Charles Edgar Walker Hayes (born December 27, 1979) is an American

country-pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

singer and songwriter. He has released three studio albums: ''Reason to Rhyme'' in 2011 on

Capitol Records Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records, before returning ...

, and ''

Boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

'' and ''

Country Stuff the Album ''Country Stuff the Album'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Walker Hayes. It was released on January 21, 2022, via Monument Records Nashville. Content ''Country Stuff the Album'' was preceded in 2021 by its lead single ...

'' in 2017 and 2022 on

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

. Hayes has charted multiple singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

and

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

charts; his highest-peaking is "

Fancy Like "Fancy Like" is a song recorded by American country music singer Walker Hayes. It was released on August 2, 2021, from his fifth EP '' Country Stuff'' via Monument Records Nashville. Hayes co-wrote the song with Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, an ...

", which reached the number one position on both charts between late 2021 and early 2022.

Early life

Hayes was born on December 27, 1979, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. His father, Charles Hayes, was a

realtor A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

and died in 2021. Hayes graduated from

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) is a private college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). More than 1 ...

in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in music and an emphasis on piano.

Musical career

Hayes and his wife moved to Nashville in 2005, hoping to get in the country music business. He landed a job writing songs for a Nashville publishing company and then signed a contract with

Mercury Records Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

, though he was quickly dropped and moved to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

Nashville. In 2010, he released his first single, "Pants". It debuted at No. 60 on the

charts dated for the week ending September 18, 2010. Kyle Ward of Roughstock rated the single 3.5 stars out of 5. Hayes debuted the video for the song in December 2010. Hayes also appeared on an episode of

19 Kids and Counting ''19 Kids and Counting'' (formerly ''17 Kids and Counting'' and ''18 Kids and Counting'') is an American reality television series that aired on the cable channel TLC (TV network), TLC for seven years until its cancellation in 2015. The show f ...

, singing a song he wrote about Jill and her now husband, Derick's, proposal. "Pants" and a second single, "Why Wait for Summer", both appeared on an album for

titled ''Reason to Rhyme''. Hayes co-wrote and sang guest vocals on "Dirty Side", a cut from

Colt Ford Jason Farris Brown (born August 27, 1969) known professionally as Colt Ford, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and former professional golfer best known for his music fusing the country and rap genres. He has released seven ...

's 2014 album '' Thanks for Listening''. He also co-wrote

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

' late-2014 single "Eat Sleep Love You Repeat". After losing his contract with Capitol Records, Hayes worked at a

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

to support himself. In 2016, Hayes signed a publishing and production deal with

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...

and SMACK/RareSpark, through which he released two

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s: ''8Tracks Vol. 1'' and ''8Tracks Vol. 2''. This was followed by his first single for

, " You Broke Up with Me". It appears on his first Monument album, ''

''. It would be his breakthrough hit on the Billboard charts. In August 2018, Hayes released a single titled "90's Country", whose song lyrics contain multiple references to titles of country songs from the 1990s. On June 4, 2021, Hayes released the EP '' Country Stuff''. One of its tracks, "

", became a viral hit through

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

and reached number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 1 on the

chart, becoming Hayes' highest-charting effort to date. It was subsequently released to country radio as his next single, and debuted at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart. "Fancy Like" appeared on an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

titled '' Country Stuff'', the tracks of which also carried over to his third studio album, 2022's ''

''. The album has also produced the singles "

U Gurl "U Gurl" is a song by American country music singer Walker Hayes. It was released on October 15, 2021 as the second single from his third studio album ''Country Stuff the Album''. Hayes co-wrote the song with Dylan Guthro Dylan Guthro (born 1 ...

" and " AA".

Personal life

He lives in

Thompson's Station, Tennessee Thompson's Station is a town in Williamson County, Tennessee. The population has grown from 2,194 at the 2010 Census to 7,485 in the 2020 Census. Several locations in Thompson's Station listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places inclu ...

, with his wife, Laney Beville Hayes, and their six children. The couple married in 2004. Their seventh child and fourth daughter, Oakleigh Klover Hayes, died shortly after birth on June 6, 2018. Laney had to undergo surgery due to profuse bleeding after the birth. Hayes is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and has been sober since 2015.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Walker American country singer-songwriters Capitol Records artists Living people Musicians from Mobile, Alabama 1979 births Monument Records artists Country musicians from Alabama 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama Birmingham–Southern College alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni