ABC/Mark LevineIt’s been a year of change for Dan + Shay. In 2017, both Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney got married, and in January, Shay and his bride Hannah Billingsley welcomed their son, Asher James.
“Life goes by really, really fast…” Shay reflects. “I remember this time last year, Hannah was pregnant. Now we have this beautiful baby that’s there crawling around… You really have to take every moment… and just really savor that and enjoy it.”
Dan and longtime girlfriend Abby Law tied the knot in May, and along the way, he and Shay managed to chart their third consecutive #1 with “How Not To.”
“It’s crazy…” Dan says. “When you’re out on the road, you’re in like this time warp in the tour bus. And time does go fast… We talked to artists when we were first getting this thing going and we first signed our record deal… I mean, to quote Kenny Chesney, ‘Don’t blink.’”
Dan continues: “We already are working on our third album, and… I remember when we were in our buddy’s basement… cutting demos that became the first album. And it’s just crazy how it happens.”
In 2017, Dan + Shay were also nominated for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year. Shay says that long ago, he and Dan vowed never to let each other forget how lucky they are.
“We’ve always told each other that we have to… kinda remind each other that this thing we get to do — music for a living — is an incredible thing. There’s a lot of people out there that don’t get to do something that they love for a living, and we try not to take any of that for granted.”
Dan + Shay perform “Do You Hear What I Hear” Thursday on CMA Country Christmas on ABC.
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