Dan + Shay on touring with Kenny Chesney, their new single and playing overseas

"Each song that you write and record is like your baby"

Dan + Shay with Elaina D. Smith
Author: Iesha Mae ThomasPublished 22nd Jul 2022

Dan + Shay have sent their 14th(!) song to country radio. And their fans are saying - it's about time! The country music duo sat down with Elaina D. Smith to celebrate their new single, 'You'.

“Our fans have loved this song since the album came out. That’s the blessing of social media, you can see what people think about your music in real time. Sometimes it’s bad, sometimes it’s good. But this song people have connected to since day one."

"We’ve seen on Instagram and TikTok so many people using this song as their first dance at their weddings. It’s so cool for us, out of all the songs, I don't know why they would choose ours for the biggest moment of somebody’s life, it’s surreal. We’ve had a few like that in our career, and this one is shaping up to be one as well for us."

They performed the song at the Billboard Music Awards this year, and man, that note at the end? Wow! Was it planned?

"It wasn’t. That audience was so fun, feeling ourselves. It was a last minute addition. It’s fun doing new songs. All genre feel different than CMAs. The country events are always like a reunion, you know everybody and you end up partying after into the morning."

"But at all genre events it’s crazy, Kylie Jenner was jamming to our songs, Diddy came up to us, tapped us on the shoulder and was like, "I love your music. I listen to 'Speechless' every day" and we’re like, "Excuse me? Mr Diddy."

Dan + Shay have already had nine top ten hits on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, including seven number one songs. Is there pressure each time you send a new song to country radio?

“There's a little bit of nerves, the song’s been out for a while and we know our fans love it but this is an opportunity for a lot more ears to hear it and we’re mostly excited. Each song that you write and record is like your baby, you care about each song and release into the world hoping as many people love it as you do."

Dan + Shay not only write some of the biggest country songs, but they also make some incredibly gorgeous music videos. Can we expect one for 'You'?

"We’re working on a video. Couple ideas kicking around. We go for it on the video. We’ve had so many singles, we’ve done everything so now it’s like, are we going to space, are we going underwater? Who knows.”

WATCH: Dan + Shay - Tequila (Official Music Video)

According to Dan + Shay, they alternate years between having a huge headline tour, releasing an album and going all out. And 2022 is an off year for them. So naturally, they’re touring with Kenny Chesney. If that's having an "off" year, what on earth do they do on an "on" year?!

“Every artist dreams of going out with Kenny. You hear stories like that’s the tour you’ve got to get on, it’s a really good time. Everybody’s hanging, everybody’s out there. You’re a sitting duck, we know every word to his songs. They’re still fans. Toured with Carly a couple times, and the old dominion guys are great, it’s such a good lineup.”

“When we finish our set, we have a shower and run to the front of house . He has this viewing deck above the stage. We're genuine fans and he’s a huge part of why we’re in country music. Getting to go to a Kenny Chesney show every Saturday is a huge plus. And playing our own show is a bonus."

"Kenny has had the same crew and band for so many years and he’s built a family. It’s so representative of what country music is and to be a part of that community. The energy of the whole tour is incredible. Backstage there’s a bar and they’re making food. It’s a party every weekend.”

Speaking of touring... any chance they'll come back to the UK anytime soon?

"We’ll be touring like crazy next year. We miss the UK. it’s so funny, we’ve had such great support overseas we spend most of our time here, but over there it’s smaller venues like theatres and clubs. 22 guys in a 16 person bus. Absolutely crazy, it’s brutal. It’s a grind. Those are the best memories. We almost burned a dressing room in Cologne. I don’t think I saw the sun for 2 weeks."

And finally, is there any new music in the pipeline? "Early this year we started writing for the next record. It's the first album nobody is checking in. We hit a stride with writing. We haven’t recorded anything, I feel like we’re going to have the biggest batch of songs to choose from. I think it’s going to be a special project."