I genuinely love every single song from Dan + Shay's most recent "Bigger Houses" album for different reasons, whether it was a country radio single or not. I will explain further when I profile the remaining songs in upcoming posts (I already profiled the lead track, "Breakin' Up With A Broken Heart".), including for the song in the music video below, "Then Again". This track was not a single, but I love the production, vocals, and lyrics.
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney brought cozy summer night vibes to the music video, with Smyers dressed in a corduroy button-down shirt over a light colored t-shirt and jeans playing his acoustic guitar while Mooney is dressed in a brown t-shirt and light-colored jeans. Smyers and Mooney are sitting on their own bale of hay around a bonfire with a Ford Bronco (vehicle mentioned in the song lyrics), singing a song that reminisces about the past. I love this music video for so many different reasons, one of them being that it is very simple!
Enjoy the music video for "Then Again"!
Music video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel
On November 8, 2024, Dan + Shay posted a behind the scenes music video that shows the making of their original song Christmas song "Parson Brown" in the studio. I always enjoy watching videos of what it looks like when Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are in the studio bringing their songs to life! Stay tuned for a future post that includes the meaning of the song, the production, and my take on it. In the meantime, enjoy the behind the scenes music video of the song below! Enjoy!
Dan + Shay released their self-titled album on June 22, 2018. "Tequila" was the lead single from the project and propelled the duo to the top of the radio chart later that year. That was followed by their romantic wedding song "Speechless", which also became a huge hit. Both songs are still played weekly on country radio today.
All of this success earned the duo four nominations at the 2019 Country Music Association Awards, which aired on ABC on November 13. They went into the ceremony with chances to win awards in the Single of the Year category for their song "Speechless", Album of the Year for their third project, Dan + Shay, Song of the Year for their smash hit "Tequila", and a consecutive nod in the Vocal Duo of the Year category.
The duo always have some stiff competition in the Vocal Duo of the Year category at the CMA Awards, and 2019 was no exception, with legends, Brooks & Dunn and current duo's, Maddie & Tae, Brothers Osborne, and Florida Georgia Line all in the line up.
When country male vocalist Jimmie Allen and country group Midland announced in unison that the duo had won their first ever CMA Award, they were both shown in the audience; Mooney could not believe it, putting his hand over his eyes and then kissed his wife, Hannah; while Smyers looked excited and hugged his wife Abby.
They both looked very handsome. Smyers was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt underneath and black pants with white stripes, while Mooney was dressed in a white suit with a black button down shirt and black bow tie underneath. His look was finished off with a pair of black pants.
Before they headed up to the stage to accept their award, both guys gave one another a handshake and then a big hug. While "Speechless" played over the speakers of Bridgestone Arena, the duo walked up to the stage, still in shock, and were not able to wipe the gigantic smiles off their faces.
"This is a little overwhelming, man," Mooney began. "There are so many of our heroes in the room, Brooks & Dunn, are you kidding me?"
Mooney went on with his portion of the speech.
"This is absolutely incredible," Mooney continued. "I have so many family and friends watching right now. My grandma is actually in the hospital right now. Granny Mooney, shout out to you. Thank you so much for teaching me about Jesus, and loving people, and being a good person."
He finished his speech by mentioning what country music means to him.
"I'm so thankful for this," Mooney told the audience. "We love country music. It raised us, it teaches us so much about empowerment."
"Thank you country radio for playing these songs, the country music fans, and there's so many people I want to thank right now," Smyers said.
He finished by gushing over Mooney and his vocal talent.
"Shay, I love you man, you're my best friend in the world, and you're my favorite singer in the entire world, and I'm so thankful that I get to do this with you," Smyers remarked.
The two hugged again before leaving the stage.
While the duo were up for four awards, they only took home one trophy. The fact that they picked up their first win the Vocal Duo of the Year category was a huge deal to them and to me as a fan. While they lost in the other three categories, they were still winners to me. Being nominated four times is a win itself.
Stay tuned for future posts on their other wins, performances, and fashion on the red carpet at future CMA Awards broadcasts.
Below is the video of the Dan + Shay winning their first ever CMA Award and a couple of screenshot pictures from the video courtesy of ABC's YouTube page! Enjoy!
Video courtesy of ABC's YouTube Channel
Screenshot of Smyers and Mooney hugging courtesy of ABC's YouTube channel
Screenshot of Smyers and Mooney accepting their award courtesy of ABC's YouTube channel
Over the last decade, Dan + Shay have collaborated with artists from the country category like Carrie Underwood and RaeLynn as well as artists in the pop genre like Charlie Puth, Kelly Clarkson, and Justin Bieber, to name a few. Stay tuned for future posts on each of these pairings!
While I have enjoyed each one of these pairings, my favorite trio was when Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney joined pop star Tori Kelly to perform their hit song "Speechless" at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards on May 1, 2019. This then led to the three releasing a studio version of the track. To me, Mooney's crisp vocals and Kelly's angelic vocals plus Smyers' beautiful harmonies sounded like perfection, a match made in heaven.
Mooney, who wore a camouflage jacket over a white t-shirt and black jeans, sang the first half of the first verse and then traded off to Tori Kelly, who wore a long silky garment over a white top and sparkly pants, to sing the second verse accompanied by the piano of the duo's romantic number one song that was written primarily about seeing their wives in their white dresses at their respective weddings for the first time. However, the song has other meanings that will be discussed in a future post. The two combined their voices for the pre-chorus and then Kelly took over before they arrived at the chorus. Smyers, Mooney, and Kelly sang the chorus together.
Kelly started off the second verse, she and Mooney combined for the second half along with Smyers' harmonies. Smyers wore a black patterned shirt paired with black jeans. The trio sang the chorus again. At the end of chorus, both Mooney and Kelly hit their high registers and received applause from the audience. The two traded off lines at the end, with Kelly showing off her impressive vocals. They came together at the end and you could hear the sweet spot in both of their voices. The trio received a round of applause by the audience in attendance at the ceremony.
Stay tuned for future posts about "Speechless" that will include my take on the original track (the lyrics, vocals, production, story behind the song), the music video that includes footage from both Smyers' and Mooney's weddings, and so much more!
Below, enjoy Dan + Shay and Tori Kelly's harmonious performance of "Speechless" at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube channel!
To me, Dan + Shay always put together the funniest, most positive light-hearted content on social media and on their YouTube channel for their fans. Whenever I see one of these videos, they always makes me smile and laugh.
On September 17, 2023, two days after the duo released their highly anticipated Bigger Houses album, they posted a video to their social media pages and on their YouTube channel. The caption on their Instagram post read, "Have you seen our packages?"
