Riley Green made his debut as a coach on The Voice this week, and it didn’t take long for him to find a young country singer he wanted on his team.
Nineteen-year-old Joe Henley auditioned with Travis Tritt‘s “Anymore,” bringing the kind of traditional country sound that immediately caught Green’s attention.
Henley had already decided before stepping onstage that Green was the coach he wanted. He got his wish — but not before Kelly Clarkson made a serious attempt to steal him away.
Joe Henley Had Riley Green in His Sights
Ahead of his audition, Henley made it clear that he was hoping Green would turn his chair.
Country music is back on The Voice in a big way. Riley Green is here. I love him to death. Hopefully I could get more than one to turn. I would love to see new blood: Riley Green and Kelly Clarkson go at it.
Henley got exactly that. Both Clarkson and Green turned for the young singer, whose deep, pure country voice immediately stood out.
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Clarkson quickly noticed that Henley’s attention seemed to be focused on Green, joking, “He was singing it to you! Quit looking at him!”
Henley had the perfect response: “It’s his eyes. I can’t help it.”
Clarkson wasn’t ready to give up that easily, though. She pointed out that she has won The Voice multiple times with country singers and argued that Henley could stand out more on her team.
I have won this show, man, with country singers. Plural! Where do you think all the country singers are gonna go? Riley Green! Wouldn’t it be incredible to be the only country superstar on my team?
Henley had already made his country credentials clear by naming Keith Whitley, Don Williams and George Strait among his musical influences.
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When Green jokingly pointed out that Henley had left one very specific coach off his list, Henley had the perfect response: “I didn’t get to my number one.”
Riley Green and Joe Henley Sing ‘My Way’
It didn’t take long for Green to realize Henley was exactly the kind of country singer he wanted on his team.
When Henley revealed that “My Way” was his favorite Riley Green song, Green grabbed his guitar, and the two performed the song together.
The performance gave Henley a chance to sing alongside the coach he’d already been hoping to work with, and it was enough to make his decision pretty clear.
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When it was finally time to choose a team, Henley picked Green, telling Clarkson, “I love you, Ms. Kelly, so much, I promise, but I’m gonna go with Mr. Riley Green.”
Riley Green Wants All the Country Singers
Green wasn’t exactly surprised by Henley’s decision. In fact, he has a pretty clear strategy for his first season as a The Voice coach: Find as many country singers as possible.
Kelly’s coming after my country guys. My strategy is to get as many country artists as I can. I want to get all of them, because I think there’s a great chance of a country music artist winning this whole show.
The Voice is back for Season 30, with Green and Queen Latifah joining the coaching panel for the first time alongside returning coaches Clarkson and Adam Levine. The show airs on NBC and streams on Peacock.
Listen to Riley Green’s ‘My Way’:
14 Riley Green Facts That Reveal This Mystery Man’s Heart
This Riley Green Facts list was made from original interviews with Taste of Country and (as noted) other media outlets. Boilerplate information like name, age and hometown are covered on Wikipedia so we focused on trivia that truly tells his story.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
