Zach Top Opens Up About the Pressure Behind Sophomore Album: ‘Gotta Keep the Pedal Down’

ACM New Male Artist of the Year, Zach Top is keeping the momentum going with the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album, Ain’t In It For My Health, out now via Leo33. The project follows his breakout debut, Cold Beer & Country Music, and arrives on the heels of his first No. 1 song at country radio, “I Never Lie.”

The new 15-track collection includes his feel-good lead single, “Good Times & Tan Lines,” and the fan-favorite “South of Sanity,” showing off Top’s blend of traditional country roots and storytelling.

Speaking with Cody Alan on SiriusXM’s The Highway, Top opened up about the mix of excitement and pressure that comes with releasing a second album after a breakout debut.

“I think there’s always a little bit of a, I was nervous before the first one too, but there’s kind of a, I don’t know, it went so well and it’s been such a crazy last year or two that it feels like, yeah, there’s like, dang, we gotta keep…keep the pedal down and keep it getting better,” he told Alan. “But we had a lot of these songs recorded already before we even put out the first project. And then a handful of them have been more recently written and recorded. But I don’t know, I believe in the songs, so it’s not like a nervousness that I think it’s bad or something. But I do hope that, you know, everybody loves it as much as I do.”

During the conversation, Top revealed that the album’s title came from a line in the opening track, “Guitar,” after a suggestion from his producer, Carson Chamberlain. He explained that the phrase carries a bit of a double meaning.”

“I had a few ideas on the title and then my producer, Carson Chamberlain, ended up, we were talking about it and he was like, ‘Man, let me throw something kind of weird at you. Because it’s not a title off the album,’ but it’s a line in the song, ‘Guitar,’… ‘Ain’t in it for my health,’” Top recalled. “And I just thought it was, I dunno, the line is kind of funny to me on its own, but it’s got kind of like a double meaning where it’s kind of like a, ‘Hey, I’m here to stay. It wasn’t a one hit wonder thing. I’m around for a while whether it’s good for me or not.’ So that’s kind of where we’re at.” 

To celebrate the release of the new album, Top will embark on another leg of his Cold Beer & Country Music headlining tour, running through the fall. The extensive trek includes stops at major venues such as Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, two nights at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center, Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center, Charleston’s Credit One Stadium, and Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, among many others.

Before kicking off the headline run, Top will wrap up his summer dates performing as part of Dierks Bentley’s Broken Branches Tour.