Are Riley Green and Ella Langley dating?
Green opened up about his outlook on dating ā including whether heās dating his āyou look like you love meā duet partner ā 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 āstrictly friendsā amid desire among fans to see a romantic relationship, Green said, āyeah, I mean, Ellaās probably too smart to date me anyway.
āI think thatās 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,ā he continued. āAnd when we first started having the success we did with that song, I kind of told Ella, I was like, āyou know, thereās gonna be a lot of things said. But I mean, we donāt really gotta play into it or not play into it. Itās going to be something that people enjoy in the same way that we do when we go listen to those songs.ā So, itās cool to have that one and have that moment on stage with her every night. And the title track on my album is called āDonāt Mind If I Do,ā and thatās a really big song, so itās cool to have that one with her and thatās a completely different type of song.ā
Green reminisced on the stories behind his two duets with Langley. The duo released their viral collaboration, āyou look like you love me,ā earlier this year. The song appears on Langleyās debut album. Theyāve since teamed up again on āDonāt Mind If I Do,ā the title track of Greenās latest record. Green said on The Viall Files that the second collaboration was āvery accidental.
āI 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,ā Green shared. āAnd I was thinking about getting somebody else because we already had that song together [āyou look like you love meā], and she just crushed it in the booth. She did so good I was like, āI canāt think of anybody thatās gonna do it better than that,ā so itās been cool to have two very different songs that are working really well.ā
Earlier in the conversation, Green also told the story behind āyou look like you love me.ā 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.
āI first heard it [āyou look like you love meā] from a promoter that kind of helps manage her, thatās a buddy of mine, and he was the first person who ever told me about Ella,ā Green said. āI was touring in Alabama and he would put her on some shows of mine. I liked her voice, sheās obviously from Alabama, very country, which I liked. And he played the song for me, and it wasnāt really pitched to me like it needed to be a duet. He was like, āwhat do you think about this?ā And I was like, āman, thatās cool,ā like thereās something cool about the girl picking up the guy, or whatever. The second verse was like more of the first verse, and I thought, āwell, Ellaās going on tour with me next year. Maybe if the second verse is like the guyās perspective or something, then weād have a song to play on tour.ā I had no idea it would be a hit at all. I thought it might help the song a little bit, you know. ā¦One day I opened my phone and you couldnāt not hear it.ā
Green confirmed he isnāt 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 āmost of themā have, but āmy success hasnāt made it worth putting up with me though.
āI 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 couldnāt focus on one thing,ā Green shared. āI think a lot of people, especially, you know, in that kind of entertainment line of work or whatever, itās hard to have a relationship. Especially with the travel and just the million distractions there are. So, I thought Iād 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 itās just continued for about six years.
āI looked at it like, if I have enough time to go out to dinner, I have enough time to write a song and thatās what I should be doing. ā¦The 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 Iām gonna be gone, and I just, I donāt think Iāve found her yet. ā¦Itās been a crazy busy year.ā