There are songs that just seem to scream “fancy like dance”—they’re the ones that beckon us to grab our phones, open TikTok, and show off our moves to a song that has jumped so far up the charts you can barely see its name. Country singer Walker Hayes’ earworm “Fancy Like” is that kind of track. The song’s success is a perfect example of how social media can change the course of a career.
It all started when Hayes’ daughter, Lela, asked him to dance with her to the track back in June. The resulting video has racked up millions of views as the dad and daughter rattling off coordinated moves to a song about a couple with simple tastes—blue jeans, Natty Light—and who occasionally enjoy a night out at Applebee’s.
That clip made the rounds on social media and helped to spread the word of a catchy new song that could be a hit. A few weeks later, Monument Records landed the song on country radio and it’s been on the rise ever since, becoming the biggest jump into the top 10 on the Mediabase chart that we’ve seen since Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” in 2004. And in a perfect example of art influencing commerce, Applebee’s produced a TV commercial around the song and dance to capitalize on its sudden popularity.
While the song’s success has been a surprise to Hayes, he says it feels authentic and reflects his true feelings about life in general. And that’s one reason he thinks it will keep going strong.
