Last night was arguably one of the best CMA Awards we have seen in a while.
Country music is on its way back to the glory days. From performances from Stephen Wilson Jr., Chris Stapleton, Patty Loveless, and Brandi Carslie, to artists like the Red Clay Strays winning Vocal Group of the Year and Zach Top winning New Artist of the Year, it felt like the first time in a long time that country music was being more accurately represented during the awards program.
But I have to admit the highlight of the night for me was seeing Zach Top hit the stage for his acceptance speech. This was the second year Top has received nods from the CMAs, and last night marked his first CMA win, which was well deserved.
Top’s hot streak is far from over as he’s up for a Grammy in 2026 in the Best Traditional Country Album category for Ain’t In It For My Health, Best Country Song for “I Never Lie,” and Best Country Solo Performance for “I Never Lie.”
The Washington native is, without a doubt, one of country music’s hottest young stars, helping revitalize the neotraditional sound of the ’90s and greats like Alan Jackson, capturing fans across multiple generations. Zach Top has turned back time in the best way possible, creating a multi-generational fan base. However, as much as Zach Top is honored to lead the movement to make country music that honors traditional roots, he’s shared more than once that he never set out to be a ’90s country gimmick act.
“I think that maybe part of the reason people like my music so much is that it’s not a… It’s not like a ’90s gimmick thing. I’m not trying to… this is all I know how to do. It’s not like I made the choice that I’m going to be a ’90s throwback guy. It’s like I grew up listening and learning from the same guys that all those ’90s guys would have been influenced by. So it comes from just as genuine of a place as those guys did the first time they came around.
And obviously, as you said, for a lot of us, it is reminiscent—kind of like, ‘I’ve heard this before.’ So it feels comfortable, it feels like an old boot.”
While Zach Top has proven through his personal catalog, with Ain’t In It For My Health being his most recent album release, that he’s far from that act and is dedicated to bringing back the neotraditionalist sound of the genre.
Last night, the love for Top was palpable as he took the stage to accept New Artist of the Year–and during his speech, Top adorably thanked his siblings, who ran around with him on the bluegrass scene for nearly a decade as a part of their family band, which gave him the itch to do music full time.
After the CMA Awards concluded with Lainey Wilson taking home the coveted Entertainer of the Year honor, Top was asked by People how he was going to be celebrating after winning his first CMA Award. Top noted that it would involve a lot of beer, and led one to assume that his night had already involved a lot of beer, given he accidentally walked on stage holding his Coors Banquet…which, in all honesty, was pretty epic.
Top shared:
“I mean, I brought a beer on stage for my acceptance speech, so it’s going to involve a lot of beer, probably.”
The post-show correspondent for People then asked Top if he thought he was the first artist to bring a beer on stage for an acceptance speech. To which Top was unsure, but he felt like it was the first time an artist as “dumb” as him had won an award:
“I don’t know. It’s the first time anyone this dumb has ever won an award like that, so yeah, maybe it is the first time. I don’t know. But anyway, as I was walking, I was looking at the award and I’m like… Well, I’ll tell you what. I had a bullet list of all the people that I needed to thank on my phone. I went to pull that out, and I realized both my hands are full, and I was like, ‘Yeah, one of ’em is full of a beer.’
I don’t know if I was supposed to do that or not. I don’t know if it was the classiest look or not, but hey… It’s me. You get me. Whether you like it or not.”
Hell yeah, we like it. Also- ZT, give yourself some more credit, man. Someone dumb is not winning CMA New Artist of the Year.
@people #ZachTop took home his very first win at the #CMAawards for New Artist of the Year! 🌟 And how will he be celebrating? “It’s going to involve a lot of beer probably.” 😂 #CMAs ♬ original sound – People Magazine
Hilariously, after last year’s CMA Awards, Zach Top shared that he was worried he might end up naked on Broadway if he had won. I’m not sure if that was in the cards for this year, but if it were, it would be a night to remember, that’s for sure.
Cheers to your CMA New Artist of the Year, Zach Top, and cheers to Cold Beer & Country Music.
@cmt Too real 🤣 @Zach Top #zachtop #countrymusic #fridaynight ♬ original sound – CMT
