Grammy Award-winning country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan teased a new song that appeared to criticize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, drawing online backlash from some of his right-wing fans.
Bryan — who rose to fame releasing his songs on social media — posted a one-minute clip of his new ballad on Instagram this past week. He sings, “ICE is gonna come bust down your door,” and refers to the police as “cocky,” followed by an expletive.
He later sings, “Got some bad news: the fading of red, white and blue.”
Some social media users praised the lyrics, though many others appeared to renounce their fandom, accusing Bryan of wavering patriotism and pandering to left-wing audiences.
“Thank you for using your talent and standing up for what’s morally correct,” one Instagram account wrote.
Another user commented, “Didn’t know Zach was an illegal sympathizer,” referring to immigrants without legal status in the United States.
“Good luck with the new fan base,” one user said.
ICE has come under heavy scrutiny for its violent raids across U.S. cities, which have detained thousands of people — including U.S. citizens and people with legal status in the United States — and held many under harsh conditions, at times without legal representation. Some have disappeared, with no explanation provided by the government over where they may be.
Bryan, 29, a former Navy service officer from Oklahoma who has described himself as a “total libertarian,” has appeared hesitant at times to wade into politics but has nonetheless garnered thousands of fans aligned with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” or MAGA, movement. In a 2022 interview with the New York Times, he described his attempts to stop his crowds from chanting vulgar phrases about President Joe Biden.
He has also denied being a country singer, saying that he wants to be in the “Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Ed Sheeran at-the-very-beginning space.”
In 2023, he spoke out against “insulting transgender people” amid right-wing backlash against Bud Light for its campaign featuring a transgender activist. “I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be,” he wrote on his now-deleted X account, adding: “It’s a great day to be alive I thought.”
Bryan first rose to fame just before the pandemic, after years of posting clips of himself singing online. In 2019, he released his debut album, “DeAnn,” which he recorded in a makeshift studio he set up in a Florida Airbnb by propping mattresses against the walls. Later that year, he performed his first concert.
In 2023, he became the first country artist to sell out stadiums without a push from country radio, The Post reported, bucking a traditional music industry model that has generally prevailed in the genre despite the advent of streaming.
Bryan has since released four more albums, taking home a Grammy Award in 2024 for best country duo/group performance for the song “I Remember Everything,” featuring singer Kacey Musgraves.
Last month, Bryan set the U.S. record for the largest ticketed concert, playing in front of 112,408 fans in Ann Arbor, Michigan, according to Pollstar.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