Dan Smyers, dressed in a white short-sleeve shirt with blue trim, jeans, and cowboy boots, is standing in the room with wooden walls and floors. He has the "Bigger Houses" CD booklet in his hands, talking to Shay Mooney is who is across the room from him.
"Man, this Bigger Houses packaging looks amazing," Smyers said. "Have you seen it?"
"No let me see," Mooney replies.
"Here, check it out," Smyers answers back.
Smyers tosses the normal size booklet to Mooney. In the next scene, Mooney, who is wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, catches a larger-than-life copy of the Bigger Houses vinyl album package.
"Oh dude, it looks incredible," Mooney exclaims.
The video was made to encourage their fans to buy a copy of the vinyl album and to also to have some word play fun with the albums title. It literally means large houses, but it took on a different meaning when the song with the same name was written. Stay tuned for a full post about the songs meaning and more!
Also, stay tuned for more posts on their past and future creative, short content videos!
Below is the short, yet funny clip courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube channel shorts page! Enjoy!
Below are the Dan + Shay trivia questions that I posted on my social media pages on June 17th! Whether you participated in the poll questions on my blog Facebook or Instagram pages or not, please feel free to write in the comments of this post what you think the answers are! To give everyone plenty of time, I will update this post in one week with the correct answers! I would love to see a lot of participation! Happy guessing!
Question 1: Where was Shay born and where did he grow up?
Possible Answer #1: Albany, New York
Possible Answer #2: Sacramento, California
Possible Answer #3: Natural Dam, Arkansas
Question 2: What is the title of Dan + Shay's second album?
Possible Answer #1: "Already Ready"
Possible Answer #2: "Obsessed"
Possible Answer #3: "How Not To"
Question 3: Dan's wife Abby sings background vocals on which Dan + Shay song?
Possible Answer #1: "Steal My Love"
Possible Answer #2: "My Side Of The Fence"
Possible Answer #3: "Always Gonna Be"
I will be back tomorrow with a regular scheduled post!
Dan + Shay can pretty much write about any topic and the song will catch my attention. One that particularly stopped me in my tracks when I heard it for the first time was "Happy New Year", the last song on It's Officially Christmas: The Double Album that the duo released on October 18, 2024.
To me, everything about the song is perfection from the poignant lyrics to Shay Mooney's gorgeous vocals and Dan Smyers' exquisite harmonies, and the beautiful production, which consists of the piano, a string section, and drums to drive the song all the way home.
Recently when I looked at the songwriters on the album and found out that Smyers wrote this track on his own, I was even more impressed with his immense talent than I already am. I want to include many of the full lyrics from the track because they are so well written and paint vibrant pictures and stories by the producer and harmonist of the duo.
The hopeful track starts off with Mooney's voice accompanied by the piano. He sings about how the past year included "rock bottom" moments as well as "mountain top highs", but they made it through the 12 month period. However, Smyers writes that the memories of the "trophies and scars" are erased from their minds.
To me, it feels like the first verse above may have been written about when the duo were on a high after The (Arena Tour) and all of the other successes they had. Then many of those things were erased from their minds when they did not speak to one another four months. This is how I interpret the verse when I listen to it.
In the pre-chorus, which is also Mooney's voice accompanied by the piano, Smyers writes about some of the things he did in the past year, with lyrics like, "I did some things that I wanna take back/Isn't that just the way that it goes" and continues with, "Said goodbye to a friend and we cried til we laughed/ At a bar in the town we call home."
The chorus starts with the piano and string section accompanying Mooney's soaring lead vocals and you can hear Smyers' harmonies if you listen very close when they sing, "Happy New Year everyone/May it be filled with peace and love/We'll say goodbye to the old and hello to the new/I'm just so grateful for you." He continues to sing the chorus, "Happy New Year Happy New Year/May it be filled up with good health and cheer." They finish it with, "May it be blessed All of the best/And may we all have a happy new year."
During verse two, Smyers writes and the duo sings about the things he wants to do in the new year, including "I'll take time to call up my mom/Just so she knows that I love her" and "Give new adventures to all of my dogs/Lord knows they ain't getting younger."
At the start of the second pre-chorus, Smyers writes and the duo sings about being easier on himself and taking the time to be more grateful for himself and his family.
"I'm gonna try to give myself grace/For the things that I cannot control." and "I'm gonna try to thank God each day for the life and the hands that I hold."
I can relate to this entire song. However, the third verse really speaks to me and I can connect to it with my life experiences in the last few years.
"Here's to the lessons we learn as we go/The beauty that comes from the broken/So raise up a glass and join me in a toast/To living with hearts wide open."
When I heard this song for the first time and even when I listen to it today, it gives me chills and makes me emotional. While it is a Christmas and New Years tune, I will listen to it all year long because the lyrics teach us about many life things that are mentioned above. "Happy New Year" was definitely the perfect way to end the 21-song project.
Below is the official audio video of "Happy New Year" courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Official audio video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel
One of the songs that Dan + Shay released prior to their Bigger Houses album coming out in 2023 was "We Should Get Married". I thought it would be a slow, romantic song when I first read the title. However, I was wrong on the slow part! The duo fooled me with that part of the track. Stay tuned for future posts where I will profile the song lyrics, vocals, and production as well as one with my commentary on the full music video.
Before they delivered the song to the world, the duo released a short clip of the start of the music video on social media and YouTube to spark the curiosity of their fans and raise the excitement level.
The scene is set. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are sitting in their dressing room getting ready to perform one of their love songs at a wedding. Smyers is dressed in a full tuxedo while Mooney is wearing a white shirt, bow tie, and black pants. The wedding planner knocks on the door and begins to engage with the duo. She is talking very fast and gets her point across to the guys.
"So, look, this is the program," she begins. "You're gonna go out, you're going to do that first dance. We need you to do your song and be out of there because then we have the DJ coming, we need to get people up and dancing."
Next, the wedding planner confronts the duo about all of the slow wedding songs they have previously released.
"I'm sorry, but you're just not that bad, right?", she said. They shake their heads at her. "Okay, perfect. So I'll check in later, right, right, okay? Perfect, thank you."
After she leaves the room, Mooney looks over at Smyers. Dialogue commences between the duo.
"Everyone thinks we're just the ballad guys, the first dance guys, so frustrating," Mooney says.
"We don't need a DJ to get the people out on the dance floor," Smyers exclaims. "We got songs for that."
" I think we should just go rogue and play the song," Mooney says.
"That song?", Smyers says.
"The song," Mooney replies.
Then you hear Mooney singing "Oh, we should get married" and it goes fast through some scenes from the music video, ending with a scene of the bride and groom, Joan Collins and Michael Jordan, getting married at the 24 Hr Drive Up Wedding Window in Las Vegas.
Below is the teaser clip from Dan + Shay's YouTube channel Shorts page. Enjoy!
