Link copied
After spending the majority of 2025 on a social media hiatus, Dan + Shay have returned to Instagram to confirm they have plenty in store for fans over the next few months.
The ‘All to Myself’ hitmakers have been staples of the country music landscape for over a decade now, with Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney serving up some of the most recognisable anthems in the genre, such as ‘Tequila’ and ‘Speechless’ and ‘10,000 Hours’, the latter of which features guest vocals from Justin Bieber.
After dropping Bigger Houses in 2023, and following this up with a Christmas double-album last year, Dan + Shay have been keeping quiet, leaving fans to wonder what the future holds. As they have addressed in this new post, there were even rumours that the two friends had fallen out, something they have thankfully dismissed.
In the clip, Dan begins by reflecting, “We just wanted to pop on here real quick...I know it won't be quick, I'll start rambling...But just to give you guys an update as to where we've been, we did not plan to take a social media hiatus for almost a whole year, but last year was crazy. We did The Voice, we did two tours, we did two Christmas albums, and then we went wild on social media for the Christmas blitz”.
He expands, “And then Shay and Hannah had a baby at the top of this year, and we've been in the studio literally all year, pretty much every day, making our favorite music we've ever made. People are asking, ‘Did Dan and Shay break up?’ Literally, we could not be further from breaking up...We're closer than we've ever been now, man. We're having a blast, having the time of our lives. But we just wanted to pop on here and say, ‘We love you guys. We've been thinking about you. We miss you. We've been buried in the studio and forgot to post on socials’”.
As for the specifics, Dan reveals they have another Christmas single dropping soon, with more music en route beyond this, “Before the end of the year, we've got a couple of cool things happening. We are going to release a Christmas song. We weren't planning on it, but as we've been working on a new album for next year, we stumbled upon a Christmas song that we're super excited about. There might also be a couple other little surprises that happen between now and the end of the year...Stay tuned. We'll be teasing them soon, and then next year is going to be crazy. More music than ever, more shows, more tours than ever. We're fired up - 2026 is going to be huge for us. But yeah, we just wanted to say we're thinking about y'all. We love y'all. Sorry I rambled. This was supposed to be short...”
Shay then reassures his buddy, “You did a great job...Thank you guys for your patience. I know that, like Dan said, we've been MIA, but we've been thinking of you every single day. We've been in the studio so much, writing...our favorite music ever. I can't wait for you guys to hear it. We love you. We'll see you soon. We're back, baby!”
For years, we have almost taken Dan + Shay's presence for granted, viewing them as part of the Nashville furniture and celebrating each new release without really expecting them to reinvent the wheel. Indeed, while Bigger Houses was a stellar, entertaining project, it stuck largely to the standard Dan + Shay blueprint.
Could this unexpected break - and now comeback - provide an opportunity for Dan + Shay to explore some new territory? Their records are always permeated by a sense of cosy joy and domestic bliss, as they serenade their wives and celebrate the simple pleasures of life - and while we hope they're still both in this happy, grateful state of mind, we'd love to see them digging deeper and surprising us with something a little left-field after this year-long reset. Even if they're still singing about similar themes, we'd welcome some refreshing new sonic textures.
Because of their sleek, polished production and sanguine themes, Dan + Shay often don't get the credit they deserve, with many critics dismissing them as harmless country-pop.
But with the vocals and songwriting prowess they possess, we think there's the potential for this much-loved duo to offer something really different and dynamic in this next era. Perhaps a more stripped-back, rawer project, for instance, where we get to hear their visceral storytelling and their irresistible harmonies without the cushioning production, in a Marfa Tapes-esque concept album, for instance.
Either way, new music from Dan + Shay is definitely cause for celebration, and we're looking forward to seeing what these perennial chart-toppers have in store for us in 2026.
For more on Dan + Shay, see below:
READ MORE:
