Riley Green not only has a duet with Carly Pearce, out now, but he is also inviting her to be on The Voice with him. Green, who is enjoying his first season as a coach on The Voice, tapped Pearce to be a mentor for the members of his team.
“I’ve been a huge fan of her long before I even had a record deal and came to [Nashville],” Green tells Billboard. “Then, obviously, we had the [‘If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay‘] duet together. And I just think we were kind of having such a moment with that and the music video, when this came up, she was just a really obvious choice for me.”
Pearce is no stranger to The Voice. She previously served as a playoff advisor for Michael Bublé’s team in 2024. The Grand Ole Opry member is not only thrilled to join Green on The Voice, but she also has a unique insight into the hopes and dreams of the aspiring singers.
“No matter what genre of music you do, you’ve been in [the contestants’] shoes in some form or fashion,” Pearce says. “You’ve had a dream, and you’ve wanted to do this. I think I’m just trying to see what makes each person unique. For Michael’s team, there was nobody in my [realm] of country music, but just getting in there and kind of seeing what their strengths were was really a fun thing for me, and I just really enjoyed it.”
Pearce will be on The Voice on October 12, 13, 19, and 26.
Riley Green’s “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” Duet With Carly Pearce
Green and Pearce’s “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” is from her Honest Woman album, out now. Green has already done plenty of hit duets, but admits being part of this song was a particular challenge for him.
“When she asked me to be a part of that song, that was a stretch for me,” Green concedes. “It sounded like Charles Kelley on the demo, or him and Ryan Hurd mixed together. How they phrased things and the harmonies was really not where I would have went. That’s probably the most I’ve had to learn to sing something.
“And I think that’s what this show’s about,” he adds. “It’s about trying things you’re not comfortable with, so she was an obvious choice for me when I was trying to coach somebody else. She knows what she’s doing.”
What Riley Green Says About Being on ‘The Voice’
Green has been open about drawing inspiration from Blake Shelton, who was a coach for the first 23 seasons, when trying to figure out how he wanted to approach his own role on the hit TV show. Green is a coach on The Voice along with Adam Levine, Queen Latifah, and Kelly Clarkson.
“It was really so helpful to have seen Blake on there, and what he does so well with his personality, his sense of humor, because I knew what I liked about it,” Green says on Audacy’s Superstar Power Hour. “So I could kind of say, ‘Okay, well I’m gonna do my version of that.’ And all you have to do is just make fun of Adam for being old, talk about how famous Queen Latifah is, and then talk about how much more country you are than Kelly Clarkson, so that they pick you,” he adds. “It’s easy. Anybody could do it.”
Photo Credit: CMA / Camden Hall