Bailey Zimmerman Opens Up About Luke Combs, Kid Laroi, and the Power of Organic Collaborations
- All Country News
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
Bailey Zimmerman has never been one to chase connections for clout. On Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly, the rising country star revealed that when it comes to collaborations, his guiding principle is simple: they have to be real.
Zimmerman’s highly anticipated album Different Night Same Rodeo features some heavyweight partnerships, including Luke Combs, Diplo, and Kid Laroi. But for him, the stories behind those pairings matter just as much as the songs themselves.
Take “Backup Plan” with Luke Combs. Zimmerman laughs when he says he “manifested” it, but that’s not far from the truth. The track began as a simple voice memo from songwriter Tucker Beathard. The first time Bailey heard it, one name immediately came to mind: Luke Combs.
“I thought, man, you know who would sound insane on this? Luke Combs,” Zimmerman recalled. The only problem? He didn’t have Luke’s number and had no intention of cold-DMing a superstar. Instead, fate did the heavy lifting.
An invitation to Combs’ “Concert for Carolina” finally brought them together. The two bonded instantly, rehearsed side by side, and by the end of the night, Combs had handed Zimmerman his number. “I just freaking like this guy a lot,” Zimmerman said. “We’re both goofy goobers, we think the same way about life, and his family is amazing.”
Still, Zimmerman admits he agonized over sending the ask. “I almost sent the text so many times, and then finally I was like, okay, send. I told him, ‘Hey man, I know you’re probably busy being Luke Combs, superstar dad, husband, all of it… but if you wanted to do this song with me, I think you’d crush it. No pressure.’”
Then came the longest month of his life. When Combs finally replied, it was worth the wait: “Yeah, I’m in. This song rips.” Zimmerman says he “threw his phone” in excitement. The two later debuted the track at Stagecoach on Combs’ own set, a moment Zimmerman says proved Luke’s generosity. “He’s a real friend. He didn’t have to do that.”
That same sense of authenticity fueled his unexpected collaboration with Kid Laroi. What started as a simple dinner in Nashville turned into a night out on Broadway and the start of a friendship. “I was so nervous,” Zimmerman admitted. “But as soon as he sat down, I could tell we were alike. Our beliefs were the same, our energy matched.”
The two swapped compliments, swapped stories, and eventually swapped songs. When Zimmerman played a rough demo of what would become their track, Laroi was hooked. “‘Play it again. Play it again. Play it again,’” Zimmerman recalled with a grin. “Finally I was like, dude, do you just want to get on the song? And he was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I would love that.’”
For Zimmerman, these moments prove that the best collaborations aren’t born in boardrooms, they’re sparked in real connection. “It’s art,” he said. “Why would you collaborate on art if you don’t actually know the person? It has to be organic. It has to be a friendship.”
It’s a philosophy that seems to be working. With his debut album already shaping up as one of the year’s most star-studded and most talked-about Bailey Zimmerman is reminding country music fans that sometimes the secret to success is just being yourself, goofy goober and all.
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