After nearly calling it quits just a few short years ago, Country duo Dan + Shay has found new perspective, purpose and passion behind their career and the sky’s the limit.
While appearing on the 'Superstar Power Hour' with Audacy’s Katie Neal this week, the pair chatted about some of their newfound dreams which, for Dan Smyers in particular, includes writing a musical.
“I’m a super-fan,” Dan said when asked if he’s ever done theater. “Before I die, I want to write a musical,” he added before taking his aspirations up a level and sharing he’d like to reach EGOT status (an an acronym used for individuals who win an Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar, and Tony Awards).
“We’ve got a GRAMMY, so we’ve only got three more to get the EGOT,” he laughed. “We got nominated for an Emmy doing The Voice, so we got close, but we didn’t quite get there.”
While the ambitions are bigger than ever for the pair in their mid-thirties, they both admit it stems from a different place than earlier in their career. Their new perspectives shine bright on their 5th studio album, 'Bigger Houses,' which came after a near falling-out for the guys following their 2021 arena tour. They shared their experience in a candid YouTube video where they discussed the darkness they faced individually and as a band just a few years ago, and what pulled them through.
"I was in the lowest low of my entire life," Dan recalled in the video. "Came off the road and I was like, 'Man, I f***ing hate music. I'm ready to quit.'"
Shay Mooney boldly added, “I could feel the separation and I think there was little things between you and I that we never talked about and it was affecting everything. Not just our band — our marriages, everything. I was in a really dark place."
Hitting rock bottom ultimately helped the duo rise together with a new appreciation, spirit, and motivation for music and the result of it all glows in 'Bigger Houses.'
“I feel like that album kinda got us back to the fundamentals and the basics of Dan + Shay and appreciating and loving music,” Dan expressed to Katie. Shay added, “I think we’ve also grown up a lot as people, our friendship has gotten closer… I feel like we’ve learned a lot of things because we’ve made a lot of mistakes.”
After putting it all into practice since the release of Bigger Houses in 2023, the guys say they’re ready to keep the momentum and good vibes going into a new project which they both look forward to creating in 2025.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get back to writing again,” said Shay. “I’m really looking forward to getting back in the studio because we’re intentionally giving ourselves the time to be creative and get into the studio and be like, ‘hey, what do we want to create?’ And just enjoy that process... our fans deserve that — for us to give it everything we have.”
Hear so much more about new music, what Bigger Houses and meant to them, plus their best holiday card tips and tricks by checking out Dan + Shay’s entire conversation on the Superstar Power Hour with Katie Neal above.
Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal
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