Dan + Shay, ’19 You + Me’ [Listen]
Dan + Shay's country debut is '19 You + Me,' a syrupy vocal ballad about a short summer week spent with new lover. The duo wrote the track with Danny Orton, so in addition to introducing themselves as new artists, they're revealing themselves as aspiring songwriters.
Young artists aren't often able to tell stories as effectively as those with a little more age, but Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney can count on vivid lyrics to help them through. By repeating key words in each verse, the listener is urged to pause and soak in the warm details.
"It was our first week at Myrtle Beach where it all began / It was 102, nothing to do man it was hot / So we jumped in / We were summertime sippin', sippin' / Sweet kissin' off of your lips / T-shirt drippin', drippin' wet / How could I forget," the duo sing to begin the song. The instrumentation is country with pop leanings.
Sonically, the two men fall more in the Rascal Flatts or Love and Theft camp than Brooks and Dunn or Florida Georgia Line. They add some missing sensitivity to the current landscape.
The chorus goes: "Watching that blonde hair swing to every song I'd sing / You were California beautiful / I was playing everything but cool / I can still hear that sound of every wave crashing down / Like the tears we'd cry that day we had to leave / It was everything I wanted it to be / The summer of 19 you and me."
Specific words open the door for real emotion to come pouring through during '19 You + Me.' It's difficult not to imagine some beauty rolling around with the lead singer as he says "Tangled up, so in love, you said let's just stay right here." The song has already set a record for most added debut single by a country duo ever!
Why Fans Will Love It: Dan + Shay bring real lyrical depth back to country radio. It's a song that's easy to appreciate on multiple levels.
Key Lyrics: "Watching that blonde hair swing to every song I'd sing / You were California beautiful / I was playing everything but cool"
Did You Know?: Shay Mooney moved from small-town Arkansas to Atlanta ... because of rapper T Pain. He was on his Nappy Boy Entertainment label for a time before moving to Nashville. Prior to teaming with Mooney, Smyers was part of a duo called Bonaventure.
Listen to Dan + Shay, '19 You + Me'