Zach Top has fond memories of growing up on a farm in Sunnyside, Washington, and often feels like “life’s too fast” now that he is pursuing a career in country music.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Top, who is nominated for the new artist of the year award at the 2024 CMAs, explained that his lifestyle has changed the most since leaving farm life behind.
“Life’s way too fast, too,” the “Cold Beer & Country Music” singer said. “It seemed like it was pretty slow moving. I guess it always is when you’re a kid a little bit. But, yeah, it just felt like a routine every day. And, you know, probably the biggest thing is waking up in the same spot when I was growing up.
“Now, I never wake up in the same town,” he added. “I wake up somewhere else. I’ve got to figure out where I am the next morning. So, there’s a lot of changes for sure, and I’m grateful for a lot of them. There’s a lot of them that I’d rather live without, you know, kind of makes me miss the way I grew up, I guess.”
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Top told Fox News Digital growing up on a farm was more of a “hobby” for his family rather than a source of income.
“We didn’t run the farm for my family to make money,” he began. “It was kind of a hobby farm. We had a bunch of goats and chickens and a handful of cows and some horses and stuff. My dad was in the livestock business, so he had a big commercial ranch and then ran the sale barn.”
WATCH: Zach Top feels ‘life’s too fast’ after ditching farm life for music career
Top was taught at a young age to take care of animals, work hard and get his hands dirty on the family ranch in Washington.
“I look back on growing up on that farm with only fond memories. It was awesome getting to grow up around animals and, you know, learning how to work like that and everything. I think it was really valuable and a cool way to grow up,” Top added.
Since leaving his family’s farm behind and focusing on country music, Top doesn’t “spend near enough time getting my hands dirty anymore.”
“All I do is sit around on this bus and wait to play music, it seems like now,” he said. “I try and get outside as much as I can, but it’s a lot more to, you know, go play golf or go for a hike or something. It seems more like a vacation to get outside than it was.”
WATCH: Zach Top details the experience of growing up on a farm in Washington
Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson will be co-hosting the 2024 CMA Awards Nov. 11. Top gained a nomination this year after the debut of his “Cold Beer & Country Music” album in the spring.
Top told Fox News Digital he learned he was nominated when someone texted him, “congratulations.”
“I’m not on socials or anything, and, so, somebody just texted me, ‘congratulations.” And then I didn’t know why. So, I texted back, and I was like, ‘Thanks. For what?’ And they they sent me the screenshot then off Instagram where they [had] seen I was on the nominations. So I was like, thanks. That’s pretty cool,” he explained.
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Top’s debut album had over 4 million streams the first week it was released. Top told Fox News Digital he was able to “breathe a little sigh of relief” when he realized his fans were enjoying his new music.
WATCH: Zach Top believes his music resonates with fans because it ‘covers the range of the human condition’
According to Top, his music resonates with his fans because he sings about topics people can relate to.
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“People resonate with songs that, you know, there’s something on that record, I think, for everybody, no matter what stage of life,” he said.
“You got to hold your beer up in the air and stomp your boot,” Top continued. “Party songs, and you’ve got heartbreak songs. You got love songs. You know songs about love. Just, you know, kind of covers the range of the human condition, I guess, which is one of my favorite things about country music is that it tells stories that makes people feel understood and seen wherever they are in life.”
