Dan + Shay found some Christmas cheer during the pandemic. The duo recorded and, on Friday (Nov. 6), released a new holiday original called "Take Me Home for Christmas," an R&B-inspired country romancer that showcases Shay Mooney as one of the format's most gifted vocalists.

Each verse finds the lead singer pining to spend the holidays with his new love. He longs to meet her friends, laugh with her family and learn her traditions instead of hanging back, cold and lonely at home. Anyone in a new relationship that's going well will relate to the hooky Christmas song.

"Baby, won't you take me home for Christmas? / Show me around your town / Take me where you used to watch the snow come down / All of your traditions / I wanna know them all / You'll check every box off of my list / If you take me home for Christmas," Mooney sings with help from Dan Smyers and a relatively tight studio band.

Smyers, Andy Albert, Jordan Reynolds, Jordan Schmidt and Mitchell Tenpenny wrote "Take Me Home for Christmas."

