Rising country music star Bailey Zimmerman has issued an apology after a viral performance in Mexico where intoxication led to an off-key rendition of his hits, acknowledging he failed to deliver the show his fans deserved. The 24-year-old “Rock and a Hard Place” singer addressed the drunken incident in an Instagram video three days after his January 18 appearance at Luke Bryan‘s Crash My Playa festival in Cancรบn, where social media captured his notably impaired performance.
“I’d like to talk about something that’s been eating me alive. Last weekend, down in Cancรบn, Mexico, I’m sure everybody’s seen the videos of me playing absolutely awful and singing absolutely awful and I feel like you guys deserve an explanation from me because you’ve had my back through the highs and lows and through every mistake,” Zimmerman stated in his video message.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The young performer took full responsibility for his actions, explaining that his decision to drink before the show proved to be a serious error in judgment. “I got up on stage, and I was too drunk to play. And I sang awful, I played awful,” he admitted. “Nobody got the show that they wanted or paid for. And I’m disappointed in myself.”
The incident, which featured Zimmerman performing shirtless in swim trunks and at one point jumping from the stage, quickly spread across social media platforms. However, the evening wasn’t a total loss, as veteran country star Luke Bryan later invited Zimmerman back to the stage for a redemptive moment, performing a cover of Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll.” During that performance, Bryan playfully attributed Zimmerman’s state to his mother LeClaire, telling the crowd, “My mother got him drunk today.”
In his apologetic message, Zimmerman emphasized his upbringing’s influence on his decision to address the situation directly. “I was always raised up to hit my problems head-on and never to lie and always be truthful and honest โ even when you’re embarrassed,” he said.
The singer’s candid acknowledgment of his misstep garnered support from fellow country artists, including Chase Rice, who commented on the post, “Been there dude. Learn from it and move on, proud of you for owning it, now go be the star you are.”
Looking ahead, Zimmerman expressed his commitment to preventing similar incidents in the future. “To anybody that’s embarrassed of meโฆ I’m embarrassed as well,” he stated. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens ever again, and I want to show you guys the person that I truly am.”
In the caption of his Instagram post, Zimmerman further acknowledged that he had “let myself down” and was “so sorry to everybody,” while promising to “be better” moving forward. The incident comes at a pivotal time in the young artist’s career, as he recently announced his New to Country Summer Tour, set to run from June through September.
His message concluded with a heartfelt plea to his supporters: “Man, growing up is interesting. It’s not an excuse, but man, thank you to everybody that’s got my back. Thank you for staying, thank you for showing me love and grace, and we’re gonna crush this year. But yeah, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I fricken’ love you guys more than anything in the world and I don’t want to lose you. So forgive me, and I love you.”