Carly Pearce‘s former duet partner, Michael Bublé, is singing the praises of “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay,” Pearce’s current collaboration with Riley Green. In 2024, Pearce joined Bublé for their “Maybe This Christmas” duet.
“I’m making the greatest record, truly the greatest record of my life,” Bublé says in a video shared on social media. “But this isn’t about me, even though that’s hard. I heard a song by my friend, Carly Pearce. It’s a duet with Riley Green. It’s called ‘If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay.’ It’s the greatest thing ever. And I’m not asking you to go listen to it ’cause it needs your help, ’cause it’s gonna be a massive hit.
“But I’m just asking you because I question my own musical integrity,” he adds. “Because if this isn’t the most giant song on the planet, then I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Anyway, go listen to it.”
In 2024, Bublé also made his Grand Ole Opry debut. He hinted he might someday be interested in working on a country album.
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The Story Behind Carly Pearce and Riley Green’s ‘If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay’ Duet
Written by Jordan Reynolds, Devin Dawson, Seth Ennis, and Jordan Minton, “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonan Stay” was sent to Pearce by Reynolds.
“I love collaborations, but I knew I had to do something different, because I’ve had so many amazing ones,” Pearce tells Billboard. “I said, ‘I want a song with Riley.’ They wrote this song with me in mind, and Jordan texted me and said, ‘This would be crazy with you and Riley.’”
Both Pearce and Green have had a lot of success with duets. But she knew, even before they recorded “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” that their voices would blend well together.
“I’ve gotten to collaborate with so many amazing people that I set myself — I have a high bar of what I want,” Pearce says on SiriusXM’s The Highway. “Obviously, Riley is Riley Green. But to me, I’ve gotten to sing with him several times over the last couple of years, and I really liked — he’s more acoustic-driven in the way that he does music. He has this simple way of emoting that I really like. It’s not over-produced. It’s very honest; it’s very real. And when we sing together, I was like, ‘Oh, you feel familiar to me in that way,’ and he felt the same.”
Carly Pearce and Riley Green’s Steamy Music Video For ‘If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay’
In the steamy video for “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay,” Pearce and Green play the two on-again, off-again lovers.
“We had a great time, and I think [Riley] would tell you the same thing,” Pearce Billboard. “Obviously, we are not together, so it was kind of like, ‘Okay, is this going to be awkward or is it going to be fine?’ And it was odd how not weird it was. I really felt like [the director] had the storyline nailed down. In the moment, there were little things I think Riley and I kind of creatively had a few liberties on — I threw my leg over his, or he kisses my hand or shoulder. We were trying to do, I think, probably what each of us would naturally do in a relationship in those kinds of moments.”