“This Ain’t It”: Zach Top Reveals Just How How Hard He Fought To Release His Breakout Hit

Staunch country music purists jumped for joy the first time they heard Zach Top’s “Sounds Like the Radio” in early 2024. Despite not being born until 1997, the Washington native brought to mind the smooth tones of George Strait, Randy Travis, and Keith Whitley. “I Never Lie”, the follow-up single from Top’s breakout album Cold Beer and Country Music, gained even more traction thanks to TikTok, and suddenly, Zach Top was everywhere. Now, listeners are hailing the 27-year-old as the savior of traditional country music, and the awards—including his first-ever Grammy earlier this year—keep piling up.

With that said, it’s surprising to learn that multiple major labels passed on the chance to record “I Never Lie”.

Music Execs Told Zach Top to “Let Us Know If It Goes Viral”

The country music business is just that—a business. And often, label executives will hunt for surefire successes rather than trying to break new ground.

During a recent appearance on The Zach Sang Show, Zach Top revealed that he was confronted with this over and over while trying to pitch “I Never Lie”. Every label passed on the 1990s throwback until Leo33, which signed Top as its flagship artist in September 2023.

“I never really got notes, specifically, other than, ‘This isn’t what’s working right now, so let us know if it goes viral or something,’” said the CMA Award-winning artist. “Everybody liked it. Everybody was like, ‘Wow, it’s really good.’ But you hear what’s having hits today. This ain’t it.”

Setting Trends Instead of Chasing Them

Of course, “I Never Lie” did go viral on TikTok. The song’s enormous popularity on the social media platform led to its being released as the second single on Cold Beer and Country Music.

Peaking at number two on the Country Airplay chart, “I Never Lie” is now certified twice-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

[RELATED: Zach Top Delivers a Classic Country “Honky Tonk” Moment at the ACM Awards]

“It’s a safer investment to do something that kind of fits in with what’s having success right now,” Zach Top said. “It’s way more of a risk to take something that doesn’t sound anything like what’s working and say, ‘Yeah, we like it and we think it’s good. Let’s go.’”

He continued, “If that flops, you look like an idiot… but if it does work, then you kind of get to be the trend-setter instead of the trend-follower.”

Featured image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images