Anyone who has been to a drag show or watched Rupaul’s Drag Race has more likely than not seen a drag queen perform the Reba McEntire song, “Fancy.”
Originally a song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry in 1969, McEntire included the song on her seventeenth studio album, Rumor Has It, in September 1990. McEntire’s “Fancy” was the third single off the album and is considered by McEntire to be her biggest hit.
The music video for “Fancy” was uploaded to YouTube in 2009 and eleven years later the video has over 39 million views.
In 2019, McEntire performed the song at the CMA Awards to celebrate the song’s 50th anniversary.
This year Rumor Has It and McEntire’s version of “Fancy” turn 30 and to celebrate the milestone, a 30thanniversary edition of McEntire’s seventeenth studio album was released on September 11 with a remix of “Fancy” done by legendary producer and DJ, Dave Audé. Also included on the anniversary edition of Rumor Has It is a recording of “Fancy” performed live at the Ryman Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.
A search of videos of drag queens performing the Reba McEntire song yields numerous results and while every single one of them could not be put in this article, here are three of them.
In an interview with PrideSource, McEntire talked about her appreciation for the drag queens that tackle her version of “Fancy”:
Any time I have seen on television or YouTube anybody doing “Fancy” in drag I am in awe of their makeup and the time that they have spent to get all dolled up and just look fantastic. Anybody who can sing that whole song in heels and the outfits that they wear, hey, I’m applaudin’. There’s not gonna be any criticism from me at all.
The country singer also shared about her awareness as a gay icon:
If I wasn’t sure (about being a gay icon), I was definitely sure after I released “Fancy,” yes. I don’t have any reason to think that I had a big gay following before that, but I think I did. But it just increased a lot by the time “Fancy” got out, and then the clothes changes and all that kind of stuff.
McEntire also talked about Orville Peck’s version of the song.
In August, “Fancy’ became McEntire first certified platinum digital single by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
McEntire is now also on TikTok.
@reba You know I might’ve been born just plain white trash, but #Fancy was my name! #fancyremix #rebamcentire #quickchange #reba
Let us know your thoughts on the Reba McEntire song and if there are any drag queens you have seen perform it in our comments or on our social media accounts.
Sources: Rolling Stone, Wide Open Country, DaveAudé.com, Ryman.com, PrideSource, Reba McEntire Official YouTube Channel, Reba McEntire Official Instagram Account
