It’s definitely different.
While country music was born in the South and has a ton of influence from that region of the country, there are great country artists from all over the country, and even the world… it’s a genre that pretty much anyone can relate to, mostly because of the storytelling aspect.
And many fans know that Zach Top has been criticized in the past by people who think he might be faking a southern twang, and that’s mostly because he was born and raised in Sunnyside, Washington. In case you aren’t up to date on your geography, that state isn’t located in the southern U.S., where country accents are the most prevalent. It’s actually about as far north (and far west) as you can get.
Zach Top has been asked about the rumor, and he says he’s been “practicing it since [he] was a baby,” and he has been heavily influenced by old country artists and wanted to mimic their voices. He also admitted it has gotten even thicker since moving to Nashville:
“All I know is I’ve been practicing it ever since I was a baby. I liked how all them old country guys sang, so I figured I’d talk like them too. And yeah, since I’ve been in Nashville, it’s just been accentuated I guess.”
@itsgabemercer #Zachtop sets the record straight on his accent!!!! #seattle ♬ I Never Lie – Zach Top
And Top’s fellow west coast country artist, Jon Pardi, recently defended Top during an appearance on Tracy Lawrence’s TL’s Road House podcast, where he recalled being blown away at how good Top was when they played together:
“I played with Zach, and we’re just acoustic, and I was like damn, this kid good. He just had a guitar, and he was singing, smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer, like, effortless.
And he also defended Top for his southern twang, which people have criticized considering he’s from the west coast, saying it “just happens” when you’ve sang country music all of your life. Pardi is from Dixon, California, and he has had a similar experience in terms of acquiring the twang through being exposed to country his whole life:
“And, you know, he’s a West Coast guy too, and it’s just happens when you sing country music all your life, you’re gonna have a little bit of twang, that’s just how it is.”
Honestly, I’ve always thought it was weird, because really, it makes no sense that two people from Washington and California should have a southern accent… I don’t particularly love it, to be honest, but I guess it’s possible that years of listening to and singing country music could influence the way you talk. I’ve also met a handful of rural northern people and while they don’t have a typical “southern accent,” they do tend to have more of a drawl than folks in more urban places. I think I just have PTSD from all of the movies and shows where people have the most horrific fake southern accents I’ve ever heard…
But at the end of the day, they both put out great country music, with a whole lot of twang, and it definitely works for them, even if they don’t sound like everybody else from their respective hometowns.
