“Go in the face of what’s out there right now” – Zach Top on “I Never Lie” becomes a Billboard Hot 100 hit

Zach Tops “I Never Lie” obviously sticks in many people’s minds. The 27-year-old artist has slowly but surely seen some of his recently released songs gain traction on the charts (and in the hearts…of fans). Top's debut album Cold beer and country music came out back in April and since then, two tracks from the project have continued to catch the eye of country fans: “Sounds Like The Radio” and “I Never Lie.” Both are undeniable hits that offer everything a country song has to offer. Many are quick to point out that Zach Top sounds like he comes from a different time, but I can assure you that he is not trying to emulate any particular person or style. He's just pure country and the music he writes and records happens to be reminiscent of the simpler times of '90s country. And that's not a mistake or a coincidence. Growing up, Zach loved top 90s country icons like George Strait and Keith Whitley. “Sounds Like The Radio” performed well on Billboard’s country airplay chart, even peaking at number 16. But it's “I Never Lie” that marks the first time Zach Top's music has cracked the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number 68 on the list, and shortly after it hit the charts, Top and his team hit country radio. Top admitted this He didn't think “I Never Lie” would be as big as it is But when he spoke to Billboard about his song hitting the Hot 100 chart, he had a few ideas as to why it became a hit: “It might be the country song on the record. It stands out and there's nothing but steel guitar on it – you haven't heard a song like that in a long time. I think people had an appetite for my kind of country, and we get a slice of that. With songs like “Sounds Like the Radio” and “Cold Beer & Country Music” you would expect them to be hits because their up-tempo is at odds with what's out there at the moment. The song is certainly not like anything else released in the modern country music scene. So maybe Zach Top just realized there was a longing for the classic country sound and happened to specialize in it. The young artist was impressed by the support he had received in recent months and said he first realized “I Never Lie” was a hit because fans would lose it when they realized that Top and his band got involved with the song at their shows: “We had played it in live shows, so people already knew it. We had our album release show around April 5th and things have really taken off in the last four months. Our fans know every word of every song on the album. Album – they don't just wait to hear a song. It gives me goosebumps every night when we play the first riff (of “I Never Lie”). They don't need to hear the words, they know from the first note.” And apparently, a number of emerging artists are either being discovered on or using the social media platform TikTok (or both). The appeal and excitement generated by Zach Top's first Billboard 100 hit was certainly helped by his appearance on TikTok. Top is totally fine with that, but wanted to let people know that he's not a big social media guy: “I’m not on social media much. There's a girl in my band named Cheyenne who has TikTok and tells me about videos that have 'I Never Lie' or other songs in them. I was never particularly interested in social media. Media – it was just a tool to distribute music. I gave everything to (my team) at the beginning of the year and I don't think I have the logins. It can be addictive to flip through, and I think it’s probably healthy for me to stay away.” We would all probably benefit from being a little more like Zach Top in this area. But anyway, now seems like the perfect time to fire up “I Never Lie,” doesn’t it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OStgpeMokfM