In 2024, Riley Green and Ella Langley were country music’s most ubiquitous duo. First, the pair went viral with the saucy “You Look Like You Love Me,” off Langley’s studio debut hungover. Just a couple months later, the pair reunited for “Don’t Mind If I Do” — still a love song, but much more melancholy. Various other country artists, including Megan Moroney, have filled in for Langley during live performances. Most recently, Riley Green welcomed Carly Pearce to the stage as his latest duet partner.
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This Duet Has Fans Begging For a Riley Green-Carly Pearce Collab
Like Riley Green, Carly Pearce is signed with Big Machine Records. Multiple labels extended offers after Pearce’s breakout single, “Every Little Thing,” went viral in 2017. Green signed with Nashville Harbor, established by Republic Records and Big Machine, the following year.
On Friday, Aug. 29, Big Machine celebrated 20 years with roughly 100,000 fans on Nashville’s Lower Harbor. Artists like Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow, and Brett Young showcased the label’s wide-ranging talent. Green performed hits like “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” “There Was This Girl,” and “Worst Way” before inviting Pearce onstage for “Don’t Mind If I Do.”
The title track off Green’s third studio album, “Don’t Mind If I Do” shows the back-and-forth between two ex-lovers who are having a tough time fully letting go. Pearce proved herself a more than suitable replacement for Ella Langley as she sang, I’m one memory away from fallin’ all the way apart / ‘Cause I might still love you / Hope you don’t mind if I do.
One TikTok user declared the performance “magic actually.”
“well done… she owned it,” added another.
[RELATED: Willie Nelson Brings Trigger to Riley Green’s Tribute Song “One to Willie”]
How This Country Legend Has Inspired Carly Pearce
Carly Pearce often speaks of the tremendous impact that the “Queen of Country,” Dolly Parton, has had on her career. The “Next Girl” singer, 35, famously dropped out of high school at age 16 to work at Dollywood. During a recent appearance on fellow Dolly enthusiast Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Pearce opened up on what she admires most about the “Jolene” singer.
“She’s, what, in her late 70s, and she’s still reinventing her brand and gaining fans and just trying to push the envelope,” Pearce said. The Grammy winner added, “She’s so determined to not be stagnant. And that is just something that — really, there’s very few people that continue to do that decade after decade like she does.
Featured image by Catherine Powell/Getty Images
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