Video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YoutTube channel Shorts page
When it comes to love songs, Dan + Shay are masters at writing them. They have hit the top of the chart with "Speechless", "From The Ground Up", and "10,000 Hours", their collaboration with Justin Bieber, to name a few. They have also released other love songs that have more of a steamy vibe to the lyrics. A few examples are "What Keeps You Up At Night" from their self-titled album. While they did not write this song (one of the handful they did not pen), to me when I listen, it feels like they wrote it. Another example is "Close Your Eyes" from their debut album. I will profile these songs in future posts!
While these songs are part of their repertoire, I did not see it coming when the duo performed a cover of Boyz II Men's 1994 hit love song "I'll Make Love To You" at their concerts in 2015. It was a song I never expected them to cover, yet it ended up being one of my favorite covers of theirs! It fit their harmonies and Shay Mooney's insane vocals perfectly. They absolutely blew me away with their rendition of this song. I was lucky to almost be in the front row when the duo performed their cover at the Intersection on October 18, 2015.
Mooney's warm, welcoming vocals started off the song with the first verse that includes lyrics like, "Close your eyes, make a wish And blow out the candlelight". Dan Smyers sang harmonies alongside Mooney while playing his acoustic guitar.
Mooney started the second verse singing lyrics like, "Pour the wine, light the fire Girl, your wish is my command." His voice always draws me in as a listener; he especially did on this song.
The refrain includes passionate lines like, "I'll make love to you Like you want me to And I'll hold you tight Baby, all through the night." Shay delivered those lyrics smoothly. He ended the first refrain holding out the note of the lyric, "Till you tell me to."
When he hit the third verse, it sounded like he was really talking to the female character in the song, focusing on the crowd when he sang it. He stretched out the first lyric, "Girl, relax" and pulled the audience into the story, continuing to sing the verse I mentioned above, with the next lyrics in the third verse, "let's go slow, I ain't got nowhere to go I'm just gonna concentrate on you Girl, are you ready? It's gonna be a long night."
Mooney went on to continue telling the story, singing sensual, revealing lyrics like, "Throw your clothes On the floor", with the fourth verse lyrics stating, "I'm gonna take my clothes off too." Mooney continued the verse singing, "I've made plans to be within you Girl, whatever you ask me, you know I could do."
The lead vocalist finished off the bridge and the last two choruses with more impressive vocal notes and high notes.
His vocals soared and he hit some impressive high notes throughout the song. The performance was crazy and off the charts, so much so that the audience was screaming and swooning at the same time!
This was one of the most memorable moments for me at the October 18, 2015 concert. I still cannot believe that I was treated to that special performance at this show! I think if they were to cover it again today, Mooney's vocals would be even crazier!
Dan + Shay performed this song acoustically and got the opportunity to perform it with Boyz II Men in 2016. Stay tuned for future posts about those performances.
Below is a video of them performing "I'll Make Love To You" at The Intersection courtesy of Tarin Irene's YouTube channel!
Dan + Shay have a close relationship with Kelly Clarkson, the first winner of the reality singing competition American Idol. She collaborated with the duo on their song Keeping Score", which can be found on their 2018 self-titled album. They even received the opportunity to perform the meaningful track with her on the Academy Of Country Music Awards stage in 2019. Stay tuned for future posts with my commentary on the song and their performance of it.
As of 2024, the duo and Clarkson also had something in common. Clarkson has been a coach on The Voice, the popular NBC singing competition for nine seasons. Dan + Shay joined the show as coaches, sitting in the new double chair for season 25 in early 2024. While they did not win, their country artist, Karen Waldrup made it to the finale. Stay tuned for future posts about their first time as coaches on The Voice.
On February 27, 2024, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, which aired on CBS. Clarkson caught up with the duo on a few topics. Below are some quotes that I transcribed from the interview in a YouTube video.
First, she asked the guys what their experience was like to sit in the double chair on "The Voice" for the first time.
"The double chair is insane," Smyers said. We always say Blake (Shelton) was so big, they just put a divider down; we both sit in it now."
Next, Clarkson revealed that she did not know the duo were separated for four months at the end of 2021 and into 2022. She thought they had been relaxing, not taking time away from the duo for another reason that Smyers would reveal during the interview.
"Being a duo, we say, is the hardest configuration of a group," Smyers said. "You've seen, historically, a lot of duos go their separate ways. It's like a marriage; if you're not going out of your way, if you're not being open with each other, if you're not communicating in real time, things can go separate."
He went on to to tell the talk show host about what happened.
"We finished this tour," Smyers said. We did our first arena headlining run, like sold out Madison Square Garden, all these bucket list things."
Tue duo both knew that tour had many successes, but when it ended, they were both in a not so great place. Smyers revealed how they felt and what he did after returning home from being on the road.
"We walked away and we were just like 'what was it all for?' You're kind of just, you hit this crazy, like, hangover period," Smyers told Clarkson. "I was sitting on the couch for like two weeks, wasn't reaching out to Shay, wasn't thinking about music, wasn't listening to music. and I was like 'something's wrong.' I love music; it's everything to me, you know?"
When Smyers and Mooney got back together after not talking to one another after four months, they made a plan for moving forward.
"So Shay came over to the house and we just made a promise to ourselves to spend more time together," Smyers said. "It changed everything. I feel like we got closer than we ever have and we're just in this new era of gratitude."
Toward the end of the interview, Clarkson asked the duo about their single "Bigger Houses" and how they could relate to it in their own lives. Mooney took the reigns on answering this question.
"This song, it felt like kind of for the first time, like, my personal life and my band life came together," Mooney said. "Those two were so separate for so long because Dan and I were kind of, for awhile, going in different directions and that was, you know, part of the problem. It wasn't you know, that we were fighting, it was just that, you know, we're kind of going here. When we realigned that and kind of got, you know, our thing together again, got it right, it was just like our family life, everything, just came together."
Mooney talked about how he and Smyers had reflected on the way they will look at their successes in a different way in the future.
"We just had to have that moment where we looked around and was like 'man, it doesn't matter all these things you could have; we have three Grammy's, but we could win a hundred, you know?' If that's gonna be your goal, you're always going to be chasing after something, a higher high, you know? This thing that is, is never ending, you know, checkered flag I guess you could say. And for us, there's just like, we have to get back to the real thing that matters; it's like the people that are in our lives, telling those people that we love them and making sure that we are nurturing those relationships and taking stock in all that."
When it came to the lyrics of "Bigger Houses", Mooney told Clarkson that he was able to connect with them, even though he did not help pen the song. The track was written by Smyers, Andy Albert, Jordan Minton, and Jordan Reynolds.
"This is exactly where I am in life right now," Mooney said. "You know, the second verse says 'I can hear the kids making little footsteps running down the hallway upstairs.' And you know, I just put myself in that moment."
