Ahead of the 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards this Sunday, Dan + Shay joined Audacy’s Katie Neal, to discuss what it feels like to have some semblance of getting back to work again, plus what we can look forward to during their 2021 ACM Awards performance.
The two Country stars tell us that they’re getting busy again and they love the feeling of it, Shay laughs “it feels like we’re actually working again.”
Shay also says that he and Dan have been practicing “Glad You Exist” to ensure that their performance on the ACM stage goes perfectly.
For this performance, the Country duo says they’ll be giving viewers a paired down, acoustic performance of their newest single. Dan explains, “I think we’re going to go acoustic on it. You know, the song is so close to our hearts, we feel like that’s the best way to translate the words to the people…its just how we wrote the song.”
Additionally, Smyers shares the excitement that he and Shay have over performing the new song at Nashville Country mainstay, The Bluebird Cafe. He says that this venue is exactly what the song calls for, saying, “that’s where songwriters go to test out songs and do their thing and tell their story, and we feel that’s the best way to tell the story of ‘Glad You Exist’.”
Plus Dan laughs as he adds, “no band to hide behind… if you screw up people are going to know, if you’re playing acoustic like that.”
Fans and Dan + Shay alike describe their latest single as a “hug.” The optimistic track has seen a warm welcome from fans across Country music as Shay explains that the song is really a big hug and thank you to their fans and a thank you to themselves. “We’ve gotten a lot of 'virtual hugs' if you will. It’s just incredible to be a part of this song and be a part of the message that it brings,” Mooney says.
Shay also tells us that they wrote this song back in January of 2020 “before all this stuff happened and it’s really cool to see how the song has taken on a new meaning and really more of an importance to us.” The duo also shares that they underestimated how much impact “Glad You Exist” would have on them, as it was originally meant to just thank the fans.
Dan + Shay have realized that the new song “is bigger than all of us, music is in general, but especially a song like this, it’s pretty incredible to see how it’s moved people and just to get to know our fans a little bit better through the process.”
Don’t miss Dan + Shay at the ACM Awards this Sunday, April 18 at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT on CBS.
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