Riley Green & Crew Celebrate No. 1 Hit ‘Different ‘Round Here’

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Pictured (L-R, front row): Andrew Thoen, Ryan Dokke, Sam Featherstone, Andi Brooks, Emily Haupt and Alannah Watson; (L-R, front row): Scott Borchetta, Randy Montana, Riley Green, Jonathan Singleton and Jimmy Harnen. Photo: Larry McCormick for BMI

BMI brought Riley Green and his team together on Monday afternoon (April 22) to celebrate his chart-topper “Different ‘Round Here.”

The morning’s chill gave way to a beautiful afternoon atop the BMI building. Industry members enjoyed the view as they eagerly awaited BMI’s Clay Bradley to take to the podium. Gathered on stage were the song’s co-writers Jonathan Singleton, Randy Montana and Green.

Bradley opened the event by welcoming the guests, introducing the songwriters and nodding to the pivotal re-release of “Different ‘Round Here.” Originally released on Green’s 2019 album of the same name, the song was revitalized in a duet with country star Luke Combs, paving the way for Green’s second studio album Ain’t My Last Rodeo. Bradley continued, acknowledging Green as a “pivotal voice in the ‘new era’ of country music,” and congratulating Montana on his eighth No. 1.

Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment’s Jimmy Harnen and Scott Borchetta took the stage next, with Harnen stepping to the mic first to tout Green’s impressive numbers. “I spent the weekend with Riley on the road, and I saw some interesting stuff. He played in Tuscaloosa, Atlanta, North Carolina and Johnson City, and all four of these were sold out. Between today, and Riley’s June 1 show, he’ll sell over 90,000 tickets.”

Borchetta followed suit, praising Green and assuring the crowd they were just getting started. “Riley is an artist of the ages. He is quickly becoming one of our leading men, and I know none of you are surprised. He does the work, he makes the friends, and these audiences are properly losing their minds [for Green]. It’s all on the way up, and we are just scratching the surface with Riley Green.”

On deck to congratulate their songwriters were ASCAP’s Evyn Johnston, Warner Chappell’s Jessi Stevenson, Big Machine’s Alex Heddle and Spirit Music’s Mike Fiorentino. Following this, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart stepped up to present a congratulatory donation to the Buford Bonds Charitable Fund, established by Green.

Next, it was time for the songwriters to speak. Singleton took the mic first, primed to take a few shots at his co-writers, “Thank you to the radio team that made this thing go No. 1. It wasn’t that great of a song, so we appreciate the hard work. Thank you to my family and my co-writers–Randy wrote a couple of words that day so that was fun. Thank you so much.”

After the laughter died down, Montana took the chance to speak to the writers’ bond saying, “When we get together to write a tune, we sit and talk about other stuff. We talk about hunting, fishing and more before we ever get to the writing part. I think it is cool to have a hit song with two guys that I genuinely love spending time with. Thank you to all the teams involved.”

“I only came today because I knew this would be the only time Jonathan had to say something nice about me, and he didn’t, he said the song was bad,” joked Green. “I am still fairly new to the country music world, and I have had some success with a great team. I know how tough it is for this to happen, so thank y’all for the hard work.”

Finally, producer Dan Huff stepped up from the crowd to say a few closing words, “Congrats to all you guys. All the superlatives are well placed, and I feel like we are on the right path and doing the right stuff. Thank you to all the teams that have worked so hard on this.”

John Nix Arledge
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