Zach McPhee Wins 2024 SiriusXM Top of the Country Competition

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SiriusXM’s Top of the Country has crowned its 2024 winner: Zach McPhee.

The Okanagan, B.C. singer-songwriter won Canada’s preeminent emerging country artist search last week at Country Music Week in Edmonton, and it’s already opening doors for him. This week, RLive, the management division of Boots and Hearts festival promoter Republic Live, announced they were signing him.

For McPhee, the Top of the Country journey has given him so much valuable experience that it’s almost hard to measure.

“From where I started in this competition to where I am now, I feel like I'm a completely different artist," he says. “I'm so much more comfortable on stage, and being able to deep dive into the industry, now I really understand what it takes to be a pro artist. It’s such an amazing platform that gives artists a chance to be heard.”

Top of the Country is an embodiment of the support SiriusXM has provided for Canadian artists for nearly two decades. As part of the process from the first coast-to-coast talent callout to the public vote and final competition, the artists have been given unique mentorship, showcase and industry experience opportunities.

“Championing artists and supporting their growth is at the core of SiriusXM values, and this competition is the pinnacle of our efforts in country music in Canada," says Michelle Mearns, Vice President of Programming and Operations at SiriusXM Canada.

Zach McPhee is still early in his public career, but country has been in his blood since he was young. As a child, he attended speech therapy and singing was used as a technique. He’s been a hockey player his whole life, but decided to start recording and releasing music publicly just last year. Top of the Country has accelerated the whole process.

McPhee gushes about his experience playing at the major country festival Lasso Montreal and at the spotlight stage at CMA Fest. That was his very first time visiting Nashville, where he also participated in a songwriting bootcamp. The performances marked some of his first full-band shows.

Throughout the process, he says, he learned a valuable lesson that fits the authentic and personal outlook that makes him stand out in the first place.

“Talking to people who have been involved in industry for so long, it kept coming back to the number one thing: making sure you're staying true to yourself,” he says. “That was so cool to hear, because at the end of the day, I believe that people when they see you perform something and they know you believe in it, it'll kind of sell itself.”

That comes through in his live performance video of “Remind Me Again,” which he recorded as part of Top of the Country in Vancouver. You can see and hear his relatable conviction as he sings the lovelorn lyrics.McPhee recorded the song in March, only a week before he and his partner were expecting their first born child.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking to leave home that close to our baby’s due date, but everything played out great,” he says.

His baby was a month old when he got the call from SiriusXM telling him he had been selected as one of three finalists alongside Trudy and Robert Adam, who both won $10,000 as runners-up. That came after public voting and stiff competition, and when it was all said and done McPhee had won $25,000 and some unforgettable experiences.

“It's a life-changing program,” says McPhee. “I'll forever be very, very grateful and thankful.”