“I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m going to die and Oreo shakes will go on and on and on.’ And I could take credit. It’s pretty awesome.”

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Alfred Soto: Where John Cougar thought Tasty Freez metonymized the boringness of routine sex in shit-ass rural towns, Walker Hayes thinks dinner at Applebee’s is okay and comparing a vagina to a Frosty a delicious metaphor. You do you, pal. The guitars have snap, Hayes sounds game — for a sustained dog whistle “Fancy Like” is as irony-resistant as an impact window in a tropical storm. No farro and crème brûlée for our Walker. Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, and countless other female performers fled men like Walker and dumps like his town not because they sucked in themselves or because their songwriting couldn’t illuminate these objects or these symbols — they fled because every time Walker Hayes sings another “Fancy Like” he inspires other men or, worse, inspires them to pick up a guitar and write.
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Tobi Tella: My last late-night-cravings-fueled trip to Wendy’s gave me food poisoning, which was somehow preferable to this.
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Thomas Inskeep: Musically, it’s 100% Sam Hunt, from the click track to Hayes’s almost-rapping delivery, but without his passion for classic country. Lyrically, it’s a lot of blue-collar clichés and inevitable future tie-ins (Applebee’s had to give him some cash for this, right?). This is gonna be huge, like it or not.
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Michael Hong: “Fancy Like” is everything that people who hate country music think it is — but when Walker Hayes gets specific, the caricature sounds even dumber. Thank producer Shane McAnally for giving equal weight to the “country” and the “pop,” merging booming beats with the steely guitar. Blame Hayes for treating the “country” like a stupid joke.
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Edward Okulicz: Based on his flow, I think the only rap song Walker Hayes has ever listened to might be “I’m On a Boat.” They’re drinking Oreo shake, ’cause it’s so crisp. This is a vile exercise in “crossover” fueled by TikTok, but the riff is ingratiating, and the aw-shucks delivery makes me want to punch myself for liking it more than I want to punch Hayes for making it. He’s the worst, but I’m not far behind.
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Jeffrey Brister: I hate it with a passion in all of its aw-shucks tackiness. But as a little trash goblin who married a beautiful partner, and someone who has had romantic dates at Applebee’s when that was the height of the luxury we could afford, I love it so much. “Fancy Like” is goofy, poorly executed with no real change in energy level, and has an uninteresting arrangement. But being reminded of who I was in such a specific way breaks down my defenses to the point where I literally cannot dislike it, no matter how much my rational brain tells me to.
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Mark Sinker: Nothing in this man’s life appeals to me in the slightest, and also I resent his use of the word “fancy,” which I think you’ll find is my word. 
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Katherine St Asaph: Makes one long for the relative tastefulness of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake’s “Carry Out.” At least its grossness didn’t have nine brand names.
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Al Varela: People really listened to this man sing-rap “She want me to dip my fries in her Frosty” and decided this was the country song to define the year. What’s the point in asking for more country music that’s organic and story-driven if you keep letting war crimes like this happen?
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Nortey Dowuona: “Old Town Road” was a slight, slightly goofy country song about being free. “Fancy Like” is a dull, poorly structured country pop song about being a cheapskate. Walker sounds so smarmy and insincere, and he definitely seems like the kind of guy who buys out a whole restaurant to propose to a girl. Worse, he doesn’t even explain why his girl likes the more middling pleasures in life like Applebee’s and Oreo milkshakes. Meanwhile, here’s this young black kid just talking about Wrangler and horse tack with no gloating, just sincere enjoyment — but guess who is trying to follow that kid up the TikTok streets? This is awful and disrespects all the wonderful ladies who are largely unmoved by flashy fancy schmancy bullshit. They see right though this shallow, pandering nonsense. Expect to see this in an Applebee’s commercial and feel bad for Applebee’s — which has done even worse things.
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Juana Giaimo: We’ve had hundreds of songs bragging of having a simple lifestyle, but “Fancy Like” is not about that: it’s about having a cheaper lifestyle. There is no nature, no family or friends, just a list of the brands Walker Hayes consumes — and he doesn’t even put any sentimentality into that. I honestly don’t know what he’s so proud of. 
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