From viral acclaim to the stage of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville is how veteran country artist Walker Hayes put the cherry on top of his Oreo shake with whipped cream with a 2021 CMT Artists Of The Year show-closing performance of “Fancy Like.” Presented by Applebees, fans of the artist and song were showcased doing the Tik Tok dance associated with the track on the stage’s trio of big screens.
Entertainingly, Hayes was joined by the live crowd in a sing-a-long of the song’s catchy hook. His on-stage appearance felt very similar to his thoughts regarding the filming of the just-released video of the track’s remix with Kesha: “I remember just having a plain old blast! From when we first got there, till when we wrapped, we just had a dang good time.”
Hayes’ comments to ABC Radio put the honor of closing CMT’s celebration of the artists and moments that notably punctuated 2021 into proper context. “We had no idea that [“Fancy Like”] would just pop off, that it would go viral, that it would just transcend genres! We had no idea. We were just telling the truth, man! The idea really spawned from a conversation … about the misconception that all celebrities live a very lavish lifestyle. I think most people just think that if you’re an artist, if you’re a performer, if you’re a songwriter and you’re paying the bills, you live in a mansion and you always eat at Ruth’s Chris and you always wear expensive shoes. And that’s not necessarily true.”
