Zach Top Honors Toby Keith With Stirring Acoustic Cover of ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’

Zach Top continues his rise as one of country music's brightest new stars. With his throwback sound and strong abilities on cover songs, Top has gained notice for taking some of the classic tunes and putting a new spin on them, and at the same time, creating a catalog for himself. His show the other night at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville displayed what all of that looks like, as he took the time to do a quick acoustic version for VIP fans during soundcheck of Toby Keith's 2002 hit "Who's Your Daddy?"

Top's version captured his range and depth of emotion through a minimalist interpretation, retaining a sense of humor and swagger from the original while infusing it with his own sincerity. The video of Top's performance got wide exposure, and many were anxious to weigh in on the authenticity and honoring of Keith's original. Fans and critics alike noted Top's ability to bridge generations of country music, reinforcing his growing image as a “savior of country music.”

“Who's Your Daddy?” first appeared on Keith's 2002 album Unleashed, where it topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over 20 years later, the track remains meaningful to many music fans. The song received a gold certification from the RIAA in August 2023. Keith's legacy saw another resurgence in the last few years with viral performances and tributes, like Megan Moroney's 2024 EP, where she covered the song and reinvigorated it for an even younger audience.

And according to Keith, “It's everything that I ever wanted to put into a song, it's got the groove, it's got the attitude, it's humorous, it's about a sugar daddy. And it's got a real funny little Elvis thing in it, like ‘Viva Las Vegas'… it's got a New Orleans piano in it. You should have seen the band light up when we cut that, they didn't want to quit that groove, it was just an unbelievable groove.”

Zach Top's tour in the United States and Canada will continue through December 2025 and will consistently showcase his commitment to country music's roots. His performances and reverent cover songs not only reveal his versatility but also the growing importance he holds in preserving and revitalizing traditional sounds for audiences today.