Zach Top is back to keep us company this week on the Superstar Power Hour. He joins Katie Neal to talk about his upcoming projects both in and out of the studio, including renovating a new property, working on his third album, and elk hunting. Plus, the “Good Girls & Cowgirls” singer talks about his CMA Award nominations and the stories behind a few of our favorite tracks.
“I'm sure everybody has a similar sort of experience through their career arc, but we put out that first record and it turned out to be a big hit, and it almost feels intimidating where, I wasn't sure how we're gonna follow that up,” admits Top. “Then we made the second record and it felt like, ‘oh my gosh, I think we did it. I think we beat the first one.’ That's how I felt, personally, I just felt like the writing was better, the songs were better. It just felt like it was more me, I guess, in a lot of ways.”
Zach has the same feeling headed into album number 3, now trying to beat his last GRAMMY winning project. “Getting some mixes back and listening to these songs, it feels like once again, it's even more me. I just keep getting more dialed in on what my thing is.”
Top keeps topping himself and raising the bar, once again nominated at the CMA Awards, this time for Album of the Year and Male Vocalist.
“I still feel so much like a newcomer, like I'm just getting onto the scene,” he reveals. “I was pumped, obviously last year to win the ‘New Artist of the Year,’ and that's where it felt like I belonged. So, getting nominated in these marquee categories, with the ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Male Vocalist’ and whatnot, is pretty exciting, humbling. I'm very honored to be in that group."
Zach has done it all not only by being himself, but by tapping into something special when it comes to songwriting. “I think that the whole magic to writing a hit song has taken a really specific, not really introspective, but almost like just a really specific story to yourself and being able to turn that into a universal kind of message that a lot of folks can relate to.”
“We all live a similar experience in a lot of ways, and so taking a really, I don't know, specific story like that and making it appeal to all kinds of people.”
For more from Zach Top, check out the full interview above, and all this week on the Superstar Power Hour on your favorite Audacy Country station.
