So on Sunday night I found myself standing in front of my bathroom mirror with my daughters learning the TikTok dance to the country music chart-topper, “Fancy Like.”
Wait, scratch the “with my daughters” part.
I was learning it by myself.
Yep.
A grown adult in her bathroom learning a TikTok dance on a Sunday night.
What has my life come to?
There’s a reason for everything, so belly up to the bar there partner and I’ll tell ya.
My girls have asked me many times to do TikTok dances with them, and I always say no. So this time I’m throwing them a little curve ball and am gonna ask them if they want to do a TikTok dance.
Granted, it’s probably going to take me three years-worth of Sundays to learn, but gosh darnit I’m gonna do it.
The song really has such an infectious vibe and it sparked a curiosity to learn what spawned it.
So I kicked off my cowgirl boots and set out to find out how the song became a viral sensation.
(I wasn’t really wearing cowgirl boots, but it sounded good.)
Back in 2016, just six short years ago, this Nashville native, Walker Hayes, wasn’t exactly dining on “Bourbon Street steaks with the Oreo shake.”
Instead, he was struggling financially to support his family, and took on a late-night shift at Costco to make ends meet. He turned to alcohol to cope, and seriously considered hanging up his music career.
And what’s more, he had already been grinding it out for over a decade, never really getting anywhere.
In the midst of all that, his kids were asking for Christmas inflatables for the lawn, but all they could afford were some simple strings of lights.
On a whim, he made a lofty promise to his kids. One so lofty that he thought he’d never have to fulfill it.
He promised them that if he ever had a #1 hit, he’d fill their lawn with inflatables.
He really believed it would never happen.
Fast-forward to 2021, when Fancy Like hit the airwaves and exploded, overnight.
Well, only if you consider grinding it out for 17 years to be overnight.
Much to his surprise, Hayes found himself at Lowe’s with his family, picking out a whole other family of Christmas inflatables.
When asked what he attributed the song’s explosiveness to, he said “We had no idea. We were just telling the truth, man.”
He also spoke about how much fun he and his co-writers had while writing it.
What do you get when you blend truth and fun? Explosiveness.
You can do this in your own life.
Keep following the fun and your truth, even if you feel like you’re getting bucked off your horse.
Whenever you feel like you’re going through hell, keep going.
Keep pushing through, y’all. And you may just find that you have one helluva surprise waiting for you on the other side.
Oh and if you’ve ever wondered what I do as part of my nighttime routine, well now you know.
Assignment for the week: Google Fancy Like and go ahead and try telling me it doesn’t make you wanna giddy-up on down to Nashville.
Oh, and anybody who knows what “Natty in the styrofoam” is – FREE call with me. Click here! This midwesterner be like “Who’s Natty?”