Zach Top is one of the few artists who snagged a 60th ACM Awards trophy prior to the big night on Thursday, May 8. In fact, the hot rising country singer was the first ACM award-winner of the year, and now he’s gearing up to celebrate his first of two possible wins at the upcoming celebration.
He was presented with his win for ACM New Male Artist of the Year on Thursday, April 24, before taking the stage for a sold-out show in Wilmington, NC. The winningest Duo in ACM history, Brooks & Dunn helped share the good news with a special video message.
Reflecting On First-Ever ACM Award Win
Now that he’s had some time to let it sink in that he’s officially earned his first ACM Award of his career, he can proudly say that he is “very, very excited” about the win.
“It’s definitely one of the first kind of major awards I’ve won, so really, really excited about it for sure,” he told Country Now while backstage of the milestone award show.
Also Nominated For Album Of the Year
Top is also vying for a win in the category of ACM Album of the Year for his debut album Cold Beer & Country Music. Regardless of if he claims this second trophy or not, the “I Never Lie” singer is just honored to be recognized among his fellow nominees Megan Moroney, Jelly Roll, Post Malone and Lainey Wilson.
“It’s huge. I feel like the award shows that I grew up watching and stuff, it feels like stuff like Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year and stuff like that, that was kind of the pinnacle of the awards,” he explained. “So yeah, it feels really, really good to have my debut album in that category. Very honored about that and a great group of nominees in there.”
Choosing A Red Carpet Look
The Washington native has built a career on carving his own path in country music while making it his mission to revive the timeless nature of the genre. He typically moves to the beat of his own drum, and that doesn’t just go for his music, but also his fashion sense. Top revealed that for his ACM red carpet look, he chose to style himself.
“No, I don’t let anybody dress me. I don’t let anybody tell me what to play or to sing…That’s the problem is I don’t let anybody dress me. It’d probably be a whole lot better if I did let them dress me, but I’m just going to wander in whatever it is,” he shared with a carefree attitude.
Top plans to walk the carpet with his girlfriend, Amelia Taylor, who he admits despite her patience, might be a little worn out by his ever-changing outfit plans.
“I think my girlfriend gets tired of me ‘cause I say like, ‘alright, let’s wear this.’ She wants it to be kind of coordinated. You’ve got to have it on the same page. Then a week before it’s like, ‘maybe I want to wear this instead,’” he joked. “So I give her hell for sure. But she makes it through. She’s a wonderful woman and puts up with a lot of grief for me. So we’ll see what I show up in tomorrow.”
Top’s win follows the success of his debut album Cold Beer & Country Music, which earned over 3.5 million streams in its first week. He’s currently headlining a sold-out tour with stops at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, New York’s Terminal 5, and Boston’s MGM Music Hall, and is supporting superstars like Alan Jackson and Dierks Bentley.
2025 ACM Awards Performance Lineup
As a result off his milestone win for New Male Artist of the Year, Zach Top has also been tapped to perform at the upcoming award show.
He, along with Ella Langley who was the second artist to receive an early ACM Award for New Female Artist of the Year, will take the stage of the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys.
In honor of the award show celebrating 60 years, a very special performance will open the show on Thursday, May 8. The all-star lineup of Clint Black, Dan + Shay, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, and Sugarland will take the stage for a 12-minute performance that highlights ACM Songs of the Year from six decades
The show will also feature powerhouse duets, including a collaborative performance between Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts; a standout performance from Jelly Roll and Shaboozey; and Brooks & Dunn will take the stage with Cody Johnson.
Plus, 2024 ACM New Female Artist of the Year,Megan Moroney, joins this year’s star-packed show featuring previously announced performances by Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Church, Lainey Wilson, and Miranda Lambert.
How to Watch
Hosted by 16-time ACM Award-winning entertainment icon Reba McEntire, the 60th ACM Awards will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT.
More details can be found HERE.
The post Zach Top Reflects On First ACM Nominations And His Laid-Back Approach To Red Carpet Fashion [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
