Zach Bryan, in just four years, the former Navy serviceman, went from recording songs on an iPhone to becoming one of the genre’s biggest stars. His success has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Biography
Zach Bryan was born on April 2, 1996, in Okinawa, Japan, while his parents were stationed overseas with the U.S. Navy. Military service runs deep in his family. He’s actually the fourth generation to serve, with his father, Dewayne; mother, Annette DeAnn; grandfather, and great-grandfather all having worn the uniform.
When Bryan was in eighth grade, his family moved to Oologah, Oklahoma, a small town with a population of around 1,200 people. His parents had divorced when he was 12, and his father gained full custody. Despite the split, Bryan maintained a close relationship with his mother, later describing her as his best friend.
At Oologah High School, Bryan wasn’t the typical future rockstar. He served as student council president and participated in competitive wrestling. Music entered his life somewhat unexpectedly when he turned 14. His father and grandfather gifted him a Takamine guitar for his birthday, and everything changed from that point on.
“When I was 14, we started making these dumb songs up, me and my buddies sitting around, and I just never really expected to be a musician, ever,” Bryan told The Oklahoman. But he always wanted to write songs.
On August 3, 2016, Bryan’s mother, Annette DeAnn, passed away at age 49 after battling alcohol abuse. The loss devastated him. She worked as a certified nursing assistant. Shortly after her death, Bryan wrote on Instagram: “My mom was my best friend. She knew me better than I knew myself, and better than anyone will ever know me.”
This tragedy became the emotional foundation for much of his music, particularly his debut album.
In fall 2023, while juggling touring and recording, Bryan completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology, fulfilling a promise he’d made to his late mother.
Military Service
Following his high school graduation in 2013, Bryan enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. He served as an Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class (AO2), a role that involved assembling, repairing, and loading weapons. His deployments took him to Florida, Washington state, Bahrain, and Djibouti. For eight years, the Navy was his entire world, but music was quietly becoming an alternative path.
Starting in 2017, Bryan began uploading songs to YouTube that he’d recorded with friends using nothing more than his iPhone. The quality was raw and grainy, but that became part of his appeal. His first upload, “God Speed,” was in March 2018. He followed it with 15 more tracks before “Heading South” went viral in 2019, racking up nearly 20 million views. The song was recorded outside his Navy barracks.
Bryan’s debut album, DeAnn, arrived on August 24, 2019. He recorded it during a leave in an Airbnb in Jacksonville, Florida, writing all 12 tracks in just two months. The album was his tribute to his late mother, named after her middle name.
“That’s why I released DeAnn, for my mom,” Bryan explained to Rolling Stone. “She had passed away and I was like, ‘How do I keep her name alive?’ That’s why I thought songs would keep her name alive forever.”
In May 2020, Bryan released his second album, Elisabeth, which was recorded in a converted barn behind his home using his laptop. The 19-track project was named after Rose Elisabeth Madden, a fellow Navy veteran he’d met during service. They married in July 2020 in a ceremony at Colchuk Lake, Washington. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only a year, ending in divorce by July 2021.
Musical Career
Bryan made his Grand Ole Opry debut on April 10, 2021, a milestone moment for any country artist. Six months later, on October 14, 2021, he was honourably discharged from the Navy to pursue music full-time. “If it was my decision, I would never get out of the world’s greatest Navy,” he wrote on Instagram, “but here I am and they kindly honorably discharged me to go play some music.”
Warner Records signed Bryan in 2021, and everything accelerated from there. His major label debut, American Heartbreak, dropped on May 20, 2022.
The triple album featured 34 tracks and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 with 71,500 first-week units, making it the biggest opening week for a country album that year. It also became the most-streamed country album in a single day on both Spotify and Apple Music.
Released on April 22, 2022, “Something in the Orange” became Bryan’s commercial breakthrough. The song peaked at number 10 on the Hot 100 and spent 66 consecutive weeks on the chart, the longest run for a male country artist to date. It eventually achieved Diamond certification (12x Platinum), becoming only the 15th country song ever to reach that milestone.
With over 1.33 billion Spotify streams, the track spent a record 143 weeks on the Streaming Songs chart, breaking Post Malone’s previous record. The song also earned Bryan his first Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.
Self-Titled Album
Bryan’s self-titled album was released on August 25, 2023, and immediately debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. All 16 tracks charted on the Hot 100 simultaneously. The lead single, “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves, made history by debuting at number one on the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts simultaneously. No song had ever achieved that trifecta before.
The duet won the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, giving Bryan his first Grammy win.
Released on July 4, 2024, The Great American Bar Scene peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Only Taylor Swift’s unprecedented 12-week run at number one kept it from the top spot. The album featured collaborations with legends Bruce Springsteen (“Sandpaper”) and John Mayer (“Better Days”), proving Bryan’s crossover appeal extended far beyond traditional country audiences.
