Riley Green Reflects on Surprising First No. 1 With Debut Single, 'There Was This Girl'

Riley Green achieved what few artist manage to accomplish: having a No. 1 hit with their debut single, "There Was This Girl." The success of the song, from Green's In a Truck Right Now EP, is something Green is still trying to come to terms with.

"I don't know that it's sunk in," Green told PopCulture.com. "I mean, I really never thought I would have a song on the radio, much less a No. 1, and the coolest thing to me, from a songwriter's side of it, is that people are relating to how I grew up all over the country."

Green, who wrote "There Was This Girl" with Erik Dylan, knew his music was at least in good hands, thanks to the record label that took him under their wing.

"When I signed with Big Machine, and I looked at their track record, I knew they had a great team," Green said. "One thing about it is they really believed in what I was doing in my music, so to go and meet radio, and kind of have them buy into me as an artist, I got spoiled. I mean, my song just kept going. And I didn't have any worries. It was never a stressful thing, because I was just so happy to be where I was at."

Green is working on new music while crossing the country on tour with Brad Paisley, where he is taking plenty of notes on how to establish longevity in his career.

"He's great," gushed Green. "It's not a coincidence that he's had the career he's had. He takes great care of his opening acts, and his fans are great. Hopefully we can steal a few of them while we're out on tour with him."

The Alabama native is not only a fan of how Paisley takes care of his opening acts, but how well he feeds them at each tour stop.

"If he didn't tell me anything, I'm gonna be appreciative just of the catering," Green said with a laugh. "We're not roughing it out here on tour."

Green is also back at radio with a new single, "In Love By Now, which he wrote with Ben Hayslip, Marv Green and Rhett Akins.

"We filmed a music video for it in Belize, which wasn't miserable," Green revealed. "So it's been a fan-favorite, and that's kind of how I judge my songs, if the fans seem to like it, so we're excited about people hearing it."

Download the new song on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/ Terry Wyatt