Bailey Zimmerman Found His Career Inspiration After Losing A Job

Bailey Zimmerman has been making a name for himself in country music. In the last few months, he has scored two number-one songs, his latest being "Rock and a Hard Place." Bailey is now an ACM nominee and is opening stadium shows for Morgan Wallen. It's a far cry from the job he lost that gave him his push to pursue his country music dreams.

Bailey told us in a recent interview, "So, it actually started…I got laid off…I strung pipe on the pipeline. I built gas pipelines, you know, all over America, and I've done that since I was 18, and I've got laid off." He added, "I never looked back from day one. I knew I was gonna make it work somehow, someway."

Zimmerman's new song on country radio is called "Religiously." Bailey said of the new song, "My song 'Religiously' is honestly about sometimes putting your pride to the side will let the good things in life happen, and I realize that in this song that if I would just put my pride to the side I might still have the one that really truly loved me."

Right before his album comes out on May 12, he will be in Texas at the ACM Awards to find out if he will be this year's New Male Artist.

Zimmerman recently announced that he would release his full-length debut, Religiously The Album, on May 12 via Warner Music Nashville/Elektra. Zimmerman is featured as a co-writer on 11 of the 16 tracks, including the title track, "Religiously."

Bailey said in a statement, "The past two years of my life have been insane, and the fact that I get to release my first-ever album is so surreal. Thank you to everyone that has had my back through thick and thin. I will never be able to repay y'all for the love and support; this album is for you."

Bailey's 2022 EP, Leave The Light On, made history upon release as the most-streamed all-genre debut of 2022 and the biggest streaming country debut of all time.

Newcomer Bailey Zimmerman is heating up the country charts as his song "Rock and A Hard Place" enters the top five this week. Bailey is also preparing to open shows on Morgan Wallen's "One Night At A Time" tour in Australia next week.

Zimmerman has already logged over 400 million global streams, notched two entries on the Billboard Hot 100, and sold out his first headline tour.

Bailey grew up in the small town of Louisville, Illinois. His success began when a garage-recorded demo of his song "Never Comin' Home" amassed over a million plays overnight. Zimmerman's other singles included "Fall In Love," "Rock and A Hard Place," and "Where It Ends." He released a nine-song debut EP, Leave the Light, on October 14, 2022, via Warner Music Nashville. It debuted in the top ten of the Billboard 200.

Bailey recently recorded a special rendition of "God's Gonna Cut You Down" as part of Nashville Soccer Club's celebration of its brand-new Man in Black Kit, honoring legendary country music icon Johnny Cash.

And today (3/8), Zimmerman became a double nominee at the 2023 CMT Music Awards, where he is nominated for Male Video of the Year for "Rock and a Hard Place" and Male Breakout Video of the Year for "Fall In Love."

Here's a look at some things he has been up to in the last year.