The Tonight Show starring Zach Top has a nice ring to it, does it not?
For a brief couple of moments last night on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, the historic Studio 6B turned into a honky tonk when country music’s Zach Top stopped by to make his late night television debut. One could also argue that the young country artist took everyone on a wild ride back in time to the 1990s with his performance.
That’s kind of what he’s become known for in his young career… looking and sounding like he’s right out of the ’90s golden era of country music.
If last year was a meteoric rise for Top, this year is the year that he officially lands among the stars. His debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, was released in April of 2024, and just over a year later, Top was honored by the Academy of Country Music with an award that he very much deserved. The ACM New Male Artist of the Year was awarded to Zach Top a bit early, but I don’t think that mattered. Who else was really going to take home this trophy?
“JUST IN: The ACM New Male Artist of the Year for the 60th #ACMawards goes to… Zach Top!”
Would you look at that? That trophy perfectly compliments his Houston Rodeo belt buckle. Wonder if he and his team did that on purpose?
Zach Top winning awards means that the “Sounds Like The Radio” singer is slowly but surely becoming more of a household name. I know he’s certainly known in my household, considering myself and my wife are constantly – and randomly – belting out the chorus to his mega-hit “I Never Lie.” It goes a little something like this:
“I SLEEP LIKE A BABY. I NEVER SHOW UP LATE FOR WORK.”
And speaking of “I Never Lie,” that’s the song that Zach Top and his band went with when they stopped by The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon as the show’s musical guest. It’s somewhat become his signature song, so it makes sense that he’d roll with it as an audience both in studio and tuning in through the television potentially discover him for the very first time.
I envy anyone who gets to listen to this kid for the first time, and I’m sure anyone who tuned in was pleasantly surprised when the man that looks like 90s country personified also sounded exactly like the era of the 1990s. People in the comments section of the YouTube video posted to The Tonight Show’s account even threw things out like “he’s the new hope for true country music,” and “he’s country with a capital ‘C.'”
I’d have to agree. And if you want an idea of how the performance went before you dive into it, look no further than this quote that Jimmy Fallon gave right after Zach Top wrapped up “I Never Lie” on the Studio 6B stage:
“Oh, oh, oh. That’s how you do it. That’s how you do it right there.”
You can check out Zach Top’s Tonight Show performance in the video below:
