Feature Photo: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
Our Top 10 Dan + Shay Songs List presets the best Dan + Shay Songs like “10,000 Hours” “Tequila,” “19 You + Me” “Speechless,” and many more. Shay Mooney began his career as a solo artist on T-Pain’s Nappy Boy Entertainment label while Dan Smyers was performing with a band called Bonaventure before the two met in December 2012 during a house party Dan hosted in Nashville, Tennessee. The very next day the two team up for the first time as performers and songwriters.
In just two months’ time, Dan and Shay were approached by several music publishers before choosing to sign up with Warner/Chappell Music. As Dan + Shay, the duo released their debut single on October 14, 2013. “19 You + Me” was a song the men wrote with Danny Orton. It received positive reviews from music critics, as well as the fans. Where It All Began was the duo’s debut album, which was released on April 1, 2014.
Between “19 You + Me” and the album’s second single, “Show You Off,” Dan + Shay earned a 2014 nomination as Vocal Duo of the Year by the Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2015, Dan + Shay realized their first number one hit with “Nothin’ Like You.”
Instead of Dan and Shay or Dan & Shay, the duo uses the plus symbol by design. As Dan + Shay, the men had a busy tour schedule in 2014. Since then, the country-pop dynamic duo has released three additional albums. Obsessed was a 2016 release, followed by 2018’s Dan + Shay, and 2019’s Good Things.
Of the nine singles they’ve released, five of them topped the US Billboard Country Airplay chart while two of them topped the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Within this timeframe, Dan + Shay established themselves as an award-winning talent that won over the fans as pop-country artists as their musical influence often fused the best of both genres as one.
About Dan Smyers
Dan Smyers was born and raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania on August 16, 1987. When he was twelve years old, he began to play music but his true passion at the time was to study finance and play football. At least this was the case when he was a student at Carnegie Mellon University. However, after graduation in 2010, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and embarked on a music career instead.
Even before this, he was already part of a band that released a record in 2006. As frontman of Transition, Smyers was on tour in 2004 and 2006. He also performed with a rock band named Bonaventure. As of May 13, 2017, Myers married his longtime girlfriend, Abby Law. Law made appearances in some of the music videos performed by Dan + Shay, namely in “Nothin’ Like You,” “Speechless,” and “10,000 Hours.”
About Shay Mooney
Born on December 27, 1991, James Shay Mooney was a partly home-schooled student who was raised in Natural Dam, Arkansas. As he got older, he attended the Union Christian Academy and Van Buren High School before spending a year at Valley Forge Christian College. Already an experienced songwriter since he was fourteen years old, and a guitarist at sixteen years old, Mooney decided college wasn’t for him but a music career was.
He did sign a record deal with Nappy Boy Entertainment but canceled it after he teamed up with Dan Smyers to form Dan + Shay. Like Smyers, Shay Mooney also married in 2017. For Mooney, 2017 was a big year for him as he first became a father on January 24 when his fiancee, Hannah Billingsley gave birth to their son, Asher. The two officially tied the knot on October 20. On February 21, 2020, Mooney became a father of two when his wife gave birth to their second son, Ames.
Top 10 Dan + Shay Songs
#10 – When I Pray for You
Fans of Dan + Shay are likely aware of their faith as Christians. When the duo recorded “When I Pray for You” as a single for the soundtrack for the 2017 film The Shack, this proved to be an incredibly powerful number. From the perspective of a man about to become a father, the unconditional love he feels for his child was intense. The timing of the single’s release came when Shay Mooney became a father for the first time, so his soulful performance of “When I Pray for You” really made a heartfelt impact.
“When I Pray for You” became the highest-selling track in the Christian music genre after it debuted at number three on the US Billboard Christian Songs chart. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it also became a number thirty-nine hit. When Shay Mooney wrote the song as an expecting father in 2016, he and his songwriting friend, Dan Smyers, pooled their talent together as this song developed. When the invite to include it for The Shack came about, both men considered it an honor.
