Zach Top started in a family bluegrass band at the age of seven and just took home a top new artist award in Nashville. People say his hit “I Never Lie” feels like a lost 90s classic, and his laid-back speech with a beer in hand has fans saying real country might finally be back.
That is why his win as New Artist of the Year hits differently. Zach is not trying to chase the charts. He is chasing the feeling you got the first time you heard George Strait or Randy Travis on a radio that crackled. His heroes are Strait, Keith Whitley, and Travis, and you can hear every bit of that in his sound.
“I Never Lie” did not need a dance remix or a pop feature to go viral. It is a smart, old school country ballad that sounds like it rolled straight out of the 90s, with a hook that sticks in your head the way real country used to do.
Right now, the industry keeps asking if traditional country is too risky. Zach Top answers that question with a cold beer in one hand and a trophy in the other.
Zach Top Wins New Artist of the Year at 2025 CMA Awards “Ready to Celebrate All Night!”
No pop beat, no flashing tricks, just steel guitar, fiddle, and that easy baritone cutting through the noise. He stands there in a sharp suit and black hat, looking like he could walk straight into a 1995 award show. The song feels almost biographical, a man tied to his instrument and his roots, and it delivers exactly what he promised before the show: simple words, strong melody, and “Country music, baby” in every note.
Zach Top – Guitar | 2025 CMA Awards Performance
“I Never Lie” is the witty, heartbroken song that quietly turned him into a number one, the kind of hook country fans trade with a smile. At the Opry he does not need smoke or screens, just the circle, the band, and that easy baritone. In a room built on legends, you can feel one more name starting to earn its place, and you will not want to miss it.