Walker Hayes transforms his No. 1 hit “Fancy Like” with a festive holiday makeover.
“Fancy Like” returns, now embellished with festive cheer! This time, Walker Hayes‘ chart-topping hit of 2021 becomes even more enticing as it embraces the holiday spirit.
Freshly released, the song maintains the familiar melody and rhythm of the original, but with all-new lyrics filled with holiday references galore. The song even includes jingling sleigh bells!
The Story Behind The Song
“We were just all smiles writing that song. It was kind of a revisit of the day we did the original, and I just love it. It makes me so happy,” Hayes, 43, commented on the collaborative brainstorming session with the original co-writers of the song, Josh Jenkins and Shane Stevens.
Turns out, Hayes’ label manager, Katie McCartney, first pitched the idea of a Christmas version of “Fancy Like” a couple of years back. Fast forward to October, his personal manager nudged him again, and voilà! The first few lines popped out of his genius brain. With Jenkins and Stevens onboard, the song practically wrote itself, mainly through a text exchange – modern-day songcraft at its finest!
See the lyrics to the chorus of “Fancy Like Christmas” below!
Yeah, we fancy like Christmas ’round a fake tree
Nutcracker on the mantle
And a candy cane candle
Getcha eggnog, witcha fruit cake
Go Jesus, it’s your birthday
Bougie like blowups in the front yard
Hopin’ Santa gonna leave an Applebees’s gift card
In my stocking even though we getting naughty all night
That’s how we do, how we do, fancy like Christmas
The Unique Music Video
The freshly minted music video is just as vibrant, featuring the complete Hayes family — from wife Laney to their six kids, aged 8 to 17 — all having a “total blast” in the spotlight, according to Hayes. Comedy music duo Austin Bever and Colin Cooper, known as Austin & Colin, took the reins in crafting the video, adding plenty of festive visuals to enhance the new lyrics.
PEOPLE provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse as the artist’s entire family stars in the entertaining music video.
Having performed the song live a few times, Hayes can confirm that the “Go Jesus!” line is a crowd-pleaser. “Once you sing that one time,” notes Hayes, “you can let the crowd do it the rest of the night.”
Now taking a breather from touring, Hayes is foreseeing a Christmas conundrum when he hits the road again. Will fans insist on both versions?
“I might have to do a blended version,” he teased.
“This joy has really refueled me with this excitement to get in and go. Let’s have some fun. Let’s go outside the box and play. And that’s what I needed. It’s funny how this song came back and did that for me.”