Riley Green is still coming to terms with his level of success. Green has already had several No. 1 singles and sold-out tours, appeared on the TV show, Marshals, and will soon appear as a coach on Season 30 of The Voice. It’s a lot of success for someone who was still framing houses in his home state of Alabama a decade ago.
“It’s happened so quickly in a lot of ways, that it’s tough,” Green admits on the Today Show. “You gotta really make yourself sit back and look where your boots are. It’s been so helpful to have that farm in Alabama, because everybody still treats me the same way. And when I get back there, I can get back to reality. I always say it’s not real life when people chant your name when you walk on stage. But it does beat driving nails. I did that for a long time. It’s hot in Alabama right now on a roof.”
Green never imagined that he would one day see himself on the small screen, let alone be part of a show as popular as The Voice.
“It’s something I never thought I would do is the television stuff,” Green acknowledges. “And it’s been so great, and really seamless too. Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, Queen Latifah are all just such great personalities. The crew’s been great, [host Carson Daly’s] great. They really kind of welcomed me in.”
Photo courtesy of NBC
Riley Green Opens Up About His Love Life
Green is very single right now, understandable since his busy schedule likely leaves much time for personal interests. But Green does say he isn’t opposed to dating someone, if the right one came along.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” Green says, adding that he doesn’t care if they live in Alabama or Nashville, where he also resides.
“Probably just somebody I think my mom will like,” Green says. But his mother isn’t the only one who needs to approve of any potential girlfriend. The 37-year-old also says his dog, Carl, gets some say in any romantic interests.
“Just line them up and see who Carl goes to,” Green adds with a laugh.
Riley Green’s New ‘That’s Just Me’ Album
Green’s fourth studio album, That’s Just Me, will be out on September 18. The record includes his current hit single, “Think As You Drunk I Am.”
“There’s a lot of truth in the songs,” Green tells American Songwriter. “If it’s not about something that actually happened to me, it’s about something that’s happened in my life. I think that fans of country music always want to believe a lyric’s true, so I try to make it as real as I can.”
Green started writing songs as a way to set himself apart from other singers playing at local bars in Alabama. Now, Green writes most of his songs, either by himself or with others. But for Green, nothing will ever top having fans sing along to a song he wrote.
“It’s financially beneficial to have a number one song as a songwriter. But I love when people connect to a lyric, and it means something to them,” Green says. He adds that, while AI can take a lot of things away, especially for artists, it cannot take away the heart and soul of a good song.
““I struggle to think that there’s a machine that’s going to make you feel emotion like something you’ve been through does,” Green concedes. “My favorite songs have real emotional meaning and I think that’s where the storytelling of country music comes from.”
Photo Credit: NBC / Art Streiber