DAN + SHAY
Music Is EVERYTHING YOU NEED
Dan + Shay are 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 two albums, Where It All Began.,Obsessed. This album has produced three Top 40 singles on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay.
Early life
Dan Smyers (born August 16, 1987) was raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania, where he attended North Allegheny Senior High School.[2] He attended Carnegie Mellon University to study finance.[3]
James Shay Mooney (born December 27, 1991) was raised in Natural Dam, Arkansas and attended Union Christian Academy (Fort Smith, 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 singerVeronica Ballestrini from 2011 to early 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 sang background on it.
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.[5]
History
2013–present: 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 forRascal Flatts. Within two months the duo had multiple publishing offers and signed with Warner/Chappell Music.[6]
On October 14, 2013, the debut single "19 You + Me" was added 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."[5] Their debut album Where It All Began[7] was released on April 1, 2014, which Orton produced with Scott Hendricks.[8] "Show You Off" was released to country radio on May 12, 2014, as the album's second single.[9] They performed on The Ellen Show performing "19 You + Me" in 2014. They made their Grand Ole Opry debut February 1, 2014.[10] They also received a 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards Vocal Duo of the Year nomination.[11] The album's third single, "Nothin' Like You" released to country radio on February 23, 2015. It reached at #1 on Country Airplay in December 2015.
Dan + Shay was the opening act for Hunter Hayes on his We're Not Invisible Tour, which began in March 2014.[12] 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 of 2014.[13] 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 inColumbus, Ohio on October 26, 2014.[14] After the conclusion of the "Where It All Began Tour," Dan + Shay set out on the road once more with Hunter Hayes on hisTattoo (Your Name) Tour.
Their song 'Stop Drop + Roll' was featured on the Nashville season two episode, 'Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad'.
In August 2015, the duo announced the Just The Right Kind of Crazy Tour across the Midwest and eastern United States.[15]
Their sophomore album's first single, "From The Ground Up", was released to country radio in February 2016.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN | UK Country | |||
| Where It All Began |
| 1 | 6 | 12 | 14 |
|
| Obsessed |
| |||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certification | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] | US Country Airplay [20] | US [21] | CAN Country [22] | CAN [23] | |||||
| 2013 | "19 You + Me" | 7 | 11 | 42 | 23 | 47 |
|
| Where It All Began |
| 2014 | "Show You Off" | 29 | 21 | 111A | — | — |
| ||
| 2015 | "Nothin' Like You" | 5 | 1 | 51 | 4 | 72 |
|
| |
| 2016 | "From the Ground Up"B | 17 | 21 | 90 | 47 |
| Obsessed | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- A"Show You Off" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 11 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
- BCurrent single.[30]
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [19] | US AC | |||
| 2014 | "What You Do to Me" | 39 | — | Where It All Began |
| "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | — | 17 | N/A | |
| 2016 | "Already Ready" | 44 | — | Obsessed |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "19 You + Me"[31] | Brian Lazzaro |
| "Show You Off"[32] | Patrick Tracy | |
| "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"[33] | ||
| 2015 | "Nothin' Like You"[34] | |
| 2016 | "From the Ground Up"[35] | Shaun Silva |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year | Nominated |
| CMT Music Awards | Duo Video of the Year "19 You + Me" | ||
| Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year | ||
| 2015 | Academy of Country Music Awards | ||
| ASCAP Country Music Awards | Most Performed Songs "19 You + Me" | Won | |
| Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year | Nominated |
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[15]
- Supporting
- We're Not Invisible Tour (2014) with Hunter Hayes & Danielle Bradbery
- Ten Times Crazier Tour (2014) with Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, & Neal McCoy
- Tattoo (Your Name) Tour (2014) with Hunter Hayes & The Railers
Touring band
- Justin Richards - guitar (formerly of Brighten and 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/bgv's (formerly of Weaver At The Loom and verskotzi)
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