Zach Bryan had a massive hit on his hands when he released The Great American Bar Scene earlier this year. The collection peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and topped the publication’s Top Country Albums chart for two weeks. According to streaming numbers “28” was the most popular song from the album, garnering more than 150 million streams.
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In the past, Bryan told fans that Boston, the puppy he shared with his ex-girlfriend Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia inspired the song after it went through an emergency surgery. Now, however, he is telling a different story altogether.
Recently, Bryan took his Quittin’ Time Tour to Portland, Oregon for a two-night stand at the Moda Center. During one of the shows, he introduced “28” with a story about bowling with the boys. “I wrote this song because one night, me and all the boys were bowling in New York City. And I felt lucky to have each and every one of them and I was so glad to be alive,” he said. “Song called ’28,’” he added before starting the song.
Zach Bryan Changes the Story Behind “28”
Zach Bryan told fans the story behind the song during a Q&A on Twitter shortly after releasing the album. “Boston, our puppy, was going into surgery, and I told Briana, ‘How lucky are we?’ to have had a puppy so beautiful. And she came out just fine,” he tweeted. “I wrote [“28”] the next day because I felt like the luckiest man on the planet,” he added.
Additionally, Brianna and a few of her friends have matching tattoos that read “How lucky are we?” So, some fans believe that she had more to do with inspiring the song than Bryan let on. Then, there are the opening lyrics that sound like an ode to a happy romantic relationship.
However, since the release of The Great American Bar Scene, he and LaPaglia went through a very public breakup. She took to her podcast to claim that Bryan was mentally and emotionally abusive, cheated on her repeatedly, and other things. Bryan has not replied to her accusations publicly. However, it seems with this new origin story for “28” he is trying to distance himself from the relationship.
Judge for yourself. Listen to the song below and see if it sounds like a song inspired by a romantic relationship or a night out with the boys.
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