Bruce Springsteen Helps Zach Bryan With His 'Really Bad Impostor Syndrome'

Bruce Springsteen offered Zach Bryan a hand with his "imposter syndrome" when the two influential musicians recently sat down for a chat together.

The two had already met before, seeing as how Springsteen contributed to Bryan's powerful song "Sandpaper" from his latest album, "The Great American Bar Scene." Earlier this year, Springsteen even appeared onstage during one of Bryan's concerts to sing his part in the collaboration.

But even an icon as big as "The Boss" contributing to one of your songs didn't seem to cut through Bryan's admitted imposter syndrome — the feeling one gets when they're unsure about their accomplishments. It's something to which many of us can relate.

In the two musicians' conversation, part of Rolling Stone's "Musicians on Musicians" series, Bryan admits to Springsteen he has "really bad impostor syndrome," going on to gush to the 75-year-old rocker, "I never in a million years thought I would be sitting here with you. Because we would hear your songs, and they're beautiful and poetic and genius. When I play [my songs], I'm like, 'There's no way people enjoy these like they would enjoy a Dylan song or a Springsteen song or anything like that.'"

Bryan continues, "When it comes to your music, it's 'Oh, he wrote 'Born to Run.' That's what happened. He wrote 'Dancing in the Dark,' like, that's what's going on with Bruce Springsteen.' With us, it's like all these random songs that we just threw at a fan."

However, "the Boss" objects to the singer's self-deprecation, interjecting and assuring Bryan, "It's just not reading like that, man. You got 'Open the Gate,' got that 'Revival' — those are songs you're gonna be singing till you're old as me, you know?"

It's among one of the many moments the two singers and songwriters clearly connect over their shared experiences, as well as their fondness for each other.

"You gotta listen to your inner voice," Springsteen ultimately advises Bryan, suggesting that the singer's feelings could be rooted in his fast rise to fame.

As Bryan recounts in the interview, he only played his first public performance in 2019. Now, he's a seat-filling superstar just five short years later. By contrast, Springsteen's now admittedly mammoth career was somewhat of a slow burner from his start in the 1970s.

"I've really risen fast," Bryan confesses. "But now, at this point, I can't even catch my own back wind. Not in a bad way, either. It just feels like I put so much music out, people have read into it so much; but in reality, I was just writing music, and now I gotta slow down and home in."

During the chat, Bryan also commends Springsteen for his stark 1982 album, "Nebraska," which he calls his "favorite record ever written," comparing the work to Springsteen's biggest hits.

"When it comes to 'Born in the U.S.A.' [1984] and 'Nebraska,' those two things are perceived like they came from two different songwriters. It's so crazy."

See video of the interview below.

Tags

Bruce Springsteen, Zach Bryan, Music