Walker Hayes‘ new video is a family affair. The 43-year-old just released the video for his new holiday song, “Fancy Like Christmas,” a holiday take on his 2021 viral hit, “Fancy Like.” Hayes wrote the new version with the song’s original writers, Josh Jenkins and Shane Stevens.
“We were just all smiles writing that song,” Hayes tells People. “It was kind of a revisit of the day we did the original, and I just love it. It makes me so happy.”
The success of “Fancy Like” gave Hayes’ career a big boost. Now, with “Fancy Like Christmas,” Hayes has found the new song gave him a boost, when he needed it most.
“This joy has really refueled me with this excitement to get in and go,’ Hayes shares. “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.”
With holiday hits being played year after year, Hayes knows that “Fancy Like Christmas” will likely be the gift that keeps on giving, year after year.
“A friend of mine texted me, and he was like, 40 years from now, you’re gonna have to explain to your grandkids that that isn’t the original version,” Hayes says.
It makes sense that the Alabama native, who just celebrated eight years of sobriety, featured his wife Laney and their six children in the video. Hayes has openly praised his children for their tenacity, through his alcoholism and busy career.
“They’ve seen many versions of their dad,’ Hayes tells Yahoo. “They’ve seen poor dad, ‘I can provide for my family’ dad. They’ve seen alcoholic dad, they’ve seen sober dad, they’ve seen didn’t know Jesus to know Jesus dad. You just love someone so much, but you can’t be perfect for them. We all just need a whole lot of forgiveness.”
For Hayes, the trait he wants to instill in his family the most is the importance of having fun, even if it might be at their own expense.
“If there’s one thing [I’d love to see] my kids leave my house doing, it’s laughing at themselves,” says the singer. “If you can do that, if you don’t take yourself too seriously, your life will be completely different. When you’re a kid, some things matter a little too much, so I try to teach my kids with the bad moments like, ‘Hey, just laugh! It is a funny-looking haircut. But it’ll be OK.’”
Find “Fancy Like Christmas” and all of Hayes’ music and upcoming shows at WalkerHayes.com.
