It’s a One Hit Wonder: Make a Wish

Yesterday, Sunday April 3rd, were the 64th annual Grammy Awards. And I have been thinking about Best Country Song nominee, Walker Hayes. A lot.

I do not listen to the radio (not because I dislike it but because I don’t have a car) and I do not check TikTok (because I enjoy what little sanity I have left), so I had not heard of ‘Fancy Like’. With its combo of trap drums and country twang, it would’ve likely been something I’d change the station from anyways. No- I saw a tweet the morning after the Grammy’s were announced that told me the “Applebee’s song” was going to the Grammys. The tweeter (please do not make me find the exact tweet) listed the lyrics to the chorus and I immediately needed to know what kind of genius made a hit out of ordering Oreo shakes. So naturally I spiraled. I read every think piece and interview I could about the song. I initially wondered if Walker Hayes was some sort of post-irony working class hero. With no previous brand or fame to speak of, he was just a dad who could treat his wife to Applebee’s every now and then. To be clear, ‘Fancy Like’ is not a good song. An enjoyable one, maybe. And I’m not really sure about post-ironic working class, but there is an angle there. What drew me to Hayes was the wide-eyed nature of it all. The person who seems most shocked by ‘Fancy Like’ is Hayes himself. Which isn’t surprising considering his original label, Capitol Records, dropped him in 2011. And his executive producer Shane McAnally has said he’s actually terrified of the massive single because he’s not sure it can be reproduced, “this song scares me. And the reason is because if we can’t make this one happen, I don’t know that it’s going to happen.” 

Hayes has a forthcoming EP, but not even radio execs want to play a different song. It’s ‘Fancy Like’ that has the juice. It occurred to me we are watching a one hit wonder being born and inevitably consume itself like a dying star, all before our very eyes. It feels like there is an all consuming pressure to constantly release, with album cycles far shorter and audiences more entitled to artists’ time; the corporate drudgery of it all seems to only discourage Hayes’ success. But can the internet really let Hayes flop? TikTok, after all, is not a benevolent god. Will producers buy enough radio time to force us into mind numbing submission so that we can enjoy the other singles? Time will tell, but I’m thinking no. Because Walker Hayes isn’t famous. Not really. His Twitter has thousands of followers but isn’t used to market career updates or respond to fans. His Instagram is mostly him in the same camo sweatshirt with his family. Last I checked there is a pic of them with a cheery mall Santa. There is no handler, no PR person, no social media strategy that I can sniff. In the wave of a Grammy nomination he is somehow anonymous. To put it simply: he is literally just some guy. There’s no Hayes Hive or whatever you might dub the fandom that I’m aware of, though I imagine there are plenty of women out there pining after a southern family man. Hayes wasn’t selling anything, not a look, or lifestyle, or even the restaurant name dropped. How is it that someone so untainted by branding could rise to the top just like that? And how long can he ride this out if he can’t pull off another hit. 

I wrote nearly all of this before his fifth EP, Country Stuff released January 21st, 2022 to.. some acclaim? I haven’t seen a single review of it, not even after googling the EP directly. Well, ok a Billboard blurb but let’s be honest that ain’t sayin’ much. Hayes’ Twitter seems to have a more personal touch but no real curation. There’s a promoted interview on iHeart Country (where he’s rocking a camo jacket I personally am quite interested in). There are some retweets from fans that have near equally bland profiles, created to catch celebrity attention or just tweet into the void about sports. Apparently there are now official Country Stuff NFTs doodled by Hayes himself, an ad for Apple’s “Hit Country” playlist, and of course an interview with AmazonMusic. All of his merch is sold (which is one t-shirt. Side note: how was this budget used??) directly through Amazon. Bleak stuff, friends. I imagine he was given all of god’s money for press after dropping a viral TikTok sync, and yet.. nothing. This is not to say that just because Rolling Stone doesn’t pick you up that your music is not important but, come on man. The official release of County Stuff doesn’t seem to change much of my original writing. This is to say, there is no further traction, no pick up, no more interest. Walker Hayes is equally anonymous if not more so after releasing this supposedly highly anticipated EP. He is not a reflection of the music industry so much as a projection. When describing my fixation/fascination with Hayes to my girlfriend she quickly responded “[He’s] overwhelmed and struck to the ground by the careless wave of love”. And what a careless love indeed! Country Stuff doesn’t seem to offer personality so much as a vehicle to slam stations with ‘Fancy Like’ for the second time. Is it possible that Hayes’ moment of burning out occurred before his release date? No more anticipation, no more hype. He’s finally given us a whole piece of work that has implicitly promised more life changing fame, more Grammy noms, more radio hits. But it's sand that’s already run through our fingers. I wish for Hayes, as someone who has now gotten personally invested in his life for no reason, to at least go out with a bang not a sizzle. To push back against the corporate drone and throw some personal pizazz into it all if that’s the route. The real sad part is that it doesn’t matter. Hayes gave us one true hit. And for that we should be grateful. One fiery white light boasting a trip to Applebee’s for Bourbon Street steak. But if there’s one thing the music industry is gonna do, it’s beat a dead horse for money.