Ella Langley’s viral hit duet with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me,” almost never got recorded as Langley didn’t think it would be so popular.

Langley visited the MeatEater Podcast Network on an episode of God’s Country where they discussed the song. She revealed the complicated history of the song, and how it almost didn’t get cut.

Inspired by the “talking country” songs she grew up on, she originally began writing it as a solo song. She said how she co-wrote the song with Aaron Ratiere. Ella Langley didn’t think the song would make it to a record, considering how she was talking in it, and not really singing.

Little did she know.

She also expressed how it was different to classic country songs, with the woman approaching the man instead.

Langley never would have used the song, but thankfully, other people on her team kept encouraging her and going behind her back to make it happen.

“Maya heard it and loved it, tried to get me to put it in the dropbox for the EP I put out, ‘Excuse The Mess,’ and I was like, ‘No way, man. No one’s gonna like that song.’ I thought it was more of a joke.”

Ella Langley And Riley Green Hit Duet Almost Never Happened

She then said how her song made it out there anyway. “When we were cutting for the record, she slipped it in there, she didn’t tell me, it was the last song on there. And I got calls from my agent, from people high up in my record label that hadn’t called me, all these people from this s–tty work tape.”

Without that secret move, the duet never would have happened.

It wouldn’t be long before Ella Langley asked Riley Green if he’d like to write a second verse to the song when they were on tour together.

They didn’t hear back from him about it until December, but he sent over the second verse, and it was perfect the way it was.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we got “You Look Like You Love Me,” a smash hit that almost never happened because Langley simply didn’t think it would be popular. So never sit on your ideas, as they may become bigger than you could have ever imagined.