Zach Bryan Declined To Submit Any Of His Music For Grammy Consideration

This year, Zach Bryan was nominated for four Grammy Awards, taking home the win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "I Remember Everything," his collaboration with Kacey Musgraves. But next year, he won't be taking home any awards - and it was his own decision. According to Variety , Zach has declined to submit any of his music for Grammy consideration, opting to keep his name off the ballot that just went out to voters. Since last year's voting, Zach has released his latest album The Great American Bar Scene, with the album's lead single "Pink Skies" reaching #6 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album also featured collaborations with Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer, among others, and reached the top of the country album chart. It's a move that we've seen in the past from artists in other genres, with both Drake and The Weeknd withdrawing from Grammy consideration having decided not to submit their music in previous years. And it's not entirely surprising coming from Zach, who's said in the past that he didn't want to be considered for the CMA Awards (though he was nominated for New Artist of the Year in 2023 and picked up a nomination for "I Remember Everything" at this year's upcoming ceremonies). The "Something in the Orange" singer also won an ACM Award for New Male Artist of the Year, but it's hard to argue the fact that he hasn't gotten the recognition he deserves from the awards ceremonies as one of the biggest artists in not just country music but in ALL of music. But it sounds like it's not so much a grievance with the nominations or winners that kept Zach from submitting his music as it is a grievance with the whole idea of awards shows themselves. A source told Variety that the reason Zach didn't submit his music for Grammy consideration is because he "does not feel comfortable with awards shows making music competitive." Honestly, the awards don't really mean much these days as they become less and less reflective of what people are actually listening to. When an artist like Zach, who has more listeners on Spotify than any country artist except Morgan Wallen, has never won a CMA Award and has only one ACM Award, it's hard to argue that these shows are actually recognizing artists for their achievements and not just helping labels pat themselves on the back. So I'm sure it's not going to hurt Zach any by withdrawing from Grammy consideration. I have a feeling he'll still be packing stadiums the next time he hits the road.