Riley Green wasn’t about to lose his chance with Shania Twain. On the red carpet ahead of the 61st ACM Awards, the country star revealed the evening’s host was the reason he didn’t bring a date to the event.
“Shania Twain’s here, so I’m not bringing a date to this,” he quipped while speaking to ExtraTV, before gushing over Twain’s success.
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“The level of stardom that she got to, it’s tough for a female artist. You’ve got all these guy country singers out there,” he said. “… There’s not a lot of larger than life figures—Dolly, Reba, Shania’s up there with them.”
“It’s awesome that she’s here to be a part of this,” Green added, “and we can re-share some of that with the younger generation that’s watching.”
Later during the chat, the interviewer called Green “a stud,” and he responded by stating, “Tell Shania! She said my name in rehearsals earlier and I about fell out.”
Riley Green Speaks Out Ahead of ACM Awards
Green also discussed another lady during his interview—Ella Langley. At the interviewer’s suggestion that the seven-time nominee may sweep the awards, Green replied, “I don’t know how she doesn’t.”
“Forget the categories, just look at someone’s career path has done in the last year, nobody’s close. It’s awesome,” he said. “I’ve been really fortunate to be along the ride… It’s awesome. I love to see people from Alabama winning.”
Langley did, in fact, pull off a sweep, winning in all five categories she was nominated in. She wound up taking home seven trophies in total, as she was also awarded as a producer and songwriter.
One of those, Music Event of the Year, was an award she shared with Green for their song “Don’t Mind If I Do.” Langley also won for Song of the Year, Single of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Meanwhile, Cody Johnson took home the top honor, as he was named the Entertainer of the Year. Johnson was also victorious in the Male Artist of the Year category. He beat Green, Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, and Zach Top to come out victorious.
“To be nominated in Male Artist of the Year, that’s all the most famous male singers in country music in that category,” Green marveled ahead of the show. “It’s cliche to say, but being nominated for that is outrageous.”
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ACM
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