Performance: Singing Your Own Story with Walker Hayes
Chart-topping country singer-songwriter WALKER HAYES has broken into the mainstream with his authentic sound and his honesty about the obstacles he’s overcome. The Washington Post described his success, writing: “Walker Hayes isn’t afraid to sing about struggling, and it’s making him a success,” and he shares his smash hit music and authentic story of perseverance in this one-of-a-kind musical event.
In Conversation with Walker Hayes
Country music singer-songwriter WALKER HAYES has topped Billboard charts with his authentic sound and courage to tell the truth. Hayes shares insights from his career, how he persevered in the music industry while cultivating his unique sound, and his sobriety journey in this powerful moderated conversation.
Monument Records recording artist, Walker Hayes, is a singer/songwriter originally from Mobile, Alabama. His album Country Stuff The Album came out 1/21, and features the new single “AA” and smash hit “Fancy Like.”
“Fancy Like” has topped every sales and streaming chart since its release, spending a collective 6 months and counting at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Country Songs Chart and hitting the top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs. The irresistible tune was certified RIAA 2X Platinum after just five months, and the track gave Hayes his first GRAMMY Award nomination as an artist for Best Country Song.
Propelled by the TikTok dance Hayes made to the song with his teenage daughter, “Fancy Like” has been used over half a million times on the app, with that original, homemade video, racking up over 32 million views, and appearing in a national Applebee’s ad campaign. Written in response to fans thinking Hayes’ life was more lavish than their own, “Fancy Like” connected audiences across genres, and spawned collaborations with Kesha and Carin Leon.
Hayes’ newest release, “AA,” is everything fans have come to love about his music – unapologetically honest lyrics, instantly catchy hooks, and stories inspired by his own life. Hayes shares, “at the end of the day, we are all just doing the best we can, and what I really mean to say with this song is just that I’m trying to stay the course. I’ve struggled with alcohol abuse and sometimes I wish I didn’t need AA, but I do. I think a lot of people can relate to that. I’m just trying to be the best dad and husband I can be. It’s not easy all the time, but my wife smiles a lot and my kids are growing up with more than I had, and that’s a really good thing.”
Written by Hayes, with Multi-Grammy Award winner Shane McAnally and Luke Laird, and produced by “Fancy Like” collaborator Joe Thibodeau and McAnally, “AA” is one of 13 songs on Country Stuff The Album, which also includes the fast rising pop/country bop “U Gurl.”
Hayes’ songwriter has led Billboard to praise his “personal, soul-bearing storylines; rolling rhymes; and Macklemore-like cadence,” and The Washington Post to write that “Hayes has broken into the mainstream by sounding different.”
The proud father of six has performed his music, including the Double-Platinum RIAA certified hit “You Broke Up With Me” from his debut album boom. to national audiences on Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The TODAY Show. He kicked off his headlining The Fancy Like Tour in January 2022.
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