#9 – How Not To
From Obsessed is “How Not To,” a ballad that revolved around the heartbreak of a breakup. On the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, it became a number one hit single. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it peaked as high as number seven. “How Not To” became a number fifty-seven hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, it was a number twenty-five hit on its Canadian Country Tracks chart.
It also became certified platinum by the RIAA. As an emotional piece that took a trip down memory lane, it revealed the past doesn’t always want to stay where it belongs. The vocal talent of Dan + Shay was every bit as brilliant as the genius behind the lyrics. The music video related to this beautiful single, featured two recovering alcoholics who met and fell in love as the two lean on each other for support in their quest to move on and put their personal demons behind them.
#8 – Nothin’ Like You
2015’s “Nothin’ Like You” was Dan + Shay’s first number one hit as a duo. It was the third single from their debut album, Where It All Began, which was released in 2014. Aside from topping the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, it also peaked as high as number five on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
It also made a solid Canadian Country Tracks impression, peaking as high as number four. On the pop charts, “Nothin’ Like You” peaked at number fifty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number seventy-two on the Canadian Hot 100. It also earned them their second platinum certification with the RIAA, as well as their second gold certification with Music Canada. This sweet number of appreciation was already popular enough on its own as a single that focused on the beauty of a great love story.
When the music video for it was released, it spiked even further when rescue dogs were featured in it. Dan Smyers and his wife, Abby, have five dogs of their own as they share their passion for saving dogs and placing them into forever homes.
#7 – Glad You Exist
From Dan + Shay’s fourth studio album, Good Things, 2021’s “Glad You Exist” was a single that became the latest number one hit single on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart for the duo. It also became a number two hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and a number twenty-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The popularity of this song also peaked as high as number eight on the Canadian Country Tracks chart and at number forty-five on its Canadian Hot 100. This song of appreciation also served as a message of hope, which was explained by Dan + Shay in an Instagram post they shared with the fans. For Dan Smyers, it started as a love song to his wife, admitting he’s so grateful she’s in his life as his wife.
Once it was brought to Shay Mooney, it expanded to a song of gratitude that easily won over their family, friends, and of course, fans. “Glad You Exist” became certified platinum by the RIAA, as well as Music Canada as yet another successful hit single produced by a duo the fans seem equally as appreciative that they exist.
#6 – From the Ground Up
From the 2016 album, Obsessed, “From the Ground Up” was a single that peaked as high as number one on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, as well as number three on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This song was inspired by the grandparents of Dan + Shay, using it as a format to build a musical tale of true love.
It was written not long after Dan Smyers’s grandfather died and Shay Mooney’s grandfather was in the hospital. As songwriters experienced this surreal moment in their lives, the opportunity was ripe to turn it into song.
For Dan and Shay, this song had a special meaning for them. As fans, they received the benefits by enjoying what truly is one of the best love and life songs ever written, and not just by this dynamic duo. In Canada and the US, “From the Ground Up” joined the ranks as a certified platinum seller.
#5 – All to Myself
In 2019, “All to Myself” became the third single released from the album, Dan + Shay. As a love song wanting the love interest all for himself, the performance quality of “All to Myself” was more than enough to win over the favor of the fans. Since its release, it has become a favorite tune shared between couples, including some who shared wedding vows and used this song as their first dance instead of going with a soft ballad.
On the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, and on the Canadian Country Tracks chart, “All to Myself” became a number one hit. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it peaked as high as number three. On the US Billboard Hot 100, at number thirty-one. It was certified platinum with Music Canada, and double platinum with the RIAA.
#4 – 19 You + Me
“19 You + Me” was a song Dan + Shay released as their debut single. It was released during the fall of 2013 and became a number seven hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It peaked as high as number eleven on the US Billboard Country Airplay. As a crossover hit, it peaked at number forty-two on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In Canada, “19 You + Me” climbed as high as number twenty-three on its Country Tracks chart and at number forty-seven on its Canadian Hot 100. In 2015, it was recognized by ASCAP Country Music Awards as one of the Most Performed Songs.
