KING TO TOUR WITH MORGAN WALLEN IN 2026
FOR “STILL THE PROBLEM TOUR”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sony Music Nashville artist Zach John King today releases heartbreak track, “Happy For You.” Listen HERE.
Taking listeners along for the ride, King paints a vivid picture of a narrator struggling to accept that his ex-girlfriend is living the life with everything they had always discussed – the home with the picket fence, the diamond ring, a labrador retriever – but with a new man by her side.
King shared the inspiration behind the track, stating, “I wrote ‘Happy For You’ with Chris LaCorte and Justin Wilson. It’s a story about a relationship I was in that didn’t shake out the way I had hoped. I think a lot of times, we tell ourselves we’re happy for the other person and that we want the best for them. But if we’re being honest, that’s not always the truth. Sometimes the pain runs so deep, you just wish things had gone differently.”
King also wrote and released the song because he felt a lot of people could relate to the track.
“This song is about admitting that, even though the other person has moved on and is living a different life, you’re still sitting with the weight of what could have been,” King said. “One of my favorite parts of the song is the hook. It kind of tricks you for a second. It sounds like it’s going to be all positive, like, ‘Hey, I think you’re doing great, and I’m glad you’re doing well’… but then it hits with ‘I wish that I was happy for you.’ It’s brutally honest, and I think a lot of people have felt that exact feeling. I know I have. The production is stripped back and simple, and the lyrics do the heavy lifting. I’m really proud of this one.”
“Happy For You” follows the recent release of King’s track “Still Feel The Burn,” which led MusicRow Magazine to remark, “a swirling production, soft-yet-punchy percussion and piercing vocal add up to an utterly captivating sound. This guy has something here.” Listen HERE.
In 2026, King will join Morgan Wallen on the road again for Wallen’s recently announced “Still The Problem Tour.” King will also perform at Stagecoach and tour with Riley Green next year.
Pairing the reflective insight of a roots poet with the edgy intensity of raw alt-rock, Sony Music Nashville artist Zach John King is pushing country in a brand new (yet-strangely-familiar) direction – straight toward the truth, no matter where it leads. Raised in Fayetteville, Georgia and a lyricist first (with multiple generations of poets in the family), the rising star grew up old school but dreaming of escape. A fan of everything from George Jones and Otis Redding to The Police, Third Eye Blind, and Switchfoot, King fronted an indie-rock band through college before making the move to Nashville in 2021, inspired to explore his country roots as the mainstream genre expands. Whether it was through power chords and pounding drums or bare-knuckle balladry, his minimalistic country-meets-rock sound resulted in a series of independent releases before King’s 2024 breakout single, “Wannabe Cowboy.” Boasting a less-is-more indie-roots presentation, the conflicted confessional ballad stands in bold contrast to country’s chest thumping identity anthems and has so far garnered 6 million streams worldwide. The past year and a half have been a whirlwind for King, as the emerging artist was selected as one of The Nashville Briefing’s “25 Artists To Watch In 2025.” He also joined the lineup for Morgan Wallen’s “I’m The Problem Tour” as an opener last summer, an opportunity that confirms King’s “widely acknowledged status as a future star of the genre,” Holler. King has also toured with and opened for artists including Luke Bryan, Dylan Scott, Gavin Adcock, Nate Smith, ERNEST, Vincent Mason, and Bayker Blankenship. Additionally, the rising star released a new EP this spring, Slow Down, which earned praise as a project that is “sure to make fans new and old flock to the singer in droves,” Country Swag.
With new music out now, a new chapter begins, and there’s much more on tap. King will keep exploring the raw, rootsy borderlands where country and rock collide, wielding electric guitars, a smoky vocal edge and little else. For more information, visit zachjohnking.com.