Walker Hayes scores No 1 with viral ‘Fancy Like’

Track tops Billboard Hot Country Songs chart

Within a month, Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while simultaneously topping the country streaming and sales chart. The Monument Records recording artist was added on SiriusXM’s “The Highway” on June 9th and shared via TikTok on June 13th via a juggernaut of a dance he and daughter Lela choreographed. That video boasts over 19.2 million views on the app with over 202.5K fan videos adopting the song TODAY Show calls “song of the summer.”

“Fancy Like” is from his recent Country Stuff EP, and also celebrates No. 1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Hot 30 Weekend Countdown this week.

Written in response to a fan presuming Hayes and his family of eight’s lifestyle was more desirable than their own after having some success as an entertainer, the songwriter set out to debunk any misconceptions. “This last year really humbled us all and it was an equalizer in a lot of ways. I wanted to take this moment write about my family and our life together as we have the same dreams and goals as everyone else: and that’s to spend time doing what we love with people we love.

“There’s no pretentiousness there,” Hayes shares with CMT.com. “When you get to be that honest and the public reacts, it’s a real magical thing. And the dances, that’s just me being a dad. I mean, that’s just how we roll around here.”

The Mobile, AL native helped the hosts of NBC’s TODAY Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager launch their TikTok account and film their very first video, dancing to “Fancy Like” as Hayes performed it acoustically.

Written with Cameron Bartolini, Shane Stevens and Josh Jenkins, Hayes shared via YouTube, “On my socials, I got a lot of people who watch me and my kids and my wife at home and they’re like, ‘Man, we also eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch,’ or ‘We love Sonic, too.’ And I think sometimes they get this impression that our life is fancier than theirs for some reason, so I guess ‘Fancy Like’ was my response to that, like, ‘Nah, we’re pretty normal, average Joe people.’”

His six-song Country Stuff EP, features collaborations with Jake Owen, Carly Pearce and Lori McKenna, and displays the full range of Hayes’ creativity.

Country Stuff is a body of work that means a lot to me, because it shows all of who I am,” shares Hayes. “I’m not in the same mood or headspace every day – some days it’s all about fun, some days are harder – but I think it’s ok to share all of that, and that’s what I hope Country Stuff does.”

Hayes’ debut album boom., co-produced by multi-GRAMMY Award-winning producer and songwriter Shane McAnally, includes the RIAA certified, 2x Platinum, Top 10 hit “You Broke Up with Me.”

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com