Zach Top breezed onto the country music scene like a breath of fresh air with his 2024 hit, “Sounds Like the Radio.” The Academy of Country Music’s reigning New Male Artist of the Year, 28, scratched an itch for many a country music fan longing for the heyday of ’90s country. However, some have come to suspect that not everything about the “I Never Lie” crooner is as authentic as it seems—namely, his country accent. Top grew up on a ranch in Sunnyside, Washington—seemingly a world away from the South. Here’s what he recently had to say to those questioning his Southern bona fides.
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“All I know is I’ve been practicing it ever since I was a baby,” said the “South of Sanity” singer in a recent TikTok clip. “I liked how all them old country guys sang, so I figured I’d talk like them too.”
He added, “And yeah, since I’ve been in Nashville, it’s just been accentuated, I guess.”
It’s entirely possible that a kid from the Pacific Northwest who grew up mimicking the likes of Merle Haggard and George Jones would develop a Southern accent. Or perhaps he really is Alan Jackson’s secret offspring?
As one TikTok user put it, “Well, regardless of what anybody thinks he’s bringing 90s country back!”
“Ain’t NOTHING fake about Zach Top!” another TikTok user agreed.
Zach Top Celebrates First #1 Song
In April 2024, Zach Top released Cold Beer & Country Music, his debut album that was five years in the making. He co-wrote all 12 tracks with producer Carson Chamberlain, including the double-platinum “I Never Lie,” which gave the Washington native his first-ever chart-topper.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Top joined his co-writers Chamberlain and Tim Nichols at a No. 1 party hosted by BMI in celebration of “I Never Lie.”
“He made me feel like [I was experiencing] a young Keith Whitley,” Chamberlain said of their first meeting. “We’ve been together ever since, and it’s been special. I think of him as another son.”
Top reiterated that sentiment in a speech of his own, calling Chamberlain “an extra father figure.”
“His wife Rita is my Nashville mama… You were the first one that made me feel like my little pipe dream may mean something,” said the “Sounds Like the Radio” hitmaker.
Featured image by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
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