Dan + Shay talk career milestones + taking “vocally acrobatic” “Save Me the Trouble” to the CMA Awards

ABC/Larry McCormack

Dan + Shay have been celebrating several 10th anniversary milestones.

On December 7, 2022, they commemorated 10 years since they first met, and this past October, they hit the 10th anniversary of the release of their first single, “19 You and Me.” One more’s in store for them in 2024.

“We’re coming up on the 10-year anniversary [of] our first album, [Where It All Began], [which] came out in April of 2014,” Dan Smyers tells ABC Audio. “Ten years is crazy. Time flies.”

Coming up, Dan + Shay will perform their latest single, “Save Me the Trouble,” at the 2023 CMA Awards. They’re ecstatic about this opportunity because it was one that they dreamed about since the song’s inception.

“When we wrote that song, we were like, ‘Dude, if we end up recording this song and it becomes a single, wouldn’t this be sick on the CMAs?’ And here we are. It’s climbing the chart just around [the] top ten on country radio, and we get to perform it,” says Dan.

“And honestly, as a fan of Shay’s voice, hearing him sing that song, it’s a very vocally acrobatic song. He’s going to absolutely kill it,” he adds. “It’s going to be an amazing performance. We’re fired up and [it’s our] first time performing it on an award show.” 

The 57th CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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