Charles Edgar Walker Hayes is an American country pop singer and songwriter who was born on December 27, 1979. Three studio albums have been released by him: Reason to Rhyme (2011) on Capitol Records Nashville; Boom (2017) and Country Stuff the Album (2022) on Monument Records. Hayes has had a number of singles chart on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts for Billboard; his biggest peak was “Fancy Like,” which peaked at the top of both charts in late 2021 and early 2022.
Having made the decision to enter the country music industry, Hayes and his wife relocated to Nashville in 2005. He acquired a contract with Mercury Records Nashville after getting a job writing songs for a Nashville publishing house but was soon fired and transferred to Capitol Records Nashville. He released his debut single, “Pants,” in 2010. On the Hot Country Songs rankings for the week ending September 18, 2010, it debuted at No. 60. Roughstock reviewer Kyle Ward gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars. The song’s music video was debuted by Hayes in December 2010. Additionally, Hayes made an appearance on a 19 Kids and Counting episode to perform a song he had written about Jill and the proposal of her future husband, Derick. “Pants” and a second song, “Why Wait for Summer,” were both included on the Reason to Rhyme album by Capitol Records.
With the help of a publishing and production agreement he inked with Shane McAnally and SMACK/RareSpark in 2016, Hayes published two extended plays: 8Tracks Vol. Tracks 1 and 8 Vol. 2. His debut song for Monument Records, “You Broke Up with Me,” came next. It can be found on Boom, his debut Monument album. His first-ever smash on the Billboard charts, it would be. Hayes released the single “90’s Country” in August 2018. The song’s lyrics make numerous allusions to 1990s country song names.
The EP Country Stuff by Hayes was made available on June 4, 2021. One of its songs, “Fancy Like,” went viral on TikTok and peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs list and third on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Hayes’ highest-charting release to date. His subsequent single was made available to country radio, and it debuted at number 53 on the Billboard Country Airplay list. The song “Fancy Like” was included in an extended play by the same name as his third studio album from 2022, Country Stuff the Album. “U Gurl” and “AA” are other hits from the album.
