Bailey Zimmerman has experienced a meteoric rise to fame. In just a short time, he made waves, releasing hit after hit with songs like, “Fall In Love,” “Rock and a Hard Place,” “Religiously,” “Where It Ends,” and others. He toured with Morgan Wallen on the best-selling country music tour of all time, earned a handful of award nominations, and has performed for sold out crowds across the globe. Not bad for a kid from a small town with a background in building gas pipelines in rural Illinois. But, it’s certainly a big change of pace from where he started. So, it’s no surprise that Zimmerman needs a break from the chaos from time to time to really take in everything he’s accomplished up to this point.
Why Bailey Zimmerman Connected To His Vulnerable Song, “Holding On”
That’s a big reason why Zimmerman has connected so deeply to “Holding On,” his most vulnerable release to date. The inspiring and encouraging anthem finds the 24-year-old clinging on to someone in hopes that they will stick around and weather the storm. In the lyrics, Zimmerman asks: “Will you be strong and keep holding on?/ If this was your last breath, would you waste it on me?/ Stick around when I’m in the dark/ Be the angel that comes down and picks up my heart/ When it’s all wrong, can we be strong?/ And keep holding on/ And keep holding on.”
Although Zimmerman didn’t write “Holding On.” That was the work of his producer, Austin Shawn, and lesser-known artist, Blake Whiten — he says he was immediately hooked upon the first listen.
“When I heard that song, it gave me some hope. And I woke up every day for the next two weeks just singing it,” Zimmerman said of the tune in a brand-new interview with Music Mayhem. “Within the first verse, I was like, ‘Dude, I got to cut that song. That song is everything right now. I feel like for a lot of people, but especially for me in life, for anybody, everybody has struggles and problems, and they go through things.”
Despite Fame, Zimmerman Also Faces Mental Health Struggles At Times
Despite being “on top of the world,” with his touring musician and country star status, Zimmerman says life and fame, for him, isn’t always as put-together as it seems. Sometimes he finds enjoying success to be challenging, with having had to balance a series of ups and downs during his skyrocketing career.
“I’m not happy every day, not every day. Some days I wake up, and I do need that hope and that extra oomph to keep going, and even though my life is awesome, and I have this amazing life and so many opportunities, I’m so blessed. Some days I wake up, and I don’t feel like going… That’s the honest truth,” he added. “… This song has reignited me, it lit a flame in me that I don’t know, I’ve just kind of been missing for a while.”
“I have been through a lot of stuff,” he adds, acknowledging the mental health challenges and burnout he sometimes experiences with the road warrior lifestyle. “But I try not to complain about it because I have an awesome life, and I’m so blessed, and there’s so many people out there that have it way, way, way worse than I do. So, my problems are very minuscule, but I do go through it just like everybody else. I am human.”
Credits His Faith As The Driving Force To Keep Him Pushing Through Hard Times
Along with “Holding On” and music in general, Zimmerman credits his relationship with God as another driving force for him to keep pushing through the hard times and reconnect with his passion. He says that his spirituality and connection to a higher power serve as a reminder that “I still have time today to change and just try to be giving it all to him.”
“I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of ups and downs, even in the last three or four years. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve made some mistakes,” Zimmerman acknowledges. “I’ve had to grow up and realize a lot of things and learn things, but at the end of the day, if you quit, you’ll never be able to know what the world has in store for you tomorrow.”
Hopes The Song Helps Listeners Persevere Through Struggles
Zimmerman hopes that “Holding On” can serve as a reminder for other people to press on in the face of adversity. He hopes the track will connect with listeners the same way it has for him.
“We’re losing people that feel like they’re not worth anything, and they feel like there’s no hope,” Zimmerman explains the importance of sharing his song. “And why would they keep going? And I hope that’s what ‘Holding On’ does for ’em is like, ‘Nah, dude, remember, tomorrow could be insane, even though today’s not, tomorrow can keep going, keep working.”
Ironically, when he heard the “Holding On” demo, Zimmerman says he was already planning on cutting a different song, but hearing the tune gave him a change of heart. He got a hold of Whiten, and it seems Zimmerman cutting the track was meant to be. The pair had mutual feelings toward whose vocals would best fit the song, with Zimmerman saying, Whiten “Was like, ‘Man, I’d love for you to cut it. I’d love for you to sing it.’ I was like, ‘Let’s go!’”
His Dog Marley Makes Acting Debut In “Holding On” Music Video
After releasing the song, Zimmerman paired the track with a music video, which features his dog Marley, who also serves as a support animal for him. Zimmerman says it was important to have his furry friend star in the clip because “She’ll come up, and she’ll paw at me and stuff, and anytime I’m upset, she’s always trying to get me to hug her. She’s always just my best friend and has been since I started music, and it just felt so perfect.
“I call her a person, like a support person. Anytime that I’m going through it, she knows she’s right there with me,” he adds. “When we were going to talk about the ‘Holding On’ video, I was like, man, one thing that’s always really been there for me is Marley. And I would love to put her in the music video. She’s always been my best friend since she was a little pup, and she’s on the road with me everywhere… she goes literally everywhere… Planes, in the bus. She’s actually right over there taking a nap. So she’s just everywhere with me. And it felt right to like, ‘Hey, this is what I use every day, and this is what I have around me every day that keeps me going, keeps me holding on.’”
Mind-Blown By The Success He’s Achieved
On his success, Bailey Zimmerman shares that even though he has his tough days, he never expected to be in a place in life, where he can take care of the people he loves and do something he loves at the same time.
“I don’t think you can ever see it getting this big,” he says, reflecting on the early days when he used to grind it out to get to the next level of his career.
Looking back, he says, “I believed in myself, I had a really strong foundation coming into it and really had a lot of conviction in me that was like, ‘Man. I know I can do this. I know I can play shows, I know I can do it, [and] I just got to go do it. And that’s what I think it was. It was just like, head down, go work harder than anybody else. Let’s go do as many videos, let’s go put songs out, let’s go write songs every day.”
With His Success, He’s Been Able To Take Care Of His Family
“But I love what I’m doing, so it doesn’t really feel like work,” he adds. “…. I don’t know if you could ever imagine it getting to where you’re in a tour bus and the band and [my] mom’s taken care of. And especially in this amount of time. I definitely didn’t see it going in two years. So that was awesome, being able to take care of mom so quickly and take care of my family so quickly when they really needed it.”
Not only has Zimmerman been able to take care of his mother; but he also recently treated his grandmother to a brand-new car after realizing she desperately needed a new set of wheels. Zimmerman posted the video of the moment he gifted his grandma with the pricey gift on TikTok, shown below.
Of the special moment, he says, “I bought my grandma a car, and that was something that I’ve dreamed of doing just because I love cars. And when I first started to get “famous” or whatever you call it, one of my thoughts was like, ‘Man. I really want to buy my grandma a car because my grandpa passed away, and he always bought her cars for her, so she was driving his truck around and beating the crap out of it because she didn’t know how to drive a long truck. So it was really nice to give her a new car and just see the smile on her face. And yeah, that was something I’ll never forget, was giving my grandma the car.”
New Music On The Way In 2025
Zimmerman’s “Holding On” follows previously released tracks, “Holy Smokes,” and “New To Country,” as well as his Religiously. The Album, which dropped in May 2023. The singer/songwriter is currently working on new music and vows to release it next year.
“I’ve been in the studio working on ALOT of new music this year 👀,” Zimmerman recently wrote on Instagram. “SO Y’ALL GET READY CAUSE IT’S ALL COMING IN 2025.”
For more information, visit Bailey Zimmerman’s official website.
