"There Was This Girl" is the debut single by American country music singer Riley Green. It was released in June 2018 as the lead single from his debut studio album, Different 'Round Here (2019). Green wrote the song with Erik Dylan, and Dann Huff served as producer.

"There Was This Girl"
Single by Riley Green
from the album Different 'Round Here
ReleasedJune 29, 2018 (2018-06-29)
GenreCountry
Length3:14
LabelBMLG
Songwriter(s)
  • Riley Green
  • Erik Dylan
Producer(s)Dann Huff
Riley Green singles chronology
"There Was This Girl"
(2018)
"In Love by Now"
(2019)

Content

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The song is a story song about the impact that various women have had in the narrator's life. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote that it "finds the narrow space between calls for a return to a more timeless country sound and seeks to banish the word "bro" from the dictionary. The debut single is smart storytelling for the everyman. The trick Green and his co-writers pull is using successive choruses to advance his narrative without sacrificing the country-rocker's singalong quality. He swaps only a word or phrase each time, slowly turning what starts as an adolescent adventure reminiscent of Chris Cagle's 'Chicks Dig It' into a grown man's memory."[1]

Music video

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Green said that the song's music video (directed by Peter Zavadil) was shot by fans of his, while he performed a concert in a bar in his home state of Alabama. He told Taste of Country that "We actually let the fans shoot the video, and literally passed the camera from fan to fan."[2]

Green performed the song on Today on January 7, 2019.[3]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[11] Gold 35,000
Canada (Music Canada)[12] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[13] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Don't quit on Riley Green's 'There Was This Girl' [Listen]". Taste of Country. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "Riley Green's 'There Was This Girl' Video Comes Together Thanks to Screaming Fans". Taste of Country. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "Riley Green Makes Energetic 'Today' Debut With 'There Was This Girl' [Watch]". Taste of Country. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  4. ^ "Canadian Hot 100: April 6, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Canada Country: March 30, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: April 20, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Country Airplay – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  10. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "Oct 2023 Single Accreds" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  12. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Riley Green – There Was This Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "American single certifications – Riley Green – There Was This Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 25, 2021.