Bailey Zimmerman may have waited for a while before sending “Religiously” to country radio, but he shares that the song’s long been in the can for him.
“I found that song three or four weeks into being a country artist,” Bailey recounts to ABC Audio. “I had just started singing and my manager — I’d signed with them two days before this — he sent me a song and it was called ‘Religiously,’ but it was like a trap beat version. It was like this pop, crazy thing. But I loved the melody and I loved the lyrics, but I needed to change the stuff.”
Bailey’s “Religiously” is far from a pop- or trap beat-driven song. The song finds Bailey lamenting a painful breakup over country and rock production elements, courtesy in part of Joel Bruyere from Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch.
“I go into the studio with Joel Bruyere of Thousand Foot Krutch, and we produce the song out with dobro and mando and real-life drums, acoustic guitar,” says Bailey, before detailing the vision he shared with his co-manager soon after.
“When we got [the recording of “Religiously”] back two days later, I called Chief [Zaruk] and I was like, ‘Hey, I’ve only been an artist for a month or two months. But if we ever make it to where I can have a full album out, this song is going to be ‘Religiously’ and my album will be called Religiously. The Album. That’s what I’m going to do,” recalls the rising star.
And that indeed is what he’s done with his acclaimed 16-track debut album, Religiously. The Album., out now.
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