Zach Top Reflects on the Crossover Success of “I Never Lie”: “I Think People Have Had an Appetite for My Kind of Country”

Zach Top won over a large portion of the country music world with his album Cold Beer & Country Music. The album’s soundtrack and songs like “Sounds Like the Radio” are favorites among fans of all ages. So, it’s no surprise that he currently has multiple songs climbing the Billboard Country Airplay chart. However, no one—Top included—expected his traditional country sound to help him cross over to the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

“Sounds Like the Radio” hit the Country Airplay chart earlier this year and continues to climb. It sits at No. 16 on the chart dated November 9. “I Never Lie,” the album’s sarcastic breakup song became Top’s first entry on the Hot 100 survey, reaching a peak of No. 68 on the all-genre chart. Then, his team sent it to country radio. Now, he has two songs climbing the Country Airplay chart, a feat usually reserved for bigger artists.

[RELATED: Zach Top Brings the Weekend Vibes with New Single “Beer for Breakfast”]

Recently, Top sat down with Billboard to discuss his current chart success. During the interview, he revealed his feelings about having a crossover hit and how he knew the song would be big.

Zach Top on the Success of “I Never Lie”

“It may be the countriest song on the album,” Zach Top said of the song “It sticks out and there’s nothing but steel guitar on there—you haven’t heard a song like that, sonically, in a long time,” he added.

Then, he shared why he thinks “I Never Lie” has been so popular with fans. “I think people have had an appetite for my kind of country for a little while, and we’re getting a dose of it,” he explained. “Songs like ‘Sounds Like the Radio’ and ‘Cold Beer & Country Music,’ you would expect those to be hits because they are up-tempo. This song goes in the face of what’s out there right now,” Top added.

Top went on to say that his fans let him know “I Never Lie” would be a hit with their reaction to it during his live shows. “We had been playing it in live shows, so people already knew it. Around April 5, we had our album release show, and over the last four months, it has really taken off,” he said. “Our fans know every word of every song on the album—they are not just waiting to hear one song. It gives me the chills every night when we play that first riff of ‘I Never Lie.’ They don’t need to hear no words. They know it from that first note.”

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