Below is Kelly Clarkson's interview with Dan + Shay from The Kelly Clarkson Show YouTube Channel. Enjoy!
Video courtesy of The Kelly Clarkson Show YouTube Channel
Below are the Dan + Shay trivia questions that I posted on my social media pages on June 10th! Whether you participated in the polls on my blog Facebook or Instagram pages or not, please feel free to write in the comments of this post what you think the answers are! To give everyone plenty of time, I will update this post in one week with the correct answers! Happy guessing!
Question 1 from 06/10/2025: Where was Dan born and where did he grow up?
Possible Answer #1: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Possible Answer #2: Baltimore, Maryland
Possible Answer #3: Wexford, Pennsylvania
Question 2 from 06/10/2025: Which is an unreleased song by Dan + Shay?
Possible Answer #1: "Lipstick"
Possible Answer #2: "Partner In Crime"
Possible Answer #3: "Let Me Get Over Her"
Question 3 from 06/10/2025: Finish the correct "Bigger Houses" song with the correct lyric:
Possible Answer #1: "You're never gonna fill an empty glass"
Possible Answer #2: "You're never gonna fill an empty mug"
Possible Answer #3: "You're never gonna fill an empty cup"
Question 4 from 06//10/2025: When is Shay's birthday?
From the first moment that I heard Dan + Shay's debut album Where It All Began on Spotify in March of 2014, I could tell that each song came from a genuine place when they were written. Their voices (Shay's lead vocals and Dan's background vocals and harmonies) as well as the production on each song sounded like nothing I had heard before. At the time, I thought a lot of the songs on country radio were full of noise. Dan + Shay's music was anything but that. It was relaxing for me to listen to. The production was well thought out, definitely not a bunch of noise. I thought that this duo were in their own lane, doing their own thing. Everything about their music was authentic to me. That continued on their next four albums and on their double Christmas album they released last year. And I know the duo's forthcoming sixth album will also embody those qualities.
After I listened to their album a few times, I followed the duo on all of their social media accounts. I noticed that they were regularly interacting with their fans, especially on Twitter (now X) at the time. They were replying to tweets, liking tweets, and even retweeting tweets. When I found out that Dan (the majority of the time) was the the one who controlled their social media accounts (and still does to this day!), it truly showed me that the guys wanted to be authentic, honest, and open with their fans. They truly cared about us, the people who are supporting them. This part of my relationship with them meant and still means a lot to me to this day. I will never take for granted any of the social media interactions I have had with them over the years and the interactions I will have them as time goes on. I am incredibly grateful that they take time out of their busy schedules to interact with their fans.
Some artists or celebrities might seem nice on social media, but when you meet them in person, they might have a different persona and not be the person you thought they are. Thankfully, I have not had an experience like that before. With Dan + Shay, they are the same human beings and artists on social media that they are in person. To me, the duo are hands down the most caring, genuine, kind, humble, sweet artists I have ever met (twice in person so far and on social media). From their genuine music that I listen to every day, to the interactions I have had with them on social media over the years and continue to have with them, the beautiful bouquet of flowers they surprised me with on Valentine's Day in 2015 and another surprise I got from them in 2021 (stay tuned for details on that in a separate post!), to watching them pour their hearts and souls on the stage and really appreciating every moment at each concert I have attended, the unforgettable meet + greets I have had with them so far, and countless other things that will come up in future posts, I could not think of or ask for two better human beings and artists to continue to support on a daily basis! Here's to another 11 years and counting of me being a Dan + Shay fan!
Dan + Shay met on December 7, 2012, they released their first single "19 You + Me" to country radio on October 14, 2013, and once country award show season started in April, 2014, the duo received their first nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year at the Academy Of Country Music Awards, but did not take home the trophy.
The duo had been nominated for multiple awards at countless country and all-genre award shows between 2014 and 2018, but had never won. While they were and are always winners to me no matter what happens, it still blew my mind that they had gone four years without winning any awards, especially at the fan-voted ceremonies. Between this time period, Florida Georgia Line were the top duo in country music and they racked up awards in several categories, including the duo one at most of the TV broadcasted award shows.
That all changed on June 6, 2018 when Dan + Shay won the Duo Video of the Year belt buckle trophy for their "Tequila" music video at the Country Music Television Music Awards (CMT Music Awards), a fan-voted ceremony. The guys could not believe that they won. Shay Mooney gave his speech first.
"Wow, I'm shaking right now", Mooney said. "Thank you guys so much, but I just want to thank God for country music. Man, this is absolutely amazing. I want to thank my wife, I want to thank my baby Asher who's home right now, my family for putting up with so much bad music before Dan + Shay happened."
Dan Smyers followed with his speech, He thanked his wife, people at CMT, and their friend Patrick Tracy. Stay tuned for future posts about Tracy. He has done a lot of creative work for the duo over the years.
"My heart is literally beating out of my chest right now", Smyers said. "Thank to our beautiful wives, my beautiful wife Abby, CMT, Leslie Fram, Stacy Cato, John, thank you guys so much for giving us this opportunity.
He went on to honor their friend Patrick Tracy, who directed the "Tequila" music video. Stay tuned for a future post with my commentary on that clip.
"We want to dedicate this award to one of our best friends in the entire world, Patrick Tracy, for directing this video", Smyers said. "Pat, you said that you're in section 118. We moved to Nashville to chase this dream together about 10 years ago and we finally got one buddy. I love you." He finished his thank you list and the duo left the stage.
After winning their first award, the duo posted a picture of themselves smiling while holding their belt buckle trophies on Instagram on June 7. They mentioned their fans to kick off the caption. "We won our first award!", the duo said. "First and foremost, it is so fitting that our first win would be a fan voted award. Our fans have been by our side since DAY ONE, and we've felt like winners all along because of that. Thank you for believing in this music, and inspiring us to follow our dream."
The caption continued and can be viewed by clicking on the link below my Instagram screenshot at the end of this post.
I remember voting many times for them daily during the voting period to make sure that Dan + Shay won this award, and they did! I was very excited when their names were announced as the winners that night!
Smyers and Mooney have won numerous awards since then, including three coveted Grammy's. All of those wins will be highlighted in separate posts in the coming months.
Below is the video of the duo's speeches at the CMT Music Awards courtesy of CMT's YouTube Channel as well as a screenshot of their Instagram post the following day. Enjoy!
When I heard Dan + Shay's debut album Where It All Began for the first time, all of the songs were ear candy to me, the songwriting was very colorful and descriptive, and the production on each song was very unique.
To me, "Can't Say No", the fifth track off the project, fits all three of the categories I mentioned above. It is about being with a girl and not wanting her to leave because he cannot get enough of her personality and other qualities.
