COUNTRY STAR OF THE MONTH: WALKER HAYES

If you didn’t know who Walker Hayes was a few years ago you definitely know him now. Hayes has been in Nashville trying to make it big since 2005. He came with his wife and a degree from Birmingham-Southern College in music with an emphasis on piano. His climb to make it to the charts was a long one. He spent many years writing for Mercury records and Capitol Records without much success. After losing his contract at Capitol he worked at Costco to pay the bills. Finally, in 2016 he broke through on the charts when he signed on with Monument Records and released his hit song “You Broke Up With Me”. While the song is about a guy that sees his ex at a party he said it was reflective of his relationship with the music business and how Capitol Records let him go. The song got to #9 on the charts in 2018 and made him a name to be recognized.

The pandemic slowed his career as it did to many artists. That’s when he did the most inventive thing an artist has done in a while. He released the song “Fancy Like”. However, he didn’t just put out the song he also did a video on Tik Tok with his daughter who he said came up with the dance. The song and dance became an instant viral sensation for those still at home due to the pandemic. “Fancy Like” on it’s own is fun and very catchy, but the video aspect really added to it with many people doing videos in front of their local Applebee’s restaurant which is referenced in the song. It flew up the charts taking Walker with it. It’s hard not to dance along in any manner to that song.

With his name now prominently affixed in the pop culture history Walker moved on to his next song. His most recent release is called “AA” which is a humorous take on keeping his family on the straight and narrow. His life is stressful and he just wants his kids to stay out of trouble and not have his wife realize she married down. He and his wife are raising 6 kids so you can understand where his inspiration comes from. It’s a comical take on family life and balance and is a really fun song that most people – especially parents can relate to. It will be great to see Walker Hayes in person this summer as he hits the stage Saturday night of Country Boom.