Nov. 14—Zeb Ross, Haywood County’s own viral clogging sensation, made a cameo appearance at the Country Music Awards in Nashville last week.
Just a few minutes into the night’s opening monologue, the opening riff of Rocky Top queued up and Ross emerged from nowhere, feet a’ flyin’.
The audience went wild as Ross caroused across the stage, showcasing his unique style that falls somewhere between clogging and breakdancing, with a bit of Elvis rubber leg thrown in. He was wearing none other than his signature turquoise polo shirt, the uniform of his hometown clogging group the J-Creek Cloggers.
“Give it up for Zeb Ross from Canton, North Carolina, for that fantastic dance performance,” hollered the evening’s emcee — none other than NFL football star Peyton Manning.
The music faded and Ross ground to halt, taking a deep, flourishing bow.
Ross has been delighting Haywood audiences with his fancy footwork and infectious smile since he was just a boy, dancing alongside his mother Kim Ross, the founder of the J-Creek Cloggers.
The rest of the world discovered Zeb Ross this summer. He took the internet by storm when a rendition of him clogging to Rocky Top became a viral sensation — with all the various renditions racking up more than 20 billion views on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Bringing Ross on stage at the Country Music Awards involved an elaborate set-up between the evening’s emcees.
“Tell me what your favorite country music song is,” country music star Luke Bryan posed to Manning.
A former Tennessee football star, Manning answered like any loyal Vols fan would.
“Well, I’m glad you asked that, because my favorite country music song is also a dance craze that’s currently sweeping the nation,” Manning said. “Hey, guys in the truck — hit it.”
Rocky Top began playing, and Ross slid onto the stage between the two stars. His moment in the spotlight lasted about 30 seconds, before Bryan — a Georgia fan — took issue with Manning’s nod to UT.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Bryan called, waving his arms and covering his ears.
Ross’ meteoric rise to fame — one that catapulted him onto the stage of the Country Music Awards in a matter of months — was all happenstance.
Back in the spring, a video of him clogging at a festival in Bryson City was posted to TikTok, and soon took on a life of its own and users began making their own renditions and mash-ups.
“When the original viral video came out, it had banjo and fiddle music,” Ross said. “Then they started putting it to hip-hop, rock n’ roll, the Nutcracker. It was interesting because even though these are different genres, the dance style goes well with the songs they’ve been choosing.”
One of the most popular? Ross jigging to The Trick Daddy rap ‘I’m a Thug.’
Zeb’s mom, Kim Ross, founded the J Creek Cloggers 13 years ago as a way to preserve and share Appalachian culture. Zeb, by default, was along for the ride since the beginning.
He ultimately has taken clogging to heights his mom could have never imagined, however.
Kim called her son’s style “a little bit of jitterbug, Charleston, hip-hop and hillbilly crip dancing.” That, along with his infectious smile, is what she thinks has led to the group’s newfound fame.