Dan + Shay Talk Christmas Music Video Comedy And Double Christmas Album With Shannon Ella At Pure Country Radio Ahead Of 2024 CMA Awards

Dan + Shay released their highly anticipated It's Officially Christmas: The Double Album on October 19, 2024. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney sat down with Shannon Ella from Pure Country Radio on November 19, the day prior to the Country Music Association Awards to dish some behind-the scenes information when it came to filming their "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town music video and share some details on how the project came to life.

First, they discussed the hilarious, fun music video for the sing-along-track. 

"Did anything go wrong when that happened?", Ella asked the duo.

"Clearly," Mooney said, breaking out in laughter.

"Honestly, a lot of things went wrong," Smyers chimed in. "There were no spills, like nothing too crazy." 

He revealed what happened unexpectedly during the final scene, as they had to film each one in a single take.

"The very last one, we're about to finish the song," Smyers started. "We're in East Nashville, right, on Holly Street. This lady comes out on the front porch, "We live here!", and I was like shaking, going "Keep going", we had to finish this. And I don't know where she is today today, she's in that video somewhere."

Ella transitioned and asked the guys why they decided to put out a double Christmas album.

"That wasn't like the plan originally," Mooney told her. "But it was like, I think it was January, we had a snowfall here in Nashville. I went over to Dan's house and we ended up writing a Christmas song, one of the first originals that were, new originals that were on the Christmas album. And that was just kind of the first domino of creating this Christmas album. We got really inspired."

Mooney then told the Pure Country Radio reporter how the project turned into a double album. This happened after they had all of the original songs completed.

"Dan was like, 'Dude, I think, I think I could pull this off if we could do a double album'," Mooney told Ella.

Now, he (Mooney) talked about part of the process when it came to recording the project.

"I did the vocals and that was kind of...that was my contribution. I was like 'Cool, Dan, I'll see you in about six months'," Mooney said with sarcasm in his voice.

Up next, the Natural Dam, Arkansas native gave kudos to Smyers and commented on the impact this album will always have on him and his musical partner, their families, as well as their fans who will continue to listen to it for years to come.

"The production...Dan absolutely just crushed it," Mooney said. "This Christmas album is going to live on for the rest of our lives, you know. This is one of those legacy things that we're very, very proud of. I hope that, you know, kids now that are like five years old hear it in like ten years, and this is the album that they're listening to, you know, and grew up on. That's the dream."

The clip ended with Mooney talking what song his son had on repeat a few days prior to doing this interview.

"My son is like, he gets hooked on songs. Literally, for the like the last three nights, he has had on repeat "Officially Christmas" and I hear it in his room. And even I'm getting, I'm like, 'Alright buddy, maybe, would you try "Save The Snowman?" Try something else'," Mooney told Ella, chuckling.

I love watching Dan + Shay being interviewed because they are so real and honest with the hosts and reporters, but they can also be funny. Below is the clip of the entire interview with Shannon Ella courtesy of Pure Country Radio's YouTube Channel for you to enjoy!