<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Bryan \u2014 who rose to fame releasing his songs on social media<\/a> \u2014 posted a one-minute clip of his new ballad on Instagram this past week. He sings, \u201cICE is gonna come bust down your door,\u201d and refers to the police as \u201ccocky,\u201d followed by an expletive.<\/p>\n He later sings, \u201cGot some bad news: the fading of red, white and blue.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for using your talent and standing up for what\u2019s morally correct,\u201d one Instagram account wrote.<\/p>\n Another user commented, \u201cDidn\u2019t know Zach was an illegal sympathizer,\u201d referring to immigrants without legal status in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cGood luck with the new fan base,\u201d one user said.<\/p>\n ICE<\/a> has come under heavy scrutiny for its violent raids<\/a> across U.S. cities, which have detained thousands of people \u2014 including U.S. citizens<\/a> and people with legal status<\/a> in the United States \u2014 and held many<\/a> under<\/a> harsh conditions<\/a>, at times without legal representation. Some have disappeared<\/a>, with no explanation provided by the government over where they may be.<\/p>\n Bryan, 29, a former Navy service officer from Oklahoma who has described<\/a> himself as a \u201ctotal libertarian,\u201d has appeared hesitant at times to wade into politics but has nonetheless garnered thousands of fans aligned with President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n He has also denied being a country singer, saying that he wants to be in the \u201cSpringsteen, Kings of Leon, Ed Sheeran at-the-very-beginning space.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, he spoke out<\/a> against \u201cinsulting transgender people\u201d amid right-wing backlash against Bud Light for its campaign featuring a transgender activist. \u201cI 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,\u201d he wrote on his now-deleted X account, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s a great day to be alive I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n 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, \u201cDeAnn,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Bryan has since released four more albums, taking home a Grammy Award<\/a> in 2024 for best country duo\/group performance for the song \u201cI Remember Everything,\u201d featuring singer Kacey Musgraves.<\/p>\n