Walker Hayes made the whole world sing (and dance) when he dropped “Fancy Like” in 2021. The earworm hit that name checks Applebee’s, Wendy’s, and Tesla became ubiquitous on the radio and gained even more attention when it was used in an Applebee’s commercial.
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It all started with a video of Hayes and his teenage daughter Lela doing an original dance on TikTok. The video quickly went viral, inspiring many others to offer their take—from nurses in a hospital to Shaquille O’Neal making a cameo in a fan’s video in front of Applebee’s. The song launched Hayes to No. 1 on both the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, as well as the Top 5 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. In 2023, Hayes gave the track a holiday makeover with “Fancy Like Christmas.” Below, the singer discusses the ongoing impact and legacy of “Fancy Like.”
[RELATED: Walker Hayes on Having “More Fun” Writing “Fancy Like Christmas”]
“The Whole World Did the Dance”
“‘Fancy Like,’ it’s such a miraculous song I don’t take for granted. I was happy to be in the room when we wrote it and it’s a fun song,” Hayes said. “A lot of writers don’t get the opportunity to taste what that song has done. It’s a miracle when a song does that, and what I mean by that is I’ve heard sad stories. A mom told me one time that her and her daughter were in a car accident and the last memory she had of her daughter was them having so much fun listening to that song and laughing. There’s the dark, beautiful, sentimental memories that come along with a song, even though it’s so happy.
“The whole world did the dance,” he continued. “I get to look at my daughter for the rest of our life and go, ‘Look at what the Lord allowed us to be a part of.’ The whole world did this dance with us. They stopped for a minute and dads danced with their daughters all over the world. As I see this Christmas song taking off, I wonder which one will be around in 50 years, or will they neither. I suspect this Christmas version will have a long life. I think people are going to put it in their season and bring it out each year. It’s definitely changed my career. I’ll definitely have work to do every Christmas because of this version.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
