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Dan + Shay
Dan + Shay performing at the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, February 2017
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Country
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Warner Bros. Nashville
Members	Dan Smyers Shay Mooney

Dan + Shay is an American country music duo composed of vocalists and songwriters Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney.^[1] They are signed to Warner Bros. Records Nashville and have released three albums, Where It All Began, Obsessed, and Dan + Shay. These albums have accounted for a total of nine singles, of which five have topped the Country Airplay chart and two have topped the Hot Country Songs chart. In addition to their own material, the group's members have collaborated with Rascal Flatts, Lindsey Stirling, RaeLynn, and Kelly Clarkson among others.

Members

Dan Smyers

Dan Smyers

Daniel Smyers (born (1987-08-16) August 16, 1987 (age 31)) was raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania, where he attended North Allegheny Senior High School.^[2] He attended Carnegie Mellon University to study finance and play football.^[3] Smyers has been in a relationship with Abby Law for a few years. Smyers and Law became engaged in 2016. Abby made a cameo in a Dan + Shay lyric video for their song "Nothin' Like You." Dan and Abby got married on May 13, 2017.

Shay Mooney

Shay Mooney

James Shay Mooney (born (1991-12-27) December 27, 1991 (age 27)) was raised in Natural Dam, Arkansas, and attended Union Christian Academy (Fort Smith, Arkansas) and Van Buren High School (Van Buren, Arkansas). Following high school, he attended Valley Forge Christian College for one year before completely pursuing his music career.^[4] He was in a relationship with country singer Veronica Ballestrini from January 2012 to March 2013. During their relationship, they would post cover and original songs on YouTube and reached over 150,000 views combined. He wrote a song for Ballestrini's sophomore album Flip Side entitled "Lonely Alone". He is the subject of her song "Death of Me," and he also sang background on it. Ballestrini's album was released on June 17, 2014. Mooney and Smyers song "Nothin' Like You" is about Ballestrini. On October 8, 2016, Mooney announced on Instagram that he and his fiancée Hannah Billingsley were expecting a baby together. On January 24, 2017, Billingsley gave birth to their son, Asher James Mooney. Mooney and Billingsley were married on October 20, 2017, in Arkansas.^[5]

Before the duo's foundation, Mooney was a solo artist on T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment label and Smyers was a member of a group called Bonaventure as well as a previous member of the band Transition on Floodgate Records.^[6]

History

2013–2017: Where It All Began and Obsessed

The two met in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 7, 2012, and started writing the day after they met. The first song they ever wrote together got put on hold for Rascal Flatts. Within two months, the duo had multiple publishing offers and signed with Warner/Chappell Music.^[7]

On October 14, 2013, the debut single, "19 You + Me", was released to country radio. Dan + Shay wrote the song with Danny Orton. The song received a positive review at Taste of Country which praised the "warm details" and "emotion."^[6] Their debut album, Where It All Began,^[8] was released on April 1, 2014, which Orton produced with Scott Hendricks.^[9] The album's second single, "Show You Off", was released to country radio on May 12, 2014.^[10] They performed on The Ellen Show, performing "19 You + Me" in 2014. They made their Grand Ole Opry debut on February 1, 2014.^[11] They also received a 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards Vocal Duo of the Year nomination.^[12] The album's third single, "Nothin' Like You", was released to country radio on February 23, 2015. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in December 2015.

Dan + Shay was the opening act for Hunter Hayes on his We're Not Invisible Tour, which began in March 2014.^[13] Dan + Shay opened up for Blake Shelton on the 2014 leg of his Ten Times Crazier Tour. The tour began in June 2014 and ended in October 2014.^[14] Following the end of the Ten Times Crazier Tour, Dan + Shay embarked on their own 10-date headlining tour, entitled the "Where It All Began Tour." The tour began on October 9, 2014, in Minneapolis and concluded in Columbus, Ohio, on October 26, 2014.^[15] After the conclusion of the "Where It All Began Tour," Dan + Shay set out on the road once more with Hunter Hayes on his Tattoo (Your Name) Tour.

In August 2015, the duo announced the Just the Right Kind of Crazy Tour across the Midwest and eastern United States.^[16] Their sophomore album's first single, "From the Ground Up", was released to country radio in February 2016. The album's second single, "How Not To", was released to country radio on September 26, 2016. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2017. The album's third single, "Road Trippin'", was released to country radio on July 17, 2017.

2018: Dan + Shay

In January 2018, the duo released "Tequila", the lead single from their self-titled third studio album, which was released on June 22, 2018. "Tequila" has since become their highest-charting effort on the US Billboard Hot 100, with it reaching the top 40. The album also features a collaboration with Kelly Clarkson on "Keeping Score".^[17] In August, they released Dan + Shay (The Vocals), which includes the vocal tracks of the two singles from the album.^[18]

In popular culture

Dan + Shay song "Stop Drop + Roll" was featured on the Nashville season two episode, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad". They were also featured on The Bachelorette in an episode that aired on June 7, 2016.

The duo also collaborated with violinist, dancer, and YouTuber Lindsey Stirling on a song from her third album Brave Enough. The song was entitled "Those Days", and the album was released on August 19, 2016.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Notes

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Tours

Headlining

• 
  Where It All Began Tour (2014–15)
  
  
  
  • with Cam (2014)
  
  
  • with Canaan Smith (2015)
  
  
  
  


• 
  Just the Right Kind of Crazy Tour (2015) with Kelsea Ballerini^[16]
  


• 
  The Obsessed Tour (2016–17)
  
  • with Walker Hayes
    
  
  


• 
  Dan + Shay Tour (2019) (select dates) with Chris Lane and (select dates) with Morgan Evans
  

Supporting

• 
  We're Not Invisible Tour (2014) with Hunter Hayes and Danielle Bradbery
  


• 
  Ten Times Crazier Tour (2014) with Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, and Neal McCoy
  


• 
  Tattoo (Your Name) Tour (2014) with Hunter Hayes and The Railers
  


• 
  Good for a Good Time Tour (2016) with Darius Rucker and Michael Ray
  


• 
  Home Team Tour (2017) (select dates) with Thomas Rhett
  


• 
  Back to Us Tour (2018) with Rascall Flatts and Carly Pearce
  


• 
  Can't Say I Ain't Country Tour (2019) with Florida Georgia Line
  

Touring band

• Justin Richards – guitar (of Brighten and formerly A Rocket to the Moon)


• Dustin Hook – bass (formerly of My American Heart)


• Andrew Cook – drums (formerly of The Receiving End of Sirens and A Rocket to the Moon)


• Izaac Burkhart – guitar, keys, backing vocals (formerly of Weaver at the Loom and Verskotzi)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan + Shay.

• Official website