CES 2026 is in full swing in Las Vegas, with the show floor open to the public after a packed couple of days occupied by press conferences from the likes of Nvidia, Sony, and AMD and previews from Sunday’s Unveiled event. 

Nothing short of a powerhouse. It’s hard to imagine a more fascinating artist in today’s country music landscape than Zach Bryan. In a six-year span, the “Something in the Orange” singer has gone from recording his debut album, DeAnn, in a Florida Airbnb and scoring viral hits online to selling his publishing catalog for a staggering $350 million and, most notably, setting the record for highest-attended concert in U.S. history when he performed to a crowd of 112,408 at Michigan Stadium. Though there’s no doubt that artists such as Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson were the forefathers of the current independent and alternative country renaissance we’ve currently been experiencing over the better half of a decade, there’s no denying that Bryan was the one who blew the door off the hinges, so to speak. While Childers and Simpson, and in a way, Chris Stapleton, paved the way for the death of some of the worst country music had to offer in the genre in late 2010s, the Oklahoma native quite clearly paved the path for a more folk-inspired, songwriting-centric style of country that had been severely lacking over the past decade or so. That’s not even mentioning how his superstar status, in turn, has benefited the likes of incredible acts such as the Turnpike Troubadours, who have gained a massive boost in popularity thanks to not only being referenced in songs such as “East Side of Sorrow” but also opening for the “I Remember Everything” singer during massive concerts. Of course, it would be remiss not to talk about the boatload of controversy he’s gotten in over the past few years. Beyond his infamous arrest in 2023, 2025 came with a whole lot of hiccups for Bryan. Even ignoring all of the aftereffects of his messy, public breakup with Barstool’s Brianna Chickenfry from 2024 that still lingers today, the 29-year-old singer/songwriter managed to find himself in the crosshairs of plenty throughout 2025. Beyond stirring up criticism after telling a 14-year-old fan to “GOMD” (get off my d*ck) after failing to meet with fans after his second of three nights at MetLife Stadium, he would also attempt to fight Gavin Adcock at Born & Raised Festival after months of prodding from the “Never Call Again” singer. Ultimately, Bryan is one of those artists you truly either love or hate. To some, he’s a hero who brought back an emphasis on songwriting to the country and folk scene. To others, he’s a villain who not only has a troubled past when it comes to his highly-publicized breakups but also creates formulaic music that leans on similar themes throughout each release. Regardless of your thoughts on Bryan as an artist and person, you simply cannot deny his popularity and further influence on this next generation of young country/folk stars. Today, he released his sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top. While there’s certainly a whole lot to discuss about the album, from his seeming shot at Brianna Chickenfry on the gut-wrenching “Skin” to “Bad News,” his supposed “anti-ICE” song, I thought it’s the perfect time to take a look at his biggest hits to date. It’s no secret that Bryan has been an absolute giant in the streaming age. Having the second-most monthly listeners on Spotify among country artists behind Morgan Wallen with 24.3 million, he is also one of just three artists (along with Wallen and Luke Combs) to have two separate country songs cross the billion stream threshold. Additionally, the “Sun to Me” singer already stands as the seventh-highest-selling country artist of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Selling 90 million units to date, his 2022 smash hit, “Something in the Orange,” is one of only 23 country songs in history to sell over 10 million units and achieve Diamond status. With all that being said, here are Bryan’s Top 20 most-streamed songs on Spotify, along with the total streaming numbers from each of his five studio albums and three EPs. Of course, time is a factor when it comes to streaming, meaning that the longer a song or album has been out, the more opportunities you have to stream it. But nevertheless, there are quite a few surprises in here. Top-Streamed Songs “Something in the Orange” Total Streams: 1.47 billion RIAA Certification: 12x platinum (Diamond) “I Remember Everything” (feat. Kacey Musgraves)  Total Streams: 1.31 billion RIAA Certification: 9x platinum “Heading South” Total Streams: 906 million RIAA Certification: 5x platinum “Pink Skies” Total Streams: 668 million RIAA Certification: N/A “Sun to Me” Total Streams: 603 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Oklahoma Smokeshow” Total Streams: 525 million RIAA Certification: 4x platinum “Burn, Burn, Burn” Total Streams: 508 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Dawns” (feat. Maggie Rogers) Total Streams: 427 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Revival” Total Streams: 417 million RIAA Certification: 2x platinum “Hey Driver” (feat. The War and Treaty) Total Streams: 406 million RIAA Certification: 3x platinum “Nine Ball” Total Streams: 359 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum “Spotless” (feat. The Lumineers) Total Streams: 351 million RIAA Certification: 2x platinum “Motorcycle Drive By” Total Streams: 328 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum “28″ Total Streams: 326 million RIAA Certification: N/A “From Austin” Total Streams: 314 million RIAA Certification: 2x platinum “Tourniquet” Total Streams: 286 million RIAA Certification: 2x platinum “The Good I’ll Do” Total Streams: 267 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum “Sarah’s Place” (feat. Noah Kahan) Total Streams: 266 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum “Condemned” Total Streams: 262 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum “Heavy Eyes” Total Streams: 198 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum Top-Streamed Albums Zach Bryan Total Streams: 3.45 billion RIAA Certification: 1x platinum American Heartbreak Total Streams: 2.92 billion RIAA Certification: 5x platinum The Great American Bar Scene Total Streams: 1.15 billion RIAA Certification: 1x platinum DeAnn Total Streams: 1.03 billion RIAA Certification: Gold Elisabeth Total Streams: 932 million RIAA Certification: 1x platinum Top-Streamed EPs Summertime Blues Total Streams: 1.37 billion RIAA Certification: 1x platinum Boys of Faith Total Streams: 882 million RIAA Certification: Gold Quiet, Heavy Dreams Total Streams: 640 million RIAA Certification: Gold The post From “Heading South” To ‘With Heaven On Top’ – The Top 20 Songs That’ve Defined Zach Bryan’s Explosive Career first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

