Zach Bryan Goes On Social Media Rant After His New Song ‘Pink Skies’ Was Sent To Pop Radio

Zach Bryan has expressed outrage across his X account (formerly Twitter) this week, as word spread that his latest release, “Pink Skies” was sent to Pop radio without his approval. Seeing as how the Oklahoma singer’s music is generally recognized within the country/Americana genres, this news was a surprise to both Bryan and his fans. 

The new song dropped Friday, May 24 as the first taste of his new album The Great American Bar Scene, which is expected to be unveiled later this year. A few days later on May 28, U.S. Radio Updater made a post on X that indicated Bryan’s label, Warner Records, had announced that the new song had “officially been serviced to US Pop Radio as the lead single from his upcoming album, ‘The Great American Bar Scene’.” 

This is fucked, I never approved this, why is Pink Skies at Pop radio https://t.co/oTTYJMRLo7

— Zach Bryan (@zachlanebryan) May 29, 2024

The post was later deleted after Bryan took to X to say, “This is f**ked, I never approved this, why is Pink Skies at Pop radio.”

He then shared several other posts by his followers who matched his confusion and frustration with the situation. 

One user wrote, “Just drop a full acoustic album. Radio doesn’t like to play real music.” while another said, “People think Pink Skies is a pop song? Tf?”

Clarifying The Situation

In a slightly calmer manner, Bryan went on to say that sending the song to Pop radio instead of Country radio appears to have been an intentional decision made on his behalf. 

“guys you have to send songs to radio, like you have to be like, ‘yeah I’m okay with that’ going which way or the other,” he explained. 

In an attempt to get to the root of where this frustration all started, U.S. Radio Updater shared an update on the situation saying that they shared the news of “Pink Skies” heading to US Pop radio after receiving an email stating that the tune was “serviced” to Top 40/Mainstream radio. 

The outlet explained, “We referred to it as a “single” under the usual assumption that servicing is followed by a single push.”

They have since been in contact with a source from Warner Records who clarified that the wording of the email should not have referred to the track as a “single,” but instead “just a song that stations could showcase.”

“We are sorry for any distrust or anxiousness this may have caused once outlets began referring to it as a single,” U.S. Radio Updater added. 

Things appeared to have simmered down now as Bryan responded to the latest post apologizing for “cursing so much earlier” and added that it was all a “misunderstanding.”

Sorry for cursing so much earlier. It was a misunderstanding and I’ve been watching too much House of Cards on my time off let’s goOOO CALIFORNIA https://t.co/tn8DLFIyLe

— Zach Bryan (@zachlanebryan) May 29, 2024

The Inspiration Behind “Pink Skies”

Despite the upsetting situation this week, it seems that the song has been receiving incredibly high praise from his loyal fanbase and has already climbed to the No. 1 spot on the all-genre iTunes Charts. Penned solely by Zach Bryan, “Pink Skies” offers an emotional perspective on the difficulty of losing a person and the reality of grief.  

He sings, “The kids are in town for a funeral / So pack the car and dry your eyes / I know they got plenty young blood left in em ‘ And plenty nights under pink skies / You taught em to enjoy… / If you could see em now / You’d be proud / But you’d think they’s yuppies / Your funeral was beautiful / I bet god heard you coming.”

Bryan explained on X that the song is not based off his personal story, but instead it’s simply a poetic reflection on family dynamics.

“Everytime I sing about someone dying people assume it’s about my mom, this definitely was not. I just think all the dynamics in families are beautiful and interesting and generationally it’s a really cool thing,” he wrote. 

The highly anticipated Great American Bar Scene album has been teased for some time now, and fans can hardly wait for the full project to be unveiled “soon.” It will consist of “16 songs and a poem,” according to Bryan who also declared that this is the “proudest I’ve ever been of a piece of work.” 

This collection will follow his latest album titled, “Zach Bryan,” which included the GRAMMY-winning single, “I Remember Everything,” with Kacey Musgraves. 

Bryan is currently in the midst of his sold-out headline trek dubbed The Quittin’ Time Tour ’24, which includes stops in arenas and several stadiums across the country. Next up, he will perform in Oakland, CA on Friday, May 31, followed by three back-to-back shows at L.A.’s Crypto Arena from June 2 through June 4.