Did Zach Bryan diss ex Brianna Chickenfry in new album? Here's why fans think Skin is about her

Grammy winner Zach Bryan releases his sixth album, With Heaven on Top featuring 25 tracks.

Zach Bryan is not olding back with his new album With Heaven on Top. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, 29, released his sixth studio album on Friday, January 9. Across its 25 tracks appears to reflect candidly on his past relationship with ex-girlfriend Brianna Chickenfry LaPagliaa, his life with his new wife, Samantha Leonard Bryan, and his decision to get sober late last year.

Zach Bryan releases his sixth album, With Heaven on Top, seemingly reflecting on past relationships and his new life. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP, File) (Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)

Is Zach Bryan's ‘Skin’ a diss track for his ex?

The album drop generated a buzz on social media with many questioning which tracks are for whom. Among the rumours, several users alleged that Bryan's song Skin points towards LaPaglia. A user wrote on X, “Zach Bryan’s song Skin is for sure about Chickenfry”. Another user wrote, “Yea “Skin” definitely about chickenfry”. A third use echoed the sentiment and wrote, “Not one for drama but is this about b. Chicken” on YouTube.

According to PEOPLE, on the track Skin, Bryan appears to address a former relationship, delivering some of the album's most striking imagery as he sings about taking “a blade to my old tattoos” to drain “the blood between me and you”.

The lyrics goes as, "I’m taking a blade to my own skin/And I ain’t ever touching yours again,”he sings. “How do tattoos take to your skin? Does your higher ground ever sink in? Do you love people just to win when it’s over?”

Bryan also criticizes his ex for speaking negatively about her friends, according to the song's lyrics. The lyrics are "Do you still talk s*** on all of your friends?/Need to take it all to the chin this time stone-cold sober.”

The song appears to reference LaPaglia, from whom Bryan announced split in October 2024. The podcast host has lyrics from his song ‘28’ tattooed on the back of her arm. There breakup was contentious, with Lapaglia later accusing the musician of emotional abuse and alleging that he offerd her $12 million and a house in exchange for her silence about their relationship, as reported by PEOPLE.

Zach Bryan's other songs on new album that might point to LaPaglia

Bryan has not publicly responded to LaPaglia's alleations, though his new song ‘Plastic Cigarette’ appears to allude to the relationship. In the track, he sings about meeting someone “evil” in Queens, New Yok, the same place where Bryan and LaPaglia began their relationship in June 2023after she attended his concert at Forest Hills Stadium, as reported by the outlet.

He sings, “You were collecting shells out on the bay shore, you know I was a shell before/Deep in the hands of another/My brother had told me to leave but I didn’t believe the evil beneath some people you meet out in Queens.”

The track Slicked Back also appears to reference LaPaglia, whose career as a social media personality has been built in part on sharing details of her personal life with followers online. In the songs, Bryan sings, “Used to know some folks who put it all online but you paint landscapes in the evening time,” seemingly referencing his wife, Leonard whose artwork he has shared on Instagram.

The remainder of the song serves as a tribute to is new wife, featuring a chorus that expresses his admiration and lover for her. He sings, "ou’re so cool in my living room/And when you talk trash with your hair slicked back/When I get to hell or heaven, can I bring my girl?/’Cause she likes romance, good sex, music and ruling the world.”