Zach Bryan is back to releasing new music after his split from Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia — and the dramatic diss track it inspired.
The 28-year-old country artist dropped “This World’s a Giant” on Thursday, November 7, embracing the solemn acoustic sound his fans have come to know and love. “I don’t have the words yet / I’ll smoke a cigarette and know she’ll smell it on my breath,” he sings. “I say I want kids / Even though I can’t quit the things that make me childish.”
The verse continues, “But it ain’t all bad, the windows are cracked / I came down to hear you laughin’ in the kitchen, babe / Let’s pour some wine, there’s still a little timе / And maybe a little bit left in mе to save.”
Elsewhere in the tune, Bryan sings, “Be still, be quiet, the world’s a giant / I ain’t ever had myself a David’s heart / I’ll say sorry to God for all the trouble I caused / Maybe that’s a good place for me to start.”
Bryan teased the new release via his Instagram Story on Wednesday, November 6. “Worlds been a bit heavy lately, new music tonight,” he wrote.
The song was initially previewed via social media back in January, months before his split from LaPaglia, 25. Bryan announced on October 22 that the pair called it quits after more than a year of dating.
“Brianna and me have broken up with eachother [sic] and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that I’ll always thank her,” he wrote. “I’ve had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go out different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.”
LaPaglia claimed later that day that she was “blindsided” when the musician made the breakup public.
“I wanted to heal privately and I didn’t even know that he was going to post that,” she said in an emotional YouTube video. “We broke up yesterday, so I wasn’t ready to do anything publicly. … I wanted to just be hurt for a week and lay in bed.”
LaPaglia took a brief break from social media in the wake of the pair’s split. She revealed on October 30 that she was stepping away from her “BFFs” podcast, which she cohosts with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards, in order to “put my mental health first.”
Portnoy, 47, wasted no time defending his cohost following her breakup. During a recent appearance on “The Unnamed Show,” he opened up about getting to know Bryan over the past year — and called the singer “a really immature, not confident baby.”
The jabs continued on Wednesday when Portnoy and Richards, 22, issued a “warning for the next girl” in a diss track inspired by Bryan called “Smallest Man.” (Portnoy previously tweeted a link to Taylor Swift‘s “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” after Bryan’s breakup announcement, writing, “Dedicating this to @BChickenfry.”)
In the music video for their song, Portnoy and Richards dressed as cops and pulled over a man resembling Bryan who was driving a pickup truck. The pair call Bryan a “liar” and a “douchebag,” even referencing some of his most popular songs, from “Revival” to “I Remember Everything.”
“This ain’t a subtweet, I ain’t coming subliminal, you’re great at being country without a second syllable,” Richards sings. “My fist plus your face, simple addition / The way you did her wrong, man is sickening.”
The song quickly went viral but was removed from YouTube and Spotify due to copyright. LaPaglia hinted via her Instagram Story on Wednesday that fans would be able to watch the music video again soon — and threw shade at Bryan in the process.
“Worlds been pretty heavy for the past year,” she wrote, referencing Bryan’s own Instagram Story caption despite claiming she was blocked. “Rereleasing on all platforms at midnight. Back on YouTube now.”
