Country artist Bailey Zimmerman’s Mexico performance earlier this year made its rounds on social media, but for all the wrong reasons.
He was brutally mocked for singing off-key and knocking over the mic stand during the Crash My Playa festival in Cancun on January 18.
Days later, he issued an apology to his followers on Instagram and confessed that he was drunk during the performance, stating that he was ’embarrassed’ and wanted to be ‘truthful’ with his fans.
‘What happened was I decided to drink that day, which was a mistake, and I got up onstage and I was too drunk to play. And I sang awful, I played awful and no one got the show that they wanted and paid for,’ he said.
‘I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens again.’
Fast-forward a year later and Zimmerman, 25, has now spoken to the Daily Mail about how that 2025 mishap has ‘changed’ his life for the better – and revealed what he’s doing to ensure it never happens again, especially ahead of his upcoming tour.
Bailey Zimmerman spoke exclusively with the Daily Mail about how his drunk performance in Cancun earlier this year ‘changed’ his life. He’s pictured in November
Videos of his January 18 performance at Crash My Playa in Cancun, Mexico, went viral and afterwards he confessed to being drunk on stage. He’s seen in April 2024
‘It actually was really good for me because it’s changed my life,’ he revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail.
‘I’ve kind of grown up a lot since then and a lot more focused, and all the things that something like that will do to somebody. So yeah, life has been really good.’
The Nashville-based singer – who recently underwent a cosmetic procedure to improve his teeth – noted that life is about ‘making some mistakes’ and ‘learning’ from them, but noted that his mistakes are on a bigger scale given his fame.
‘Unfortunately, I’m in the public eye so my mistakes are pretty public,’ he added.
Since the incident, Zimmerman said he has taken a different approach to drinking – explaining that he’s now drinking in ‘moderation’ and not mixing business with pleasure.
‘I’m not saying that I don’t go out and drink beer with my friends because I love doing that and that’s time for whatever. I’m 25, having fun, but we just do it… moderation is nice,’ he revealed.
‘And I feel like you learn that when you just become more mature. You’re just like, “OK, I can still go drink beer with my friends in my hometown on a Friday night but you know you don’t get to do it at work and you don’t get to do it [at a work place].”
‘You just become more mature and you learn from your mistakes.’
The country artist posted an apology to his fans days after his show, saying, ‘I decided to drink that day, which was a mistake, and I got up onstage and I was too drunk to play’
While promoting his partnership with Raising Cane’s, Zimmerman talked about changes he’s made to his drinking habits (pictured on December 17 in Nashville)
The musician is giving back to the community ahead of his upcoming tour, Different Night Same Rodeo, which will kick off in Florida on January 30, 2026
Zimmerman’s in the midst of preparing for his upcoming tour, Different Night Same Rodeo, which will kick off in Florida on January 30, 2026.
This time around, he said he plans to make his shows ‘better’ than this past year’s and also be the best version of himself by upping his cardio at the gym.
‘This next year I’m doing my first arena tour and the stage is bigger, the crowds are bigger, everything is more on the line,’ he insisted. ‘And one thing I’ve really really been working on is just making sure I can put on a better show than last year.
‘Last year’s show was really amazing, but I really am trying to lock more in this year.
‘So I’d say that’s one of my new year’s resolutions is just really crush it in the gym and hit the cardio crazy and just be my best self for the people that support me so much.’
On December 17, Zimmerman teamed up with a Nashville Raising Cane’s to give back to the community by helping the chicken franchise donate 100 bikes to the nonprofit Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.
Zimmerman teamed up with a Nashville Raising Cane’s ahead of the holidays help donate 100 bikes to the nonprofit Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee
‘I tried Raising Cane’s in 2021/2022 in Louisiana at the original Raising Cane’s, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, this sauce is unbelievable and these chicken fingers are the craziest chicken fingers I’ve ever had,”‘ he said.
‘So I just became a big fan of Raising Cane’s and then I ended up meeting the owner and founder Todd Graves, and we just kicked it off really well.
‘He had the same morals and the same beliefs and kind of like the same as me, and he was this big role model right off the bat for me and just the way he’s done it – even his family life, his business, his friends, just the way he treats everybody.’
Zimmerman teamed up with Raising Cane’s for his first tour, The Religiously Tour, and joked about how he had ‘so much Raising Cane’s after every single show.’
The Louisville, Illinois, native gained popularity by posting original songs to TikTok in 2020. He is known for his gritty, raspy voice and blending contemporary country with rock influences.
His 2023 debut album, Religiously. The Album., was noted for having one of the biggest streaming debuts for a country album in history.
He was nominated for New Male Artist of the Year at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated for Male Video of the Year for his song, ‘Religiously,’ at the 2024 CMT Music Awards.
