It is not every day someone stands shoulder to shoulder with Taylor Swift on a country chart, but Riley Green just pulled it off like it was no big deal.
With “Don’t Mind If I Do” hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, Green became the first artist in over a decade to score back-to-back solo-written No. 1 singles. The only other artist to do that in the past thirteen years was Taylor Swift, who last accomplished it with “Sparks Fly” and “Ours” in 2011 and 2012. That is a club with just two seats, and Riley Green has officially claimed the second one.
While country music today often thrives on co-writes and writers’ rooms, Riley has quietly reminded everyone what it looks like when a single voice can carry the full weight of a story. There were no outside writers and no committee, just one man with a pen and a guitar.
The first hit that set this record in motion was “Worst Way,” a song Green wrote solo that topped the Country Airplay chart earlier this year. It was raw, gritty, and heartbreak-soaked, and it stuck like a burr in the hearts of fans. Then came “Don’t Mind If I Do,” his second chart-topper in a row, written alone and performed as a duet with rising powerhouse Ella Langley. Together, they took a classic slow-burn country ballad and turned it into something that felt fresh, vulnerable, and real.
The song is not flashy. It is a late-night conversation wrapped in steel strings and whiskey regrets. It feels more like a front porch than a spotlight, which is exactly why it hits so hard. It is Green’s signature style, and paired with Langley’s smoky voice, the two created magic without needing to shout about it.
For You
This is not just a win for Green. It is a win for traditional songwriting in an era where co-writing has become the industry norm. Green just proved that writing your own truth still cuts the deepest. Fans heard it. Radio heard it. And now the numbers do not lie.
Beyond the charts, Riley Green is charging full steam ahead. He is already teasing new music for early 2026, telling Katie Neal that the next batch of songs will be stripped-back and more acoustic than ever. He is leaning into that raw sound, trading polish for something a little dustier, a little more honest, and a whole lot more country.
“I think that was something we did right on this last album,” he said. “I was excited about going into the studio and doing a little less production, kind of building around an acoustic track, and that is literally what we did.”
With six No. 1 hits now under his belt, Green is no longer just the guy who came out swinging with “There Was This Girl.” He has become one of country’s most consistent voices, one who writes it how he feels it and sings it the same way.
His 2026 tour calendar is already filling up. He is kicking things off at Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa in Cancún and then heading to Australia before returning to the U.S. for the Cowboy As It Gets Tour. Fans from Mississippi to Nashville will get to hear these chart-toppers live, and if his current momentum means anything, they might be watching history in the making.
Riley Green is not chasing trends. He is just doing what he does best, and now he has the same songwriting stat as Taylor Swift to show for it.
