Zach Bryan Says Tyler Childers Just Now Scoring His First Country Radio Hit Is ‘F—n Insane’
Tyler Childers just notched his first top 50 country radio hit with “In Your Love,” which peaks at No. 50 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay this week — and his longtime supporter, fellow singer/songwriter and “I Remember Everything” hitmaker Zach Bryan, offered up some thoughts on the milestone.
Bryan expressed his frustration that Childers is just now, after releasing music for more than a decade and becoming one of Americana music’s biggest artists, seeing a song break through on mainstream country radio.
On X (formerly Twitter), Bryan wrote, “‘First Ever’ is f—n insane, one of the best songwriters to ever do it.”
As several of Bryan’s fans chimed in to agree, Bryan added another statement, this time taking a shot at radio and mentioning a smash hit from singer/songwriter Walker Hayes.
“Imagine being radio (whoever the hell that is), hearing [Childers’] ‘Shake the Frost’ and being like, ‘no no let’s go with the Applebees song,'” Bryan wrote, referencing a line in Hayes’ TikTok-dance-fueled hit “Fancy Like,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021 and stayed atop the Hot Country Songs chart for 24 weeks.
“In Your Love” is from Childers’ sixth studio album Rustin’ in the Rain, which reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and No. 10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 last year. “In Your Love” also peaked at No. 43 on the Hot 100 in December. The song is at No. 7 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, where Childers previously had a top 40 hit with “House Fire” and saw his song “All Your’n” reach No. 16. “All Your’n” also reached No. 46 on the Hot Country Songs chart, which incorporates streaming data.
Since Childers released his debut album, Bottles and Bibles, in 2011, he’s earned an RIAA platinum album with 2017’s Purgatory, along with two gold albums (2019’s Country Squire and 2018’s Live on Red Barn Radio I & II) and steadily ascended to headliner status. In 2020, Childers earned the Americana Music Honor for emerging artist of the year. This year, Childers is nominated for multiple Grammys, including “In Your Love” being up for best country song, best country solo performance and best music video.
Bryan later clarified his statement after one X commenter criticized his mention of Hayes.
“not insulting anyone! Meant it with humor not malice, different strokes different folks was just bent about the first ever on mainstream radio thing my bad,” Bryan wrote.
This year, Bryan has had his own smash hit, “I Remember Everything,” his collaboration with Kacey Musgraves. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, has topped the Hot Country Songs chart for the past 15 weeks, and is currently at No. 28 on Country Airplay.
Bryan and Childers have been chief among several more Americana, acoustic and/or roots-oriented artists, such as Dylan Gossett, Charles Wesley Godwin and Wyatt Flores, who have seen various successes on the charts and performance fronts over the past year or so, including leading a plethora of new festivals.
Jessica Nicholson
Billboard
