Riley Green is nominated for a total of four CMA Awards. Green is nominated for Single of the Year, Song of the Year, and Video of the Year, all for his “You Look Like You Love Me” duet with Ella Langley. He is also nominated for Musical Event of the Year for his “Don’t Mind If I Do” collaboration, also with Langley.
“It’s never something that you really expect,” Green says. “I always think about things as just a fan of country music because it’s not too long ago that I was [a fan]. You see the names that are mentioned in winning these awards and being nominated. And then to get thrown in with that is always a big deal. And I’m excited to have it lifted up there with all these other great songs and collaborations.”
Langley, Megan Moroney, and Lainey Wilson lead the list of nominees with six nods each. They are followed by Zach Top with five nominations, and Green and Cody Johnson, who have four each.
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Riley Green Reveals Plans For More Music
Green and Langley have a Top 10 hit with “Don’t Mind If I Do,” the title track of Green’s latest album, released last year. The Alabama native is hard at work on his next record, one he says will likely come out early next year.
“We’re in the studio about to start cutting songs for the next record,” Green reveals on Sirius XM’s The Highway. “So it kind of doesn’t slow down when you have something that works.”
Green writes most of his own music, penning both his recent “Worst Way” single and “Don’t Mind If I Do” by himself.
“I think on the creative side it doesn’t really slow down,” Green acknowledges. “And people might think when you have a big record or something, it’s kind of like, ‘Well, I can relax.’ And that’s just not the case. It’s really like, ‘Where’s the next one at?’ And for me, when I was writing all the songs for Don’t Mind If I Do, it really never stopped. I was kind of in that mindset of I need a lot of songs right now. And it’s exciting to be able to continually record new music. I think that’s the most fun part of it is writing and recording.”
Riley Green’s Love of ’90s Country Music
Green might be one of the reigning hitmakers in country music, but he draws inspiration from the artists who came before him, especially those in the 1990s.
“I grew up in the ’90s,” Green tells CMT. “That was probably my biggest influence, were those artists from the ’90s. I got to take Tracy Lawrence out on tour with me. Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, George Strait, the list just continues. It’s so cool to get to shine a bit of light to a younger demographic. ‘Cause there are some fans that I always say ’90s country to them is early 2000s country. So keep shining a light on that era of music, because there’s something that’s so special about it.”
The 2025 CMA Awards will air live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 19, at 8:00 PM ET. The show will stream the next day on Hulu.
Photo Credit: CMA