Bailey Zimmerman Talks Inspiring Hope with 'Holding On' — and the CMA Award Nom That Left Him 'Speechless' (Exclusive)

Bailey Zimmerman would not be where he is today without perseverance.

And as his star continues to rise, the CMAs Best New Artist nominee wants to inspire hope in listeners with his new song, "Holding On."

“I really hope it just gets people through something,” Zimmerman tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I do this to connect with people and show people that they’re not alone and that they can get through anything.”

While Zimmerman’s 5-time platinum hit “Rock and a Hard Place” took “months and months of production,” the singer finished recording "Holding On" — written by his friend Blake Whiten and producer Austin Shawn — in just a few days.

"We were about to put out a different song, and then I heard ['Holding On'] the weekend before," he says. "I was like, 'No, we're not doing any of that. This is the song.'"

It's taken years of hustle for him to get here.

Out of high school, Zimmerman built gas pipelines and posted videos on “trucktok.” He and his brother started building trucks together with the intent of opening a shop, but when he got bored waiting for parts for his first truck, he recorded himself singing Black Stone Cherry's "Stay."

In 2020 he posted a TikTok of a song he wrote with his friend Gavin Lucas, and it went viral. He quit his job the next day to pursue music.

Since then, Zimmerman has released the biggest streaming country debut album at the time of its release, had multiple platinum singles and sold out a headline tour.

“The whole point of 'Holding On' is you won’t ever get there if you quit,” he said. “It might take a few failures… but one time you’re not going to, and it’s going to change a lot.” 

Zimmerman is also nominated for Best New Artist at the CMA Awards, an honor he says left him “speechless.” 

“I was so scared coming into Nashville because I had just started singing, and I know how hard people work and how long people work to get where I’ve gotten to be at,” he said. “To have country music wrap its arm around me… Whether I win or not, whatever, but to just be there and be recognized, get to hang out with guys that I have looked up to my whole life, listened to my whole life, you can’t get better than that.”

The singer says his motivation in music is to tell his stories and that he's found solace in his songs alongside his listeners.

“At 18, I was carrying all this weight and all this stuff, and now it feels like I wake up every day, and I get it all off my chest in my songs,” he says. “I feel like that’s what it does for other people too, is it gets the weight off for a little bit when you can scream those words that you’ve been feeling.”

Zimmerman is set to perform at Concert For Carolina, a benefit concert headlined by Luke Combs and Eric Church to support Hurricane Helene relief in the Carolina area and across the Southeast on Oct. 26.

“That’s kind of plan No. 1. Go play that, get a lot of money made, donate it… and also bringing people together,” he says. “Music has always brought people together and healed people.”

Also in Zimmerman’s current plans are training his new puppy, Pie, to be able to go on future tours with him and his other dog, Marley.

After getting Pie down the road from a truck show, Zimmerman realized she had parvovirus and rushed her to the vet while calling the other new owners to save the other dogs.

Luckily, he caught the virus in time to save Pie, who is named after his Marley's love for sweet treats. Now healthy, “Pie is [hopefully] coming on the road with us,” he says.