Bailey Zimmerman

Zimmerman's parents divorced when he was 10 years old. He was raised primarily by his mother, Kristi Bailey Haerr, and has an older brother named Dalton and a younger brother named Nicholas. His father, Don Zimmerman, operated a trucking business and played country music during trips with Bailey, while his mother introduced him to rock and hair-metal artists including Kid Rock, Nickelback, Avenged Sevenfold, and Tesla.

Zimmerman has not married. He has spoken about having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), saying the condition contributes to difficulties with organization and dating. He has two dogs, Marley May and Pie, and is a longtime WWE fan.

Before pursuing music, Zimmerman worked at a meat-processing plant and later moved to West Virginia to work on a union gas pipeline. He returned to Illinois and became involved in customizing lifted trucks through his stepbrother's welding business. He promoted the work on TikTok, building an audience before he was known primarily as a singer.

While working on a customer's truck, Zimmerman posted a Snapchat video of himself singing Black Stone Cherry's "Stay." Songwriter Gavin Lucas saw the video and later collaborated with him on "Never Comin' Home." A clip of Zimmerman performing the song spread rapidly after he posted it online, receiving more than a million views within five hours in one account of the event. He released "Never Comin' Home" in February 2021, and the song later reached the top 20 of Spotify's U.S. Viral Chart.

Scott Frazier of 10th Street Entertainment discovered Zimmerman on TikTok and introduced him to Core Entertainment executives Kevin Zaruk and Simon Tikhman. Zimmerman signed with Core Entertainment in August 2021 and performed his first live show at Rock the South that same month, with a backing band he had met only three days earlier.

Zimmerman's breakout single "Fall in Love" was released in February 2022 and reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. He followed it with "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Where It Ends," both of which became major country-radio successes. He signed with Warner Music Nashville and Elektra Records before releasing the project Leave the Light On in October 2022.

Leave the Light On reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums charts. Zimmerman made his Grand Ole Opry debut in November 2022 and joined Morgan Wallen's One Night at a Time World Tour as an opening act in 2023. Josh Ross opened dates on Zimmerman's own tours, while Zimmerman also later appeared on tours with Luke Bryan and Kane Brown.

His debut studio album, Religiously. The Album., arrived in May 2023 and reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Its singles included "Fall in Love," "Rock and a Hard Place," "Religiously," and "Where It Ends," all of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. "Rock and a Hard Place" set a Billboard Hot 100 record for the longest climb by a soloist to the top 10.

Zimmerman began the next phase of his career with the 2024 single "Holy Smokes" and the song "Hell or High Water," which appeared on the soundtrack to the film Twisters. He also released "Holding On" and teased "New to Country" before announcing his second studio album.

Different Night Same Rodeo was released in August 2025. The album includes "Backup Plan" with Luke Combs, "Ashes" with Diplo, and "Lost" with The Kid LAROI. "Backup Plan" reached No. 1 on the country chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "All the Way," a collaboration with BigXthaPlug, reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Zimmerman supported the album with the New to Country Tour and announced the Different Night Same Rodeo Tour as his first arena tour. He also collaborated with Christian musician Brandon Lake on "Just Believe" and released a cover of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb."

Zimmerman is recognized for a raspy, gritty vocal style and an energetic stage presence. His music combines country with country rock and Southern rock, reflecting the contrasting musical influences he heard from his parents while growing up.

His mother played rock artists such as Tesla, Kid Rock, Nickelback, and Avenged Sevenfold, while his father played country music during long truck trips. Zimmerman began playing guitar at age nine, and his early songwriting and performances developed from that mixture of rock and country influences.