‘Such a great platform’: Zach McPhee talks SiriusXM Top of the Country

It’s now country singer Zach McPhee’s opportunity to give back, a few months after being named the SiriusXM Top of the Country winner.

“The whole program just gives you such a great platform to accelerate your career,” he told CTV News.

The competition is a launching pad for many successful Canadian country musicians, among them five-time Juno nominee Josh Ross, and it’s seeking entries for the 2025 contest.

And McPhee is stepping forward and acknowledging what the program has done for him.

McPhee took a circuitous route to music.

He began pursuing a career in the industry after several years in hockey, with the Everett Silvertips and Kootenay Ice of the WHL and in Canadian university hockey with Regina.

He learned to sing as a child in speech therapy.

“Every time you sing, there’s a lot of fluidity in it, and you don’t get stuck on words,” he said.

McPhee is off to Nashville soon, where he’ll work on new songs with fellow musicians and make key industry contacts to help advance his career.