Country singer on “I Never Lie,” CMA Awards, and TikTok

When rising newcomer Zach Top released his first country album, Cold beer and country musicBack in April, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter experienced a wave of support from fans and his fellow artists. With his unabashed devotion to traditional country sounds in songs like “Bad Luck” and “There's The Sun,” coupled with his signature country style, the Sunnyside, Washington singer-songwriter has drawn comparisons to '90s country luminaries like Alan Jackson, Doug Stone and one of his musical heroes, Keith Whitley.

Top, who is signed to the Leo33 label and is managed and released by Major Bob Music, has been on tour with reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson since May. He was a guest at Dierks Bentley's headlining show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena in early September and recently released a trio of collaborations for Apple Music with bluegrass luminary Billy Strings.

As Top’s “Sounds Like the Radio” continues to grow billboard's Country Airplay chart, reaching a new high of No. 16 on the November 9-dated list, another track from Cold beer and country music also became a chart hit: “I Never Lie”. Sarcastic after the slow groove When the song became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 in September (it has since peaked at No. 68), his team brought “I Never Lie” to country radio. It debuted on Country Airplay in late October, simultaneously launching two songs into the top 10 on the chart – a feat more typical of arena and stadium headliners in the genre.

He's up for New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards later this month, and his burgeoning career has led to more dates through 2025 Cold beer and country music tour, which begins Jan. 16 in Nebraska, with openers Jake Worthington and Cole Goodwin.

billboard We caught up with Top to talk about how “I Never Lie” is reaching new chart heights, his thoughts on his upcoming CMA Award nomination for New Artist of the Year and who he thinks will win the award will take home Entertainer of the Year.

“I Never Lie” was included on your debut studio album, Cold beer and country music. How did the song come about?

I wrote it with Carson Chamberlain and Tim Nichols. I have one of my cleverer rhymes there, with the “angel” and “April” rhyme in the first verse (“You still look like an angel/I heard you're doing well, got promoted in April”) . We did it pretty old fashioned with the band and I sang and followed the vocals while they played. You don't hear the song until the day we record it. I have an audio recording of it on my phone and they hear it once or twice and that's it. It's two or three takes and we play it the way we feel. We may have overdubbed one or two things or added a few fills, but it's all played live, none of it is computerized. Carson produced it and (engineer) Matt (Rovey) mixed it.

How did you react to connecting with fans on that level?

It's possibly the country song on the record. It stands out and there's nothing but steel guitar in it – you haven't heard a song like that in a long time. I think people have had an appetite for my country for some time and we're getting a slice of it. With songs like “Sounds Like the Radio” and “Cold Beer & Country Music” you would expect them to be hits because they are fast. This song is at odds with what is out there right now.

When did you first realize the song was a hit?

We had played it in live shows, so people already knew. We had our album release show around April 5th and it's really taken off in the last four months. Our fans know every word of every song on the 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 any words, they know from the first note.

“I Never Lie” debuted on Country Airplay in late October and gave you two recent hits on the billboard chart, including the Top 20 hit “Sounds Like The Radio.” How does that feel?

I'm excited because you don't see that often with an artist as new as me. I'm proud of the success I've had so far and not just being a one-hit wonder.

You also gained popularity on TikTok with “I Never Lie.” How do you deal with social media?

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 contain “I Never Lie” or other songs. I was never particularly interested in social media – it was just a tool to distribute music. At the beginning of this year I handed everything over (to my team). I don't have the apps on my phone and I don't think I have the login details. It can be addictive to flip through, and I think it's probably healthy for me to stay away from it.

They are nominated for New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards on November 20th. What do you remember when you found out about your nomination?

It's funny because I got a couple of text messages saying, “Congratulations,” and I was like, “It's not my birthday.” What's going on?” They sent me screenshots and updated me. There are a lot of big artists on this list , and I am proud to belong to this group.

Who do you think will win Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards?

I think Lainey (Wilson) would be a good choice. She puts on a great show and is a great entertainer. And (Chris) Stapleton, I saw his show at Nissan Stadium (Nashville) and I had never seen his show before and it's pretty old school with the band up there. He sings and captivates people with his voice and music, that's why he gets my vote too.

A version of this story appears in the October 26, 2024 issue billboard.