Alabama native Walker Hayes was less than thrilled on Monday evening (Jan. 10) when his beloved Crimson Tide fell to the Georgia Bulldogs during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
After losing a bet to David Pollack, an ESPN commentator and former linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, Hayes was forced to reluctantly change the lyrics to his single “AA,” removing the mention of his home state and instead shouting out Georgia, the new National Champions.
“Alright y’all, I just thought I might as well just rip this off like a band-aid,” Hayes said in the clip as he began to strum his acoustic guitar.
Performing from a hotel room, Hayes then shared a remixed rendition of his latest single, “AA.”
“I’m just tryna keep my daughters off the pole / And my sons out of jail / tryna get to church, so I don’t go to hell / I’m just tryna keep my wife from figuring out / That I married up, and she married way, way down / In Athens, Georgia, where they love Kirby Smart,” Hayes sings, referencing the Georgia Bulldogs’ coach. “Tryna write a song the local country station will play / Hey, I’m just tryna stay out of AA.”
Hayes ended the clip with a message praising Pollack’s talent before he hesitantly cheered on the Bulldogs.
“I also got to say wow, man, UGA, what a school. There’s a lot of talent coming through there. Kirby Smart, what a coach, but honestly… David Pollack man, the greatest commentator of all time, for real,” Hayes said.
Hayes concluded, ”Just hands down above the rest by miles and miles. Nobody’s even close, and you probably got to attribute all that talent from the schooling that he received at UGA down in Athens, Georgia, where they love Kirby Smart, especially right now. In all seriousness, great game, and go Dawgs, Ruff.”
The Georgia Bulldogs won their first national title in 41 years, clinching the win with a score of 33 to 18. Georgia finished the season with a 14-1 record, marking the most wins in school history.
Among the 68,311 fans in attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium, artists such as Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Lily Rose were there to witness the historic win in person. While longtime Bulldogs fans Jason Aldean, Travis Denning, Thomas Rhett, Charles Kelley and more shared congratulatory messages, after watching from the comfort of their own home.
Later this month, the viral hitmaker will release his new studio album, Country Stuff The Album.
Arriving on January 21, 2022, Country Stuff The Album will feature his viral hit “Fancy Like,” as well as his previously released “Drinking Songs,” “U Gurl,” along with “AA,” and 9 other tracks, including Hayes’ collaborations with Carly Pearce, Jake Owen, and Lori McKenna, and a re-imagined version of “Craig” featuring MercyMe.
The new project will be uniquely Hayes, and share a range of emotion from nostalgia and pain to joy and good old fashion fun.
“I’ve been waiting so long to put out a project like this,” Hayes said. “It has everything I love from the fun of ‘Fancy Like’ to the more personal lyrics in ‘AA.’ As an artist, it’s such a unique thing to be able to share all the different versions of you in a project, and that’s really what I tried to do here.”
Preorder Country Stuff The Album now, HERE.
