When Dan + Shay released “Tequila,” the debut single from their eponymous third album, they never imagined how successful the song would become. “Tequila” not only became a multi-week No. 1 hit on the country charts, but it also landed in the Top 20 on the pop charts, hit an astonishing one hundred million streams, and was nominated for two CMA Awards, for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year.
“It’s been crazy,” Shay Mooney told PopCulture.com at a recent media event. “The support country radio had on that song and our fans, it’s amazing. And to see that cross over into different genres has been incredible for us. As many people that can hear the song, it only helps us, and only helps the country genre. It brings people in from the outside and we’ve had that a lot, where people are like, ‘Man, I’ve never listened to country music, but I heard your song and now I’ve discovered all these other acts.’”
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“We’re blessed to be able to do this for a living,” he continued, “and just to have a song get this big is just crazy for us. So, we’re lucky to do it.”
The song was written by Dan Smyers, along with Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds, as an ode to Dan + Shay’s drink of choice.
“We did like 200 shows last year or something,” Smyers previously told PopCulture.com. “And all us band guys, we’re like, ‘We should try to not drink ten beers tonight, cut some calories.”
Dan + Shay and their fellow band members first tried vodka, before realizing tequila was their favorite.
“It’s cool,” Smyers said. “It gives us a little burst of energy before we go on stage. We’ll do a celebratory little shot and sip on it all around stage. It naturally became our drink of choice with the Dan + Shay band and crew. And it’s been a part of our lives.”
Dan + Shay’s string of successes, including their recent CMA Award nomination for Duo of the Year and their current “Speechless” single rapidly climbing the charts, has brought focus and clarity to the guys that they may not have otherwise realized.
“One thing that I’ve learned, really, is just to be able to really slow it down, and to take every single day as it comes,” Mooney said. “You live it like it could be your last, because we’re not promised tomorrow. Not to get weird and be like, ‘Oh, it’s a very ominous feeling,’ but it really is. And that’s not [to say], ‘Man, we don’t have a lot of time left,’ it’s to be like, ‘Man, we have today. We definitely have today and we need to use that.’”
Dan + Shay will spend the fall on the road, opening for Chris Young on his Losing Sleep World Tour. Find dates at DanandShay.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Jason Davis
