NEW YORK (AP) — His is a Cinderella story.

Before the big tours and country music award nominations, Bailey Zimmerman was growing up in the small town of Louisville, Illinois, working at the local meat processing plant and laying gas pipeline. Then, in 2020, he decided to upload videos of himself singing to social media — Black Stone Cherry's “Stay,” and, later, an original.

He quickly garnered a fan base on TikTok. It wasn't overnight, but it was fast. Soon, he inked a deal with Warner Music Nashville and released his debut full-length, 2023's “Religiously. The Album.” It peaked at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Now comes Friday, when he follows it up with a sophomore offering, “Different

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