However, the song begins with the male protagonist saying that it's 7 a.m. and that he wants to rest more. His partner, on the other hand, wants to be intimate with him. The duo sings, "It's way too early baby For you to be crawling all over me". Then things change and they they leave the house. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney continue on with the lyrics in the first verse, "Next thing you know we're driving round She's dragging me all over town".
The refrain is packed with the colorful and descriptive lyrics I foreshadowed earlier. Smyers and Mooney sing about all of the things about the girl that her partner cannot get enough of, "She knows how to work them cut off things She knows how to get me to do about anything How to bat those eyes, swing them hips How to rock that cherry red lipstick She knows I can't say no".
By the second verse, the girl makes the guy speechless, as the duo sings, "Yeah baby that's about all I can say". There are more vibrant images in the last verse of the song, with the male telling the female "Whatever you want baby, as long as you kiss me that way" and "My heart of stone melts in her hands I'm getting used to changing plans Ain't no other girl in the world that can do me like that".
The chorus repeats again.
Then the song goes into the bridge. Smyers and Mooney sing about how the male character cannot endure the female characters smile and kiss. The bridge ends with the lyrics, "Yeah I could be out there with the boys, but as soon as I hear that little voice I'm gone Yeah I'm gone baby".
The song finishes with the chorus again followed by the outro.
"Can't Say No", written by Mooney, Smyers, Ben Hayslip, and Rhett Atkins, has a medium tempo with an acoustic guitar and drums (to name a couple of the instruments used) to move the story from start to finish.
In their "Story + Song" series on social media and YouTube, Smyers and Mooney talked about how they brought the song to life.
"It was actually a really fun write", Smyers said. "The song is super lighthearted and it kind of sounds, like, different than anything on the album." He went on to say that they had a (guitar) Flatpicker named Bryan Sutton, a percussionist who did interesting things on his drum kit, and additional instruments that gave the song its unique sound.
"It was cool, it really came together", Mooney said. "I mean, at the end, it really pulled itself together as a song and when we were writing it, it was just a blast."
He then touched on the songwriting process of the song. "We were just talking about how, you know, as a guy, you have that beautiful girl you're hanging out with, she asks you something with those beautiful eyes, and you're just like "how am I supposed to say no to that?", Mooney said.
I loved being able to re-visit this song today. It was fun to dive deeper into the lyrics, the production, and listening to the duo's seamless vocals.
Below is an audio video of the song followed by the "Song + Story" video of the duo talking about the song from their YouTube channel.
One of the many things I love about Dan + Shay is that many of their music videos have taken a different angle than what the song is actually about. That is the case with their "Nothin' Like You" music video, which was released on July 13, 2015 and directed by Dan Smyers' friend, Patrick Tracy.
The clip opens with the duo exiting a limousine and entering the red carpet at the 50th Academy Of Country Music Awards. Smyers and Shay Mooney are both dressed in black suits with a white shirt and black tie underneath, and are met by a slew of photographers who are ready to snap their pictures. The guys also engage with some fans who are on the sides of the carpet.
After all of the action, the next thing you know, the video fast forwards to the next morning. The duo are sitting at a booth in a cafe, still dressed in their award show attire. It must have been a long night, as the guys look very tired. The beginning of "Nothin' Like You" is playing in the background. Mooney says to Smyers, "Dude, what happened last night?" He replies, "I have no idea." The camera pans to a dog who is now sitting in between the duo. Smyers asks Mooney, "Where did you get that dog?" He replies, "That's a good question, Dan, but it looks like it's ours." The K-9 sees another dog outside the window and heads outside, as their love story adventure begins.
At the :35 mark of the video, the camera pans to someone sitting at the counter. It happens to be Smyers' girlfriend at the time, Abby Law. The two got married in 2017. Stay tuned for future posts about their relationship and wedding.
As the clip goes on, the shelter dogs who are already in the cafe start to get up and leave. Smyers and Mooney follow their lead, and as the chorus of the song starts, the duo are front and center running in slow motion as their names and the song title appear on the screen. The remainder of the video features both guys running around Nashville with the dogs from the cafe. They also see other dogs on the side of the road during their adventure. At the 1:19 mark, both Smyers and Mooney are seen running down a flight of stairs. As they get to the middle landing, they both appear winded, with Smyers taking off his suit jacket. They both head down the stairs and kept running with the dogs.
Smyers and Mooney eventually make it to a pond. They run through the water with some of the dogs. Then they are seen running through some tall grass and close to the end of the clip, both guys slide into the mud to cuddle and play with the dogs. They are covered in mud from head to toe.
The video finishes with the duo back at the cafe, Mooney asleep at the booth. Smyers wakes him up and says they need to head out. It turns out the run around town with all of the puppies was only a dream!
After the clip is done, Smyers and Mooney are on the set in their muddy outfits. Smyers talks about their day with the dogs and the reason they centered the video on dogs.
"We are covered in mud, we chased around some puppies, and we are here to raise awareness for animal rescue and adoption", Smyers said. "Thanks to the help of our friends at Nashville Canine and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue, we were able to get all of these puppies to have a fun day running around in the mud and the rain. So thanks to everyone who watched it, took part in it. Hope you can go out and give an animal a home today."
Below the pictures is the "Nothin' Like You" music video! Enjoy!
Screenshot from "Nothin' Like You" music video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel
Screenshot from "Nothin' Like You" music video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel
Dan + Shay have always created fun, happy, light content for their fans to view on social media and this video they posted on October 31, 2024 was no exception.
It featured Dan and his wife, Abby along with Shay, his wife, Hannah, and their three sons at the time, Asher, Ames, and Abram. The clip, which takes place on the staircase at Shay and Hannah's home, is set to Dan + Shay's song "It's Officially Christmas".
It starts with the crew dressed in their Mario Bros costumes for Halloween. Everyone is waving at the camera and smiling. Asher, Shay and Hannah's oldest son, gets up to change the camera and, the next thing you know, they are all magically transformed into their holiday apparel, with the parents in their Christmas sweaters and the kids in their Christmas pajamas! Everyone is waving at the camera again, and clapping and smiling, with Asher going crazy between Abby and Dan, Abram on Hannah's lap, and Ames behind Dan, his arms wrapped around Dan's neck. The amount of joy in this clip is endless!
"HAPPY HALLOWEEN but we are here to declare that IT'S OFFICIALLY CHRISTMAS", Dan + Shay wrote on their Instagram post. They caption went on to read, "The time has come to break out the double album and keep it on repeat (we're serious about this) until the end of the year."
Stay tuned for more wholesome video content from the past and when Dan + Shay post more in the future! Their videos are always very wholesome, positive, and filled with happiness and love!
