Dan + Shay Reintroduce Themselves by Harnessing ‘Something That AI Can’t Replicate: The Human Spirit’

Dan + Shay know when they have a hit on their hands.

In their 13 years together, the duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney have become one of country music’s surest bets.

Songs like “Tequila” and “10,000 Hours” with Justin Bieber (which reached No.

2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 ) have topped Billboard ’s Country Airplay chart, they’ve won multiple Grammys and CMA Awards, and heard their lyrics sung back at them from stages across the world.

Related Inside the Art of Choosing Who Sings the National Anthem At Major Sporting Events Dan + Shay Call ‘Say So,’ Their Tribute to a Departed Friend, ‘The Most Important Song That We’ll Ever Do’ Dan + Shay Sign With New Management Team: ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ So when they left their writing room in Nashville with their new batch of songs for their follow-up to 2024’s Bigger Houses , they knew the feeling.

The songs were hits.

But there was another, more unfamiliar feeling behind it.

“We had cold feet,” Smyers admits.

Speaking after Dan + Shay played a triumphant Billboard Canada THE STAGE show in Toronto at NXNE, the duo recount a pivotal few years.

After admitting they nearly broke up in 2022 , the duo released 2024’s Bigger Houses and, after finishing their tour, took an unofficial hiatus.

They slowed band activity and their public presence and focused on themselves.

They strengthened their relationships with each other and with their families.

They went to therapy.

Both fathers in their mid- to late 30s, they grappled with maturity and their new stages in life.