Riley Green Shares What Really Inspired Luke Bryan Duet

Riley Green and fellow country music singer Luke Bryan recorded “Reel Problems” together, and the story behind it is as simple as the lyrics themselves. Fittingly, a fishing trip is exactly what inspired Green to approach Bryan about the duet. As Country Now shared, the two singers once went fishing together on a Nashville lake.

Green later explained that the experience made Bryan a natural choice for the duet. “And probably that fishing trip is why he was the first person I sent this song to when I wrote it,” Green said. “Knowing his passion for that and also the type of music that he likes, and touring with him.” The singer’s instincts were right, and the end result is a fun, memorable collab. The duet appears on Green’s 2024 album, “Don’t Mind If I Do.”

The Duet Came About in a Non-traditional Way

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“We had a great time,” Green said about fishing with Bryan. “He’s such an easy dude to hang out with, you know, and him growing up in Georgia, I mean, we grew up the same way, so we immediately hit it off.” Since they built such a great bond, Green admits he didn’t exactly follow protocol when asking Bryan to team up with him. Instead of going through the proper channels, he contacted Bryan directly.

“Features like that are probably supposed to go through labels and management, but I just texted him and it worked out,” Green shared. Luckily, it appears that Bryan didn’t need much convincing. ” I think he said he was in before three seconds had been up,” Green told Country Now in 2024. “So I know he didn’t even listen to all of it.”

Green Says “Reel Problems” Was Easy to Write

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Some songs are true labors of love, while others come to life more effortlessly. For Green, the writing process for “Reel Problems” was very smooth. “I had the title written down in my phone, knew exactly what the song was,” he explained of how the song came to be. The title’s fun play on words was a big factor in the songwriting ease.

The “Worst Way” singer also shared that this duet was a departure from his usual songwriting subject matter. “It’s a fun song,” he said. “You know, I write a lot of songs that are a little more serious and try to draw emotions and this is just one that was a lighthearted idea.” The song hasn’t been released as a single so far, but its fun vibes are perfect for a summer playlist.