Zach Top was named the winner of the Academy of Country Music Award for new male artist of the year on Thursday night (April 24) prior to taking the stage for a sold-out show in Wilmington, N.C. The news was revealed by Brooks & Dunn, the winningest duo in ACM history, through a congratulatory video.
Top beat strong competition, including Shaboozey, whose megahit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is nominated for an ACM Award for single of the year; Bailey Zimmerman, who was nominated for new male artist of the year for the second year in a row; Tucker Wetmore; and Gavin Adcock.
“I couldn’t be more honored, and I can’t say a big enough thank you to my fans for loving music and loving what we do on the road and listening to the songs every day,” Top said after being handed his award. “It means the world to me, I’ve always wanted to just play and sing for a living, and I get to do that now and it’s cool to be able to get a little trophy every now and then to let us know that we’re doing good doing it. So thank you so much, this is beautiful.”
Top, 27, got the news before a stop on his Cold Beer & Country Music Tour. The tour was named after his debut album, which is nominated for an ACM Award for album of the year. The album peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
Top’s Cold Beer & Country Music headline tour features stops at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium (two nights), New York’s Terminal 5, and Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway. In addition, Top is supporting select dates with Alan Jackson on his Last Call Tour and will join Dierks Bentley’s Broken Branches Tour, when it kicks off next month.
Top was nominated for new artist of the year at last fall’s Country Music Association Awards. He lost to Megan Moroney, but the leading country awards shows allow artists two nominations in this category, so he could be nominated there again this year.
New artist of the year winners are typically issued invitations to perform on the ACM Awards telecast. Last year’s new male artist of the year winner, Nate Smith, performed (joined by Avril Lavigne), as did last year’s new duo or group of the year winner, Tigirlily Gold. Last year’s new female artist of the year winner, Moroney, did not.
The 60th ACM Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, will stream live for a global audience on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. A limited number of tickets to the landmark 60th ACM Awards are available for purchase on SeatGeek.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.