Below is the video from Dan + Shay's Shorts page on their YouTube Channel! Enjoy!
Video courtesy of Dan + Shay's Shorts page on their YouTube Channel
Dan + Shay posted a video titled "The Drive" on July 9, 2023 via their YouTube Channel and social media accounts. The duo talked about what they had gone through during "The (Arena) Tour" in 2021, how shortly after it finished, that they had not talked for four months, and the major conversation that they had in March, 2022 to decide if they wanted to stop making music or come back together and start over with a fresh slate.
When I watched this video initially, my heart sank because I could not imagine Dan + Shay ever breaking up. I got emotional today when I watched it again for the first time in months. It was hard to picture what they had both been through, personally and professionally. Prior to this and even at the time, I always thought both members of the duo were always happy with life and their music careers, but as a fan, you do not know everything that is going on behind the scenes.
Both of the guys were very honest, open, raw, and real in the video, revealing information about what they went through and how they felt during this time period. I thought a lot of what they said was important and wanted to include as many quotes as possible in this post.
"That was like in the lowest low of my entire life", Dan Smyers said. He went on to say that he was at the point where he thought that he did not want to be in the music business anymore.
Shay Mooney talked about how his relationship with Smyers did not feel normal during "The (Arena) Tour".
"I could, I could feel the separation," Mooney said. "There was, there was little things between you and I that we never talked about. It was affecting everything, not just our band."
Mooney went on to reveal specific details about how he struggled during "The (Arena) Tour" and afterward.
"I think about all of those things though that, you know, that we did, and all of the decisions that I made, and of course I wish that I would've been more present, you know, I wish I would've hung out with you (Smyers) more", Mooney said.
He went on to talk more about how all of the negativity he felt at that point.
"I was just in this very feeling sorry for myself place and not wanting to take responsibility for anything', Mooney said. I think that's a lot of the reason why I was unhappy, you know, during our arena tour. Like, we'd built this thing up in our head, and I was hanging so much of my happiness on the success of that arena tour. And even when it was successful, I got to that show and then we would leave, like, mad about something stupid. And it was because we put so much weight on that moment that when it was over, what, what a downer. Especially at that point, I was, I was drinking a lot, so those highs became really high and the lows became really, really low."
Smyers responded and talked about why he and Mooney felt separated at the time.
"We just weren't working on it", Smyers said. "We let things get in the way, we let things fly out the window and man, that moment when we sat down and just talked it out, I feel like was so healthy. That night was like, that night changed it all."
"And I feel like that was such a big turning point", Mooney revealed. "It was us saying to each other, like, I'm willing to fight for this."
Rewind back to that night in March, 2022. Both members of the duo met to make a decision on what their futures looked like. Smyers asked Mooney if they wanted to be done as a duo after having a great time making music together for a decade or if they wanted to begin a new chapter writing songs.
I am very happy that they had a long conversation to work things out and continue to make music. Their Bigger Houses album that came out of all of this is by far my favorite body of work so far from them.
"I feel like this was the kind of the first time, like after after the Arena Tour, after COVID, that we were able to, like, step back and just assess," Smyers said. "You know, I had no balance before. It was completely one-sided. I was ignoring my marriage, I was ignoring all of my friends, that I completely burnt myself out, I entirely burnt myself out."
Mooney said that he went through similar things struggling with his marriage, and talked about other things that went through his mind during that time.
"For me, we didn't ever take time to be able to appreciate winning a Grammy or all these things because it was just happening so fast", Mooney said.
I am very glad that when the duo had their conversation, that they were also able to slow down and reflect on a lot of topics.
After the conversation, when Dan + Shay started writing songs together again, Smyers reflected on the experience.
"The thing that filled my cup the most was being in a room with you making music together and one of the most important things that's ever happened in my life is Dan + Shay", Smyers said.
When it came to the duo's decision to get back together in a room to write songs together, they talked about how their relationship was in the best place it has ever been, and most likely still is based on their social media posts in 2024 and now in 2025.
"I can feel the closeness of our relationship and our friendship when I listen back to the music", Smyers said. "We are by far, a million times, the closest we've ever been for so many reasons, but because we worked at it. That makes what we're doing now infinitely sustainable. I could do this the rest of my life with you."
Mooney responded and talked about how much their music means to their fans.
"We love this band; this has been our life", Mooney said. "It matters and it matters to people. We have a responsibility and we owe it to them."
Whether they had decided to stop the duo and not make music together anymore or they decided to start out fresh and make new music together, I would have respected their decision either way. At the end of the day, I want them to be happy.
I am very happy that Dan + Shay truly worked on themselves personally and professionally. I could tell that their friendship had strengthened when I listened to their fifth album for the first time last September. It felt like I was listening to their music for the first time again.
Below is the honest, raw, real video from Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel.
On my social media pages a couple of weeks ago, I started to ask Dan + Shay related trivia questions to my followers. The purpose of this is to get as many people engaged with my pages as possible, for my followers to learn new things, and most importantly, for them to have some fun! I will continue to ask multiple questions throughout the day on Tuesday's and I plan to do other Dan + Shay related activities on the other days of the week as time goes on.
Today I realized that not everyone has social media accounts. I also realized that some people do not check their social media accounts on a daily basis. To let everyone join in on the fun, on Sunday's I will bring the trivia questions as well as the other activities I come up with down the line to my blog. This way everyone can participate and have some fun!
If you use social media and have not done it already, you can follow me on Instagram by searching @dailydoseofdanandshay and you can follow and like my page on Facebook by searching Daily Dash Of Dan + Shay! For those of you who have done this already, thank you very much! I truly appreciate your support!
Below, I will post the five trivia questions I asked on my social media pages over the last two weeks. I will reveal the possible answers below each one. Please put your guesses for each question in the comment section of this post. Also, please feel free to go back to read previous posts to find some of the answers! I want to make sure everyone has an adequate amount of time to participate. On Friday, I will update the post with the correct answers! Happy guessing everyone!
Question 1 from 05/27/2025: Who is the lead vocalist of Dan + Shay?
Possible Answer #1: Dan Smyers
Possible Answer #2: Shay Mooney
Question 2 from 06/03/2025: What is the title of Dan + Shay's first album?
Possible Answer #1: The Introduction
Possible Answer #2: How It Started
Possible Answer #3: Where It All Began
Question 3 from 06/03/2025: Shay is his middle name. What is his first name?
Possible Answer #1: John
Possible Answer #2: Matthew
Possible Answer #3: James
Question 4 from 06/03/2025: Finish the correct lyric: "Nothin' like you shades on. . .
Possible Answer #1: Spinnin' in the summer rain
Possible Answer #2: Turnin' in the summer rain
Possible Answer #3: Twirlin' in the summer rain
Question 5 from 06/03/2025: When Did Dan + Shay first meet?
