Many musicians work their entire lives to perfect their craft and earn their way into the spotlight, but for Country newcomer, Warren Zeiders, things happened a lot more naturally (and quickly).
LISTEN NOW: Warren Zeiders joins Rob + Holly at Faster Horses Festival in July 2023
“I was an athlete my entire life and that was my main focus,” he told Audacy’s Rob + Holly, admitting he never considered making music his career. “I was thinking about getting into some form of sales. Specifically I had my mind set on medical sales because I’m good with people.”
That plan took a turn when Zeiders started experimenting with music and posting covers on his social media pages to pass time during the global pandemic. “Due to COVID, I hopped on social media and I was mainly posting covers, never took a crack at the bat to writing a song,” he said. “My followers turned into fans and said ‘Hey, we want to hear what you have to say,’ and I was like, ‘I guess I should probably write a song.’”
That’s exactly what the Hershey, PA native did which ended up putting him on the fast track to stardom. “My first song I ever wrote was my song, ‘On The Run,’ second song I ever wrote was, ‘Ride The Lightning.’ People hate me for this,” he laughed.
That’s right — the second song Warren ever wrote in his entire life became an instant hit racking up more than 657 million global views on TikTok and was certified Gold in the US by February 2022.
“The connecting piece is my manager,” Warren said of going from aspiring medical salesman to Country singer-songwriter. “He found me on social media and then reached out to me for months. This was when I wasn’t checking DM’s or anything because I was just posting videos for fun, I wasn’t trying to do this.”
Zeiders’ manager, Charly Salvatore, used his connections in the industry to get Warren on board and the pair hit the ground running.
“He welcomes me to Nashville… he books me my first write because he knows people and has been in the industry for years and my first write was with Eric [Paslay]. It was Eric Paslay and Rob Crosby — we wrote ‘Ride the Lightning.’"
Just a few short years later, Zeiders released his debut album, Pretty Little Poison, and while his journey in the industry may not be as extensive as others, he still plans to honor those who have believed in him since the beginning.
“The beauty of forming the relationships that I have built in Nashville with these writers — especially on this record — my debut record, Pretty Little Poison, there’s a lot of commonalities with these names of people that bought into me early and understood the vision, and understood me as a person and an artist.”
With Launch, Audacy will introduce millions of listeners across the country to music they should know and connect them to artists like Warren Zeiders. Learn more about the rising Country star by tuning into Audacy stations nationwide and checking out his music on Launch: New Country Radio.