We’re rocketing towards some truly terrifying times in music. In recent years, AI-generated music has become more and more commonplace, and creating it has become more and more accessible. Music created with artificial intelligence is already running rampant on social media platforms like TikTok, and as AI continues to advance, music made solely by machines is becoming harder to distinguish from songs made by real people. This might seem like a mundane issues, but there’s a lot of risk involved. A multitude of artists have already spoken out about AI-generated songs, with many showing concern that the technology can copy their own voices. The state of Tennessee even passed legislation to prevent “deep fake” songs and music creation from spreading. Though that’s certainly a step in the right direction, there’s not a whole lot that can be done with AI being used to create original music (rather than copying the voices of already established artists). And there’s not really a barrier of entry for AI-music… thanks to platforms like Suno, anyone with a computer can do it. That very thing actually sparked a lot of controversy back in November of last year. Surely you heard about the AI-generated song that topped the Billboard Country Digital Songs Sales chart, right? Whiskey Riff reported that a track titled “Walk My Walk,” by an artist called Breaking Rust, had seemingly fooled the masses. It was a complete AI creation all around – from the artist, to the music video, to the song itself. “Walk My Walk” is actually credited to someone named Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, who has seemingly also created another “artist” called Defbeatsai, which posts nothing but raunchy AI-generated songs. At least when it comes to the Instagram page for Defbeatsai, it’s disclosed that the songs are AI-generated (I mean, they aren’t hiding it… “AI” is at the end of the name). When it comes to the social media for Breaking Rust, that “artist” is described as “Outlaw Country” and “Soul Music for Us.” There’s no mention that Breaking Rust’s music has been created entirely by AI, and “Walk My Walk” in particular is the one that rocketed to the top of the digital sales chart. It became one of the top stories in not just country music, but all of music just a couple of months ago. And I’m afraid that was just the start of a growing, concerning trend that we could see for years to come. Why do I say that? Because it certainly seems like a whole lot of people were fooled into thinking some real people were behind that music… all for it to just be AI. Now, there’s even a study that backs that fear up. Deezer, an Ipsos and music app, surveyed 9,000 different people across eight countries to see if they could successfully identify an AI track. In a shocking turn of events, 97% of the people that were surveyed actually misidentified the AI track when directly comparing it to a song that was made by a real artist, according to Deezer. Unfortunately, that’s not hard to believe. I see people all the time fooling for AI-generated news on Facebook (I’m sure you’ve seen that too), and AI music getting better and better as time goes on. That’s kind of how artificial intelligence works. It continues to learn and build off what it has already done. And let’s be honest, the easiest way to spot AI music is by the terrible cover art or social media presence when you finally look up the band.. but just hearing by ear? I’m not sure I’d be able to tell the difference either. Considering that AI is also still in it’s infant stages (in the grand scheme of things), it’s only going to get more and more advanced. That could translate into music that really is indistinguishable from songs made by real people, and if almost 100% of people are already falling for what’s out there now… that’s scary to think about.The post New Study Reveals Frightening Reality Of AI Music: 97% Of People Can’t Tell The Difference first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

President Trump explained today that Trump-figure lapel pin he’s wearing today with this American flag. In short, someone gave it to him because he’s never happy. Watch below:

Check out these surprising facts about the Golden Globes, from tiny winners to heavy trophies, that have shaped Hollywood history.

Struggle is real #comedy