When you have a revenge song called "Save Me The Trouble", you know every live performance of it is going to be epic. Dan + Shay made that happened when they performed the track on the Country Music Association Awards on November 8, 2023. They were held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Both guys were dressed in black short sleeve shirts and black pants. At the start of the performance, the arena and stage were dark with red curtains closed behind the duo. Dan is playing his guitar and singing harmonies while Shay is singing lead vocals, both standing at center stage. The whole scene is very dramatic.
When they got to the first chorus of the song, the red curtains opened, revealing their band, some back-up singers, and musicians on violins. Dan + Shay moved to the front of the stage for the second verse. Shay was at the tip of the stage singing directly to the audience with Dan still off to the side playing his guitar.
At the end of the second chorus, Shay picked up the microphone stand while performing. After the second chorus, the song went into the post-chorus with the "Oh's" that Shay draws out. Next thing you know, he got down on his knees and slid up the stage while belting out the notes at the same time. The lights were moving all around the stage and you could hear the audience cheering in amazement. At the end of the performance, the duo received a standing ovation.
During this performance, Dan was more in the background playing his guitar and singing harmonies, but he gave Shay the spotlight and he fully embraced it and then some.
This song is full of angst and frustration and the duo let out both of these emotions throughout the performance. Stay tuned for future posts about this song, including my commentary on the lyrics, vocals, and production, my commentary on the music video, and the excitement that surrounded the song, as it was the lead single off their Bigger Houses album.
Below is the video of the CMA Awards performance from Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel! Enjoy!
At the end of 2024 on December 29th, Dan + Shay posted a picture and video collage on social media that featured all of their successes from the past year. The montage is set to the duo's original song "Happy New Year" from their double Christmas album.
It starts with an adorable video of Dan alongside Shay's youngest son at the time, Abram sitting at the piano with Shay watching in the back. Other highlights from the video that were featured include the duo's inaugural season as coaches on "The Voice", the guys posing for a picture after their Duo of the Year award win at the Academy Of Country Music Awards, and another one of them posing with their trophy after their Favorite Group win at The People's Choice Awards.
There was also a lot of content from the stage and behind-the-scenes footage from their sold-out Heartbreak On The Map tours. The arena tour started on February 29th and ended on April 23rd. The outdoor venue portion of the tour began on July 18th and ended on September 21st. I got the opportunity to see them on the arena portion of this tour last March and it was a night with friends that I will never forget. Stay tuned for a future blog post with pictures and videos from this concert.
The duo had an extremely busy, yet successful 2024. In addition to all of the fun they had that I mentioned above, Dan + Shay ended the year with the release of It's Officially Christmas: The Double Album. There were a few clips from this joyful period, including the guys holding the red and green vinyl records of their first holiday album.
From watching Dan + Shay accept their trophies and give their speeches at the ACM Awards and PCA's, seeing them in concert for the sixth time on their arena tour, watching them as coaches on "The Voice", and viewing all of the content surrounding their double Christmas album, I could tell that the duo were happy and having fun. When the duo gave their award show speeches and when talking to the crowd at the concert, they always expressed gratitude to many people, including their fans.
Below is the the Shorts video from the duo's YouTube channel. You can also find the video on Dan + Shay's social media accounts! Enjoy!
Shorts video courtesy of Dan + Shay's YouTube Channel
Although the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing in December, 2020 and precautions were still in effect, the CMA (Country Music Association) Country Christmas special was still able to film at a location in Nashville, Tennessee. The only difference that year was its location and that there was no audience.
Dan + Shay were invited to the event and they performed their original song, "Christmas Isn't Christmas". Both members of the duo looked sharp, dressed in black tuxedos. The set they performed on had living room vibes. It was decorated for the holidays with pre-lit Christmas trees and wreaths. With Dan on the piano and vocals and Shay singing lead vocals, the guys gave a beautiful, harmony-filled performance of their sentimental ballad. Shay's vocals were flawless and you could hear Dan's harmonies backing him up. The cameras panned all around the duo during the performance and at the end, they received a round of applause from the crew who were distant from them in the room.
The duo always gives a no-gimmick performance, whether it is on tv or at their concerts. This performance was no exception. There were no distractions in the background; all eyes were on the guys telling the story with their emotional Christmas song.
Stay tuned for more posts about this song, including my commentary of the songs lyrics and message, and what it means to me, another on the music video with some behind-the-scenes information, and my commentary of other TV performances they have done over the last last five years.
Below is the video of Dan + Shay's CMA Country Christmas performance of "Christmas Isn't Christmas" which aired on ABC on November 30, 2020. Enjoy!
Dan + Shay were pretty quiet on social media during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that changed shortly thereafter. They released a new single titled "I Should Probably Go To Bed" on July 31, 2020. The duo got very creative during this period and put out what I believe was their craziest song vocally and production-wise up to that point. Stay tuned for a future post with my full commentary on the studio version, including the story behind the song.
On September 9, 2020, the duo released a piano-infused version of the song as well as a music video, both recorded and filmed at the historic studio, Ocean Way Studio Nashville. Dan is on the grand piano and has a microphone in the open room, dressed in long sleeve yellow shirt (in honor of the song's color theme) and jeans while Shay is at the microphone, dressed in a blue jacket with a white strip over a black t-shirt and jeans.
Because this is an acoustic performance with only the piano to back the duo up, you can really hear Dan's voice alongside Shay's insane vocals. For example, after Shay starts the refrain, "I should probably go to bed", you can hear Dan sing an "ahhh". And when Shay sings the line later in the refrain, " 'Cause I know in the morning (in the morning)" as well as the lyric right after it, "I'll be callin' (I'll be callin')", you can hear Dan repeat those lines after Shay. Toward the end of the song, Dan sings the line "Ooh, I'm all up in my head" and "I should go to bed". You can hear the higher register of his voice on those lyrics.
Since Shay is the lead vocalist of the duo, I hardly get to hear Dan's voice in a clear manner on their studio albums except for when he sings short phrases here and there. And if I listen extra closely, sometimes I can pick out his harmonies.
When the duo releases new music later in 2025, I hope to finally hear Dan take a full line or a full verse on at least one of the songs. I know he enjoys singing the background vocals, harmonies, and producing all of their albums, but I want to hear him take the lead in the duo for the first time. That would make my heart very happy! I think that he should branch out a bit and showcase his beautiful voice!
The studio version of "I Should Probably Go To Bed" starts off slowly, builds up to an epic and crazy ending, and then finishes on a subtle note. On this acoustic version, Shay still managed to stretch out his vocal chords by showing the world some crazy sides of his voice, including his insane falsetto. To this day, I cannot get over how incredibly talented Shay is. Just when you think you have heard it all, he does something new with his voice!