As an added feather to this song’s cap, it also became certified platinum with the RIAA, as well as certified gold with Music Canada. Full of emotion as a country-pop easy-listening favorite, “19 You + Me” was a great trip down memory lane as a young couple as they embark on a romance that has so far managed to stand the test of time.
#3 – Speechless
2018’s “Speechless” served as a promotional single before it was released on country radio a few months later. On the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the US Country Airplay chart, it became a number one hit. On the US Billboard Hot 100, “Speechless” peaked as high as number twenty-four. In Canada, it peaked at number two on its Country Tracks chart and at number forty-one on its Canadian Hot 100 chart.
In addition to these achievements, it has also been certified platinum six times over by the RIAA, as well as single platinum by Music Canada. “Speechless” was a potent number with powerful vocals that established Dan + Shay as country music’s dynamic duo. It became even more powerful when the music video for this number featured wedding footage shared by Dan Smyers when he wed his bride, Abby, as well as Shay Mooney when he wed his bride, Hannah.
“Speechless” was instrumental in the win of Top Country Duo/Group in the Billboard Music Awards, as well as Duo of the Year at the 2019 Academy of Country Music Awards. It also won a CMT Award for Duo Video of the Year, and a Vocal Duo of the Year win with the Country Music Association Awards. As for the Teen Choice Awards, “Speechless” became the winner of the Choice Country Song and earned the duo a win as Choice Country Artist.
#2 – Tequila
“Tequila” featured the wife of Dan Smyers, Abby Law, performing the backing vocals to this song as he and his singing partner, Shay Mooney, turned this into one of the duo’s biggest hits. It was the lead single from their self-titled album, which was released in 2018. On the US Billboard Country Airplay and US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, “Tequila” peaked at number one.
It also did the same on the Canadian Country Tracks chart. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at number twenty-one. On the Canadian Hot 100, at number fifty-nine. The popularity of this song even turned it into a double-platinum seller in Australia despite only peaking as high as number sixty-six on its official music chart. In Canada and the US, “Tequila” became a seven-time platinum seller.
In 2019, it earned Dan + Shay a Grammy Award win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, as well as the Academy of Country Music’s Single of the Year and Song of the Year awards. It also earned a CMT Award for Duo Video of the Year and for good reason. The footage featured a deaf man in a beautiful tale that saw two different worlds collide as one in an incredible love story that not even a romance novel can top.
#1 – 10,000 Hours (featuring Justin Bieber)
“10,000 Hours” dethroned “Tequila” as the biggest hit ever produced by Dan + Shay so far. This impossible task included Justin Bieber in a collaborated performance that catapulted this single into becoming an instant cult classic. According to iHeartRadio Music Awards, “10,000 Hours” had the Best Lyrics. In 2020 and 2021, Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year with the Academy of Country Music Awards.
In 2020, it was Vocal Duo of the Year with the Country Music Association Awards. The Grammies also recognized their collaborative performance with Justin Bieber as Best Country Duo/Group Performance during its 2021 ceremonies. Before the awards, “10,000 Hours” started off as the first country song to debut in the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2012.
It peaked as high as number four when it burst onto the music charts in 2019. On the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, this song served as the duo’s seventh number one hit but it was Justin Bieber’s first. “10,000 Hours” also holds the record as one of the highest charted non-holiday country songs in history.
It also topped the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for twenty-one weeks, marking it as one of four songs to achieve such a feat. “10,000 Hours” has also become the most globally recognized single in Dan + Shay’s recording career as it became a charted hit among twenty-seven nations. In Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK, this song became certified gold. In Denmark, “10,000 Hours” became platinum, and in Australia, double platinum. Music Canada certified this single platinum five times over, as did the USA’s RIAA.
Top 10 Dan + Shay Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
