Perhaps no one is more surprised than Riley Green at his massive success. The former construction worker got his start playing in local Alabama bars for beer money, never imagining he would someday be a country music superstar.
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"I feel like I never thought I was really good enough to really dream about even doing some of this stuff," Green admits. "I can remember riding in the car and listening to music on the headphones and thinking, 'Man, it'd be cool to play this in front of people.' It's one of those things where you really don't fathom it coming from where I came from.
"It's kind of an unbelievable thing that all of it's going on," he continues. "And the reality of it is, even if I could have imagined it, I don't think it would have been anything like it is. I mean, it's just something that you have to really go through to know what it's like."
The Downside Of Fame For Riley Green
Green loves his success, which means hit singles, sold-out concerts and more. But there is a downside of being a celebrity, one that he admits he is still getting used to.
"It's not my favorite part of the industry," Green tells Country Countdown USA. "I miss being a regular guy. But it's a small price to pay for the opportunities I've gotten. I'm buying another place further out of town, and the neighbors are further away. I'm getting more land."
Green was unaware just how famous he really was, until he shocked - and angered - some fans by shaving his mustache.
"I hurt a lot of people's feelings when I shaved my mustache off," Green acknowledges. "What's nice is I can walk around and nobody notices me. Every guy goes through this, I ended up with a mustache, and it became a thing. I just wanted to get some sun, so I shaved it off. I guess I have to grow it back."
Green just had a No. 1 single with "Worst Way." He is back in the Top 30 with "Don't Mind If I Do," his second duet with Ella Langley.
