Walker Hayes recently closed out the CMT Artists of the Year ceremony with a performance of his song "Fancy Like," and the country singer shared to Instagram that he had a bit of anxiety ahead of his performance. He reflected on those who had stood up for him throughout his career and during the performance, thanking those who gave him support along the way.

"Last night at CMT, I feel like a dweeb even saying this, but like, I was all pumped to sing 'Fancy Like,'" Hayes said in his Instagram live. "I was like, 'let's go!' We had rehearsed, we had dress rehearsed, all that stuff to close the show out. But as I sat there in the audience, you know, Garth [Brooks] got up, you know, Randy Travis was being honored, Chris Stapleton in the audience, you know, Gabby Barrett, Mickey Guyton, all of these just incredibly talented folks who lean on the, you know, traditional side of things. And as I was watching the show, I was just like, I felt my spirit just kind of sinking in my chair because I was like, 'Oh my god, I'm out of my league here.'"

Hayes shared that he began to feel more comfortable as he took the stage and saw that Kane Brown had stood up for him during the performance. "I look out, and Kane Brown stands up during 'Fancy Like.' And dude just, big grin on his face, and was just enjoying it from the bottom of his heart. And it was a moment, I was like, 'I got this.'"

Brown commented on the Instagram video that Hayes had shared, letting the "Fancy Like" singer know that "you always have a friend here!"

"Hey buddy just know your [sic] not alone I felt like that my whole career so far like I had to please other artist and all that c*** but just know you don't," Brown commented to Hayes on the Instagram video. "As long as your happy and your getting to do what you love and your fans and family love you that's all you can ask fro men! God bless ya and keep being fancy man."

Karla Cantrell

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