{"id":144624,"date":"2025-11-20T11:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T11:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/144624\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T11:37:17","slug":"zach-top-says-hes-ready-to-celebrate-all-night-as-he-wins-new-artist-of-the-year-at-the-2025-cma-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/144624\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Top Says He&#8217;s Ready to &#8216;Celebrate All Night&#8217; as He Wins New Artist of the Year at the 2025 CMA Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Zach Top is taking home his very first win at the <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/cma-awards-2025-performers-kelsea-ballerini-kenny-chesney-miranda-lambert-and-more-11848926\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2025 CMA Awards;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2025 CMA Awards<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The country singer was awarded New Artist of the Year at the CMAs in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 19, beating out <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ella-langley-time-off-morgan-wallen-riley-green-tours-sickness-11788674\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ella Langley;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Ella Langley<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/shaboozey-knew-jack-daniels-tipsy-line-would-be-a-hit-exclusive-11814274\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Shaboozey;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Shaboozey<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/how-tucker-wetmore-is-setting-himself-apart-emotional-new-album-exclusive-11715808\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tucker Wetmore;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Tucker Wetmore<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/stephen-wilson-jr-honors-late-dad-fathers-son-exclusive-8787332\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Stephen Wilson Jr.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Stephen Wilson Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Thank you very, very much. I can&#8217;t remember if I was supposed to put my beer down first or not, but here it is now,&#8221; he told the crowd while accepting his win. &#8220;I&#8217;m so thankful to be included in a category with a bunch of other great artists that have had phenomenal years. I&#8217;m thankful to be here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Top, 28, noted that it was his first-ever CMA win, so it was &#8220;a big deal&#8221; to him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He went on to thank God for &#8220;giving me the gift to be able to sing and play,&#8221; as well as his parents for &#8220;realizing that I was never gonna be a professional cowboy or a baseball player, so maybe the closest I could get was to sing about cowboys.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The star, who performed his song &#8220;Guitar&#8221; earlier in the night, also thanked his siblings, as well as a number of other friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It&#8217;s been a hell of a last couple of years,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;So, so thankful and ready to celebrate all night.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"ABC Zach Top accepting his win at the 2025 CMA Awards\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6ef5c41c4e24010606aa46798622948e.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ABC<\/p>\n<p> Zach Top accepting his win at the 2025 CMA Awards<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Top was also up for New Artist of the Year in 2024, and this year is also nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single and Song of the Year. He released his second album Ain\u2019t in it for My Health in August, featuring singles like \u201cGood Times &amp; Tan Lines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIt has been absolutely insane the last couple years, how many people have fallen in love with my music,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HZZVJEXPtn4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Smooth Radio;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Smooth Radio<\/a> in October. \u201cI\u2019m really, really thankful for them and really excited that they like it that much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Nominee Langley, 26, is no stranger to the CMA Awards; last year, she and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/riley-green-dont-mind-if-i-do-deluxe-thrifting-exclusive-11800393\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Riley Green;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Riley Green<\/a> won Musical Event of the Year for their playful single <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ella-langley-riley-green-might-cause-marriages-divorces-duet-8750431\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:\u201cYou Look Like You Love Me.\u201d;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">\u201cYou Look Like You Love Me.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The hit is featured on Langley\u2019s debut studio album Hungover, which she released in 2024. The singer is among the night\u2019s most-nominated artists, as she, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/megan-moroney-8670841\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Megan Moroney;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Megan Moroney<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/lainey-wilson-7971945\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Lainey Wilson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Lainey Wilson<\/a> are all up for six nominations each.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other nominations at the 2025 CMAs for Langley, who <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/country\/ella-langley-is-some-country-boys-dream-girl-but-not-quite-yet\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:told PEOPLE in 2022;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">told PEOPLE in 2022<\/a> that all of her songs are \u201creal things and real stories in my life,\u201d include Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shaboozey\u2019s nomination, meanwhile, comes after he was previously nominated for the same award at the 2024 CMA Awards. Since his <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/shaboozey-a-bar-song-tipsy-no-1-billboard-hot-100-8674952\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:breakthrough hit \u201cA Bar Song (Tipsy)\u201d;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">breakthrough hit \u201cA Bar Song (Tipsy)\u201d<\/a> tied the Billboard record for longest-running Hot 100 chart-topper of all time, he\u2019s been riding his success with a tour, an invite to the Met Gala, not one but two features on Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s Cowboy Carter and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In April, the singer, 30, released a deluxe version of his album Where I\u2019ve Been, Isn\u2019t Where I\u2019m Going, which contained the singles \u201cGood News,\u201d \u201cBlink Twice\u201d and \u201cAmen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/cma-awards\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Click here for all the news on country music&#039;s biggest night.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Click here for all the news on country music&#8217;s biggest night.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I want to outdo what I did last year,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/shaboozey-wants-to-outdo-a-bar-song-tipsy-cover-exclusive-hot-guy-summer-11738342\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:told PEOPLE in a cover story;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">told PEOPLE in a cover story<\/a> in May. \u201cYou\u2019ll drive yourself crazy trying to compare or compete, but I want to continue to make music that people know across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Wetmore, 26, also had a breakthrough year, as he released his debut album What Not To in April. The \u201cWine into Whiskey\u201d singer also toured this summer with <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/thomas-rhett\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Thomas Rhett;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Thomas Rhett<\/a>, and had a song featured on the Twisters soundtrack last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis time last year, I wasn\u2019t even touring,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/how-tucker-wetmore-is-setting-himself-apart-emotional-new-album-exclusive-11715808\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:told PEOPLE in April;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">told PEOPLE in April<\/a> of his whirlwind success.\u201dMy songs were doing pretty good, but then when I first started touring? I mean, if you would have told me all of this a year ago, I wouldn\u2019t believe you. Absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Wilson Jr., 46, broke through in 2023 with his first album s\u00f8n of dad, inspired by the death of his father. Earlier this year, he released a deluxe version of the record, along with the covers EP Blankets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Wilson also supported <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/hardy-8670832\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:HARDY;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">HARDY<\/a> on tour this year, and put out songs with Shaboozey and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/noah-cyrus-carving-her-own-path-i-want-my-loved-ones-to-go-with-me-people-cover-exclusive-11792674\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Noah Cyrus;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Noah Cyrus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/stephen-wilson-jr-honors-late-dad-fathers-son-exclusive-8787332\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:told PEOPLE in February;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">told PEOPLE in February<\/a> that his late father is in everything he does.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI sing about him all over the world,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, in a weird way, his legacy is more alive than it\u2019s ever been. For me, the music has just always been some desperate attempt to keep him alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 59th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville\u2019s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on ABC. The show streams the following day on Hulu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/cma-awards-2025-zach-top-new-artist-of-the-year-11851499\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">People<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zach Top is taking home his very first win at the 2025 CMA Awards! The country singer was&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[12732,12733,156,12734,157,12568,111,139,69,96496,97471,12736],"class_list":{"0":"post-144624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-cma-awards","9":"tag-ella-langley","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-lainey-wilson","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-nashville","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-stephen-wilson-jr","18":"tag-tucker-wetmore","19":"tag-zach-top"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}