Dan + Shay’s Plaintive ‘Christmas Isn’t Christmas’ Is a Pandemic Christmas Lament [Listen]
Dan + Shay turn a white Christmas blue in their plaintive new song, "Christmas Isn't Christmas."
The sentimental tune finds Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney's harmonies glowing over a cinematic melody. Mooney takes the lead as they convey the lonely feeling of not being able to spend the holiday with the ones you love, the festive occasion becoming another cold winter night.
"Christmas isn’t Christmas if it’s not with you / Red and green and silver bells would all be blue / All the presents are just boxes with no one to give them to / Cause Christmas isn’t Christmas if it’s not with you," the duo croon.
“’Christmas Isn’t Christmas’ is very special to us,” Mooney says in a press release. “We wrote this song with our families in mind. We are definitely reminded around the holiday season how important it is to have those people that you love around you. Christmas really isn’t Christmas if you don’t have the people that you love around you.”
Smyers and Mooney are offering a double dose of holiday music, with "Christmas Isn't Christmas" arriving soon after their debut holiday song, "Take Me Home for Christmas," both of which Smyers produced. Dan + Shay will bring the Christmas cheer when they perform the tracks on CMA Country Christmas, airing on ABC on Nov. 30 at 8PM ET, and Christmas in Rockefeller Center on Dec. 2 at 8PM ET on NBC.
They are also set to perform for the first time at the American Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 22), where they're nominated for Collaboration of the Year and Favorite Song - Country for their hit Justin Bieber collaboration, "10,000 Hours," along with Favorite Duo - Country.