Now is the time of year when pretty much every artist starts teasing new releases and building hype for what many consider the peak season: summer country. So far, artists like Ella Langley, Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, and Jason Aldean, just to name a few, are preparing to roll out upcoming projects that will trickle into what becomes the soundtrack for the latter half of 2026.
With that being said, oftentimes, as new content continues to flood the radar, we tend to forget about previous releases. A prime example is Zach Top’s 2025 album Ain’t In It For My Health. Leading up to its release, the project generated major anticipation, with singles like “Good Times & Tan Lines” further cementing Top as a fan favorite.
Since then, the album’s most popular track, “South Of Sanity,” has surpassed over 35 million streams on Spotify. The project was also recently nominated in the inaugural Best Traditional Country Album category at the 68th Grammy Awards. Still, despite being released less than five months ago on August 29, 2025, it feels as though this standout album has already fallen victim to recency bias.
So, let’s treat Ain’t In It For My Health as if it’s being released all over again and revisit some of the album’s best tracks that deserve WAY more recognition.
“Livin’ A Lie”
It feels only appropriate to start with the song that is so obviously the counterpart to Top’s breakout hit from Cold Beer & Country Music, “I Never Lie.” The track that helped launch his career, and has since racked up more than 290 million streams on Spotify, is an ironic breakup earworm built on denial.
Its follow-up from Top’s newest album, “Livin’ A Lie,” mirrors those same false claims but with a much more honest spin. Framed as a sorrowful heartbreak diary, Top admits that he does, in fact, know how it “feels to hurt,” delivering the emotion plainly through lines like “still drink cold beer on Saturday nights” and “I make ’em all think I’m alright, but I’m dyin’ one day at a time.” The track never received the attention it deserved, especially given its clever, full-circle connection to “I Never Lie.”
“Flip–Flop”
Contrary to clips of the song going viral pre-album drop, “Flip–Flop” did not get its well-deserved projected love come the official release. That may be partly due to its late-August release, which missed the peak beach-season window, as well as the heavy promotion of fellow summer-ready anthem “Good Times & Tan Lines” as the lead single.
Insanely enough, Flip–Flop ranks among the album’s lesser-streamed tracks, with barely 3 million streams on Spotify. However, the same goes for when fans first heard Top preview the song live months prior; its lyrics are irresistibly catchy and clever. This is one of the songs that I think is destined for a revival in a few months, post Labor Day weekend. As soon as the coolers and beach chairs start getting whipped out, this song will be back at the top of everyone’s playlist.
“Splitsville”
This song is the ultimate revival of Joe Nichol’s “Brokenheartsville,” and that alone should make it a must-listen. However, fans continue to sleep on this track compared to some of the other hits off the album. Coming in with just 4 million streams, “Splitsville” is one of the most downright catchy choruses with tropical buffet undertones. This song is also a prime example of how a steel guitar can genuinely elevate anything. If you haven’t listened to this song in a while (or it’s your first time being blessed with hearing it), you’ll find yourself walking around the house exclaiming, “Welcome to splitsvilleeee” soon enough.
“Like I Want You”
This toe-tapping, rhythmic track is one that might have slipped under the radar if you didn’t listen to Top’s album in full. “Like I Want You” never got the social media attention of some of the album’s other songs that briefly trended on TikTok. With just 2.3 million streams, it’s a perfect example of the country-boy themes woven throughout Ain’t In It For My Health.
On the surface, the song is a staple of Top’s traditionalist sound, complete with catchy lyrics and a honky-tonk jukebox melody. The charm of the track where Top pleads for his love to “want me like I want you” is its ambiguity. Is he singing to a lover, or to a beer in hand? I’ve always seen it as an alcoholic’s love poem to a drink (along the lines of Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup”). But really, the vague lyrics leave it open to interpretation and applicable to anything you’re obsessed with.
“I Know A Place”
Sure, “I Know A Place” isn’t exactly unknown, considering it blew up on social media thanks to its hopeless romantic message. However, for anyone who only knows Top from “Bad Luck” or “I Never Lie,” they may have only caught a 15-second TikTok snippet rather than experiencing the full track. And trust me, you need to listen to all 3 minutes and 16 seconds of this song for pure island-getaway bliss.
Whenever people talk about the cliché “close your eyes and imagine your happy place,” I’m pretty sure this should be the soundtrack. It’s just too good to leave off this list. Until it cracks the top three most-streamed tracks, it remains underrated.