Zach Bryan’s ‘Pink Skies,’ ‘I Remember Everything,’ ‘Something in the Orange’: Why the Singer-Songwriter’s Hits Have Staying Power
Zach Bryan tends to shoot from the hip. Though the singer-songwriter’s breakthrough came in 2022 with his third album “American Heartbreak,” audiences had already warmed to his direct-to-fan style, whether it be through frank posts on social media or with his confessional songwriting that merges Americana, country, folk and heartland rock. It’s something that has brought him to sold-out arenas, where his performances connect on broad levels.
This year, Bryan released “The Great American Bar Scene,” a sprawling 19-track collection led by the single “Pink Skies,” featuring the band Watchhouse. That song, plus 2022’s “Something in the Orange” and last year’s “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves, are each in the Hitmakers Top 25, a testament to the durability of Bryan’s songs.
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For David Goldsen, senior vice president of North America A&R at Warner Chappell Music, Bryan’s
success in creating music with such staying power comes down to his storytelling. “He just has a way of putting the time and place in his music,” says Goldsen, who signed him to a global publishing deal in early 2023. “A short while ago he was in the Navy and playing in clubs. It’s just moved exponentially because he’s done it at a breakneck pace and with a quality that we rarely see.”
Bryan is what Goldsen refers to as a “100 percenter,” or an artist who writes all of his own music, and has produced much of it himself. Recently, though, Bryan has opened himself up to more collaboration, with artists like John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen contributing to “Bar Scene” and the War and Treaty and Sierra Farrell appearing on 2023’s “Zach Bryan.”
Goldsen describes his role in working with Team Bryan, which includes co-managers Danny Kang and Stefan Max, plus Warner Records’ Mike Chester and A&R Miles Gersh, as something of a connector. With “I Remember Everything,” for instance, “it really demanded another voice, and there were conversations about who that would be. It became obvious that Kacey was the right person. It’s probably the most involvement that we have had.”
But Bryan is always the heartbeat of the tracks, says producer Ryan Hadlock, who worked with him on “Something in the Orange.” “There’s a lot of different ways people make songs,” he says. “For ‘Something in the Orange,’ the vibe was good, and we really wanted it to be real-feeling and personal and intimate.”
That intimacy took “I Remember Everything” to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 and its parent album to a bow at the top of its albums chart. Amid “The Quittin Time Tour” that launched in March and will stretch into summer 2025, “The Great American Bar Scene” reached No. 2 on the albums chart despite its unusual release date of July 4.
“I think that we’re clearly at a point in time with music and fandom where people really want to gravitate towards that kind of artistic expression,” adds Goldsen, “and I think he just captured an entire generation with that. He’s become one of the most important voices we have.”
SONG: I Remember Everything featuring Kacey Musgraves
Songwriters: Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves
Producer: Zach Bryan
SONG: Pink Skies featuring Watchhouse
Songwriter: Zach Bryan
Producer: Zach Bryan
SONG: Something in the Orange
Songwriter: Zach Bryan
Producer: Ryan Hadlock
LABEL: Belting Bronco/Warner Records
HITMAKERS:
Zach Bryan
Mike Chester,EVP of promotion & commerce, Warner Records
Miles Gersh,VP of A&R,Warner Records
David Goldsen,SVP of North America A&R, Warner Chappell Music
Danny Kang and Stefan Max,managers
PUBLISHERS: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Zach Bryan Publishing Designee
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