Riley Green is so glad Carly Pearce asked him to join her on their “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” duet, out now. The song, written by Devin Dawson, Seth Ennis, Jordan Minton, and Jordan Reynolds, is from Pearce’s new Honest Woman album, out on August 28.
“What a great song,” Green boasts on The Big 615 Radio. “I was so excited when she texted me the song, and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. I even got to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and do some high harmonies, which is not something that I’ve done much of. So, it’s always nice when you’ve got to push yourself a little bit, musically. I’ve been a fan of her for a long time.”
When “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” was released, Green said he was thrilled to get the song, which has a different storyline than a lot of duets.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Carly and her voice for a long time, so it was cool to get the text from her about this song,” Green says. “The harmonies were unique and there was something really different about it. I’m glad she thought of me for this song. It’s awesome to get to do something together.”
The Story Behind “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” by Carly Pearce and Riley Green
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Pearce knew she wanted to do a song with Green, which is what inspired the writers to pen the sexy song.
“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.’”
In a separate interview, the Kentucky native said that she has been a fan of Green’s voice for years, long before she asked him to join her on “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay.”
“I love collaborations, obviously,” Pearce says on SiriusXM’s The Highway. “I’ve also had a lot of success with collaborations. I’ve gotten to collaborate with so many amazing people that I set myself — I have a high bar of what I want. 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.”
The Video for “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay”
Pearce and Green not only released a sexy song, but a sultry video as well.
“It’s a very sexy song. Somebody has to play the role of Riley’s love interest,” Pearce jokes. “I decided I could do it, if somebody needed somebody to do it. Typically in our world, if it’s not Tim and Faith, you just have other people act for you, and you’re kind of like the performance. He was willing to go there with me. So we play the role. ”
Photo Credit: CMA / Camden Hall