When they finished singing, Shay, who was about to burst out laughing, looked over at Dan on the piano and said, "I looked at you in the beginning and I almost didn't make it. We made eye contact and I just about lost it."
Dan + Shay released "Tequila", the first single from their upcoming third self-titled album, on January 9, 2018, a song that would catapult their careers to a whole new level. Less than two months later, the duo was invited to perform their new single on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", which aired on March 1, 2018.
I used to watch her show every day and catch up on episodes on our DVR when I got behind. I remember DeGeneres always used to feature the best of the best when it came to music artists, no matter how long they had been around. She and her staff saw something special with the duo and that meant a lot to me, as well as the fact that they were invited to perform on her show not once, but twice! Stay tuned for a future post about their first time on her show when they performed "From The Ground Up" in 2016.
The tall doors behind DeGeneres featured a massive image of the duo, Smyers dressed in a colorful Hawaiian-themed short-sleeved shirt and black pants while Mooney wore a black zippered leather jacket over a black t-shirt and black pants. Smyers and Mooney both held a blue SOLO Cup in honor of the song title.
"Our next guests are the biggest duo in country music who sing about something I love", DeGeneres said. "Here to perform "Tequila", please welcome Dan + Shay." The doors behind DeGeneres opened to show the duo backed by their band. The audience applauded and the duo started their performance. They gave a solid performance of their new single, which showcased Smyers' harmonies and Mooney's extensive vocal range. The duo and their band members looked like they were all enjoying themselves being on the iconic talk show hosts set as they told the story that details a past relationship.
At the end while the audience gave the duo a round of applause, DeGeneres headed to the stage to give them both a hug and plugged "Tequila". She told the TV and studio audience they can stream the song on Spotify.
Stay tuned for a future post on the story and massive success behind Dan + Shay's fourth number one hit at country radio.
Video courtesy of The Ellen Show's YouTube Channel
This is a follow-up to my thoughts post from Friday, specifically on the country radio portion.
Dan + Shay have racked up 11 number one songs at country radio over the last 10 years with "Nothin' Like You" off their Where It All Began album, From The Ground Up" and "How Not To" off their Obsessed album. These were followed by "Tequila", Speechless", and "All To Myself" off their self-titled album, "10,000 Hours" with Justin Bieber, "I Should Probably Go To Bed", and "Glad You Exist" off their Good Things album, along with "Save Me The Trouble" and "Bigger Houses" off their current Bigger Houses album.
I truly love each of these songs for different reasons and it would make me beyond happy to hear a combination of them on the radio daily or even on a weekly basis. I will profile each of them in separate posts along the way with the exception of "Nothin' Like You", which I recently wrote about. I wish that each of the songs listed above could be played on country radio every day, but unfortunately, right now it is not happening because of market and audience data that is happening the background. In my local area (as I had mentioned in my Friday post), when I happen to listen to the country stations here, I have only been hearing "Speechless", "Tequila", and "Save Me The Trouble" recently.
I also want their latest single "Always Gonna Be" to start moving up the Mediabase (the main country radio chart). It has been at radio since early March. I have been checking the top 50 chart on my All Access Powered By Medianase free radio account (I will provide more information on that below in this post) for weeks and it has not entered this chart quite yet.
I will start helping to make a big difference and impact at country radio for Dan + Shay this week and you can too!
If you know the call letters for your local country radio station, you can type them into Google and it should bring up the radio stations website. Most of them have a contact section where you can type out a message. Some have multiple options of who to contact in the dropdown menu. I will always choose the program director at the station if it is available. This is primarily how I will be contacting stations.
Most stations also have a Facebook and/or Instagram page and you can send them a message through one of those outlets.
In your message (via the stations website or on their social media page), you can tell the station that you want to start hearing Dan + Shay's other number one hits that are your favorite, etc. Be specific with the titles. You can also ask your station if they have added the duo's newest single, "Always Gonna Be". If they say they have, you can reply and thank them. If they have not, please ask them to add it so you can hear it on the radio soon!
To view the current country radio chart, the songs your station might add every Monday (Tuesday if Monday is on a federal holiday), and monitored and unmonitored station information, you can sign up for a free account on the website All Access Powered By Mediabase at this link: https://www.allaccess.com/login. Once you sign up, you will want to navigate to the Mediabase tab at the very top right of the page. From there, you will see tabs for the categories I mentioned above. I have had an account for many years and I love being able to see the charts, my stations most played songs, and when my stations add Dan + Shay's singles. To this day I feel like a kid waking up on Christmas morning when I find out that one of them has added their new song!
I know that this will take time and we have to be patient. However, if we send in our feedback and requests to our local country radio stations and any others all over the country too like I will be doing, I think we will make a big difference. It will show the program directors that we want to hear more of Dan + Shay's number one singles on a weekly basis and also hear their most played songs more frequently!
When I wrote the post early on about my trip down memory lane with Dan + Shay in 2014, I completely forgot to mention what is coming next. I was going to update that post, but then decided it deserves its own post.
Prior to Christmas of 2014, Dan + Shay had a daily fan engagement contest on Twitter to help spread the word about their first ever holiday cover of "Have Yourself A Merry Christmas". Each day, the fan who posted a link to the song's music video and tagged the duo the most would receive a handwritten Christmas card. As you know from this blog so far, I love being able to support Dan + Shay in any way I can, so I was on board to do this, even if I did not win a card from them. Well, one day during the contest, I was lucky enough to win one after posting enough links to their Christmas music video and tagging them in it on my Twitter account! I received my personalized card in the mail shortly after. It has been in my memorabilia box for a long time. After looking at it today, it put a huge smile on my face!
The front has the Dan + Shay logo in all caps with a blue plus sign in the middle from the "Where It All Began" album period. The personalized note to me inside is handwritten in all caps. It says "STACY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! IT WAS A PLEASURE GETTING TO MEET YOU THIS YEAR! WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT + LOVE YA! LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN 2015! XOXO. Dan + Shay." They also wrote their names in cursive.
As of the last few years, the duo still sent out Christmas cards to their fans. Last year, from November 18 through the 22nd, the duo posted on Instagram there would be a link on their website to sign up for a chance to win one of many signed cards from them. I signed up for one, but did not receive a card. That is completely ok with me because the one I got in 2014 was very special and means a lot to me, even to this day! It is the icing on the cake for me in addition to everything else they have done for me over the last 11 years. I do not know what my life would be like without Dan + Shay and their music. I am very happy that I stumbled upon them and their music in 2014!
The cards they send now are not as personalized as mine was, but they still take the time out of their busy schedules to write out a generic message and personally sign them all.
Stay tuned for more Dan + Shay Christmas-related posts in the future!
Below are two pictures of my Christmas card from 2014.