Lead single “Pink Skies” debuted at number six, becoming his second-highest charting single at that point. By 2024, Bryan had earned over 30 RIAA Gold and Platinum certifications. On July 18, 2024, he received 58 new RIAA certifications in a single day. He ranked as the eighth-highest-selling country artist of all time, despite being on a major label for only four years.
Touring Records
Bryan’s 2022 American Run Tour averaged 5,735 people per show with $51 ticket prices across 31 shows. Just one year later, his Burn Burn Burn Tour grossed $43.9 million across 32 dates with 475,000 tickets sold. That’s an average of 14,841 people per show, at $92.52 per ticket, representing a 158% attendance increase and an 81% increase in ticket price from the previous year.
The Quittin’ Time Tour in 2024 absolutely shattered country music touring records. Bryan grossed $321.3 million across 78 shows, selling 1.6 million tickets. This made it the highest-grossing country tour of 2024, surpassing Luke Combs’ $173 million by a whopping $148 million. Bryan’s average per-show gross of $4.3 million represented a 14x increase from 2022 in just two years.
Michigan Stadium History
On September 27, 2024, Bryan set the record for the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history when 112,408 fans packed Michigan Stadium for the venue’s first-ever concert. The show also generated $5 million in merchandise sales, setting a new single-concert merchandise record (approximately 150 times the industry average). Pollstar and Billboard confirmed these figures as official records.
His 2024 Spotify performance, with 6.72 billion streams, made him the number one country artist and the third most-streamed artist in the U.S. across all genres, trailing only Taylor Swift and Drake.
Net Worth
In May 2025, Variety reported that Bryan closed a combined $350 million deal that shocked the music industry. The deal consisted of two major components: a Warner Records renewal for at least two more albums and a sale of the publishing catalogue to Merritt Group, a new entity led by industry heavyweights Cameron Strang and Gary Gersh. The deal faced stiff competition from Universal Music Group, but Bryan ultimately chose Merrit.
This $350 million valuation is remarkable, considering he’d only been on a major label for four years. For comparison, Morgan Wallen sold a minority catalogue stake for $200 million around the same time, while Pink Floyd’s entire catalogue went to Sony for $400 million in October 2024.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bryan’s net worth is estimated at $25 million. However, the $350 million deal will dramatically increase his actual net worth in the future.
His 2024 income likely exceeded $100 to $150 million after expenses, driven by several revenue streams.
He has earned an estimated $321.3 million from tour revenue, $40–$50 million from streaming across platforms, $50–$100 million from merchandise sales, and secured multiple brand partnership deals, including one with Bud Light.
Bud Light Partnership
In November 2023, Bryan announced a significant partnership with Bud Light as the exclusive beer sponsor for the Quittin’ Time Tour. The deal included a headline concert during Super Bowl LVIII weekend and had a charitable component.
Bud Light donated $1 per barrel of Bud Light Draught sold during the tour (up to $1 million), which Bryan personally matched.
The final $2 million donation went to Folds of Honor, an organisation providing scholarships to families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.
The donation was presented on December 13, 2024, in Tulsa.
Real Estate
Bryan purchased a $7.5 million home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in April 2024. The property is a stunning 5,000-square-foot colonial built in 1904, featuring five bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms with views overlooking Cape Cod Bay.
Personal Life and Controversies
After his divorce from Rose Madden in 2021, Bryan dated Deb Peifer from January 2022 to May 2023. He announced their split on social media, writing: “For transparency and with respect I am letting everyone know Debra and me went our separate ways about a week and a half ago. Things are mutual between us, we’re leaving with plenty memories and good times.”
Bryan’s relationship with Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, a Barstool Sports podcaster, became his most public and controversial romance.
They met at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards in May and began dating shortly after.
They moved in together, got a dog named Boston, and LaPaglia accompanied Bryan to the 2024 Grammys, where he won his first award. On social media, the relationship looked loving and supportive.
On October 22, 2024, Bryan announced the breakup via Instagram Stories: “Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that I’ll always thank her. I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things.”
LaPaglia claimed she was blindsided by the public announcement, waking up to texts asking if she was okay. Things got much more serious on November 7, 2024, when she made allegations during an episode of her BFFs podcast.
LaPaglia accused Bryan of emotional abuse following a pattern of “build you up, beat you down, apologize over and over.” She also revealed that Bryan’s team offered her $12 million and a New York City apartment to sign an NDA preventing her from discussing their relationship. She rejected the offer.
LaPaglia later revealed she had spoken with Bryan’s ex-wife Rose Madden: “I FaceTimed with Rose for a couple hours actually. I fucking love her. I have never felt more seen and validated in my life, same with her.” She insinuated that Bryan had paid previous partners to remain silent.
Bryan’s team hasn’t responded with detailed statements to these allegations. In July 2025, Bryan posted screenshots of alleged text messages from LaPaglia to his Instagram, which he later deleted. LaPaglia responded with her own screenshots that contradicted his narrative.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy defended LaPaglia, saying: “Every time I met him, I was not comfortable with him. He just seemed like an insecure, immature, not-confident baby.”
