his fellow inspiring artists could “sing circles” around him, which forced him to focus on his songwriting to set him apart from the pack.
“I’m playing cover shows at these bars, and somebody else would get up after me. And they could sing circles around me. So the only thing I could do to set myself apart was to write, because nobody can write the exact story that I’m going to come up with. When people started to tell me that this meant something to them or that line reminded them of this or whatever, that was when I kind of became passionate about it.”
With an Artist-Songwriter of the Year nod at the ACMs this past May, seven #1 hits on country radio, all of which he either solo or co-wrote, and his status as a star even beyond country music, I think it’s pretty safe to say Green’s late transition into a musician worked out pretty damn well.
Watch here:
Riley Green Tour Dates
July 16th, 2026 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center#~•
July 23rd, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre#~•
August 6th, 2026 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater#/•
August 7th, 2026 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center#/•
August 8th, 2026 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live#/•
August 13th, 2026 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion#/•
August 14th, 2026 – Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre#/•
August 15th, 2026 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre#/•
August 21st, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford#$*^
August 22nd, 2026 – Grand Forks, ND – Ralph Engelstad Arena#$*^
#Justin Moore
~Drake White
$Mackenzie Carpenter
•Hannah McFarland
*Adam Hood
/Zach John King
^Not A Live Nation Show
