When Walker Hayes built a song around his family’s trips to Wendy’s and Applebee’s, he unwittingly created the most popular item on his career music menu — and the most ubiquitous.
A dance that Hayes crafted with his daughter for “Fancy Like” caught fire in a 2021 TikTok, and the Applebee’s reference led to a TV advertising campaign. At its peak, the spot ran on national TV more than 100 times a day, according to Advertising Age, aiding its popularity on other platforms. Following its June 26, 2021, debut on Billboard’s multimetric Hot Country Songs chart, “Fancy Like” rose to No. 1 on July 24 and spent its 10th straight week at the summit on the list dated Sept. 25.
Concurrently, it led on the Sept. 25 Country Streaming Songs chart, stood at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was at No. 13 on Country Airplay on its way to No. 1. It would total 24 weeks atop Hot Country Songs and reach No. 3 on the Hot 100.
Cowritten with Josh Jenkins (Jordan Davis’ “Buy Dirt” and “Tucson Too Late”), Shane Stevens (Lady A’s “American Honey”) and Cameron Bartolini, “Fancy Like” was coproduced by Hayes, Shane McAnally (Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion) and Joe Thibodeau, earning seven times-Platinum certification from the RIAA.
The song inspired Applebee’s to add its Oreo cookie shake back to the menu. The company granted Hayes free food for life at any location, though familiarity, to misquote an old adage, breeds boredom. Hayes revealed in an August 2025 interview on Taste of Country Nights that he’s taken a break from Applebee’s.
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