Not many country singers fit in alongside Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande, but Jake “Fancy” Hagood isn’t like most country singers. Since his 2015 debut, he’s been empowering the LGBTQ+ community as a gay country artist, with a soaring tenor and a style that mixes elements of pop, soul, and gospel into his all-American approach. Born in Bentonville, AR, in 1991, he moved to Nashville in 2009 to follow the path of his passion, eventually attracting the attention of music-biz big wheels. His early singles—including “Boys Like You,” featuring Trainor and Grande—were released under the name Who Is Fancy as part of a label publicity ploy to obscure his identity. He later reemerged as Fancy Hagood, and his 2021 album Southern Curiosity displayed his genre-hopping sound in all its glory. His Opry debut in 2022 was a milestone for both queer representation in country and Hagood’s career.