Are Riley Green and Ella Langley dating?
Green opened up about his outlook on dating â including whether heâs dating his âyou look like you love meâ duet partner â on a new episode of The Viall Files. Green caught up with Nick Viall and Natalie Joy about how he started playing country music, his experience on the CMT reality show Redneck Island, teaming up with Langley and more.
When asked if he and Langley are âstrictly friendsâ amid desire among fans to see a romantic relationship, Green said, âyeah, I mean, Ellaâs probably too smart to date me anyway.
âI think thatâs kind of the country music fan, like they love the Tim McGraw and Faith, and the George and Tammy, and I think that people want to believe that,â he continued. âAnd when we first started having the success we did with that song, I kind of told Ella, I was like, âyou know, thereâs gonna be a lot of things said. But I mean, we donât really gotta play into it or not play into it. Itâs going to be something that people enjoy in the same way that we do when we go listen to those songs.â So, itâs cool to have that one and have that moment on stage with her every night. And the title track on my album is called âDonât Mind If I Do,â and thatâs a really big song, so itâs cool to have that one with her and thatâs a completely different type of song.â
Green reminisced on the stories behind his two duets with Langley. The duo released their viral collaboration, âyou look like you love me,â earlier this year. The song appears on Langleyâs debut album. Theyâve since teamed up again on âDonât Mind If I Do,â the title track of Greenâs latest record. Green said on The Viall Files that the second collaboration was âvery accidental.
âI wrote that song on the road and I wrote it as a duet, and I was in the studio and I asked Ella to come by to put a female vocal so I could make sure the key was right,â Green shared. âAnd I was thinking about getting somebody else because we already had that song together [âyou look like you love meâ], and she just crushed it in the booth. She did so good I was like, âI canât think of anybody thatâs gonna do it better than that,â so itâs been cool to have two very different songs that are working really well.â
Earlier in the conversation, Green also told the story behind âyou look like you love me.â The viral song won int he Musical Event of the Year category at the 58th CMA Awards last month in Nashville, Tennessee. Langley and Green took the stage to perform that song during the show that night.
âI first heard it [âyou look like you love meâ] from a promoter that kind of helps manage her, thatâs a buddy of mine, and he was the first person who ever told me about Ella,â Green said. âI was touring in Alabama and he would put her on some shows of mine. I liked her voice, sheâs obviously from Alabama, very country, which I liked. And he played the song for me, and it wasnât really pitched to me like it needed to be a duet. He was like, âwhat do you think about this?â And I was like, âman, thatâs cool,â like thereâs something cool about the girl picking up the guy, or whatever. The second verse was like more of the first verse, and I thought, âwell, Ellaâs going on tour with me next year. Maybe if the second verse is like the guyâs perspective or something, then weâd have a song to play on tour.â I had no idea it would be a hit at all. I thought it might help the song a little bit, you know. âŠOne day I opened my phone and you couldnât not hear it.â
Green confirmed he isnât dating Langley, and he also opened up about his current outlook on dating during his conversation on the podcast. Viall asked the country star whether any of his ex-girlfriends have looked him up since he became a successful singer-songwriter. Green said âmost of themâ have, but âmy success hasnât made it worth putting up with me though.
âI think my problem was, when I was actually old enough and mentally I thought I wanted to settle down was when my career really started to take off. And that was a time when I couldnât focus on one thing,â Green shared. âI think a lot of people, especially, you know, in that kind of entertainment line of work or whatever, itâs hard to have a relationship. Especially with the travel and just the million distractions there are. So, I thought Iâd put my nose down and kind of grind for a couple years and try to get, you know, as much (as I could) out of a country music career, and itâs just continued for about six years.
âI looked at it like, if I have enough time to go out to dinner, I have enough time to write a song and thatâs what I should be doing. âŠThe other thing, too, is I barely have time to see my dog, you know, so it would take a really special girl to be OK with the amount of travel and time Iâm gonna be gone, and I just, I donât think Iâve found her yet. âŠItâs been a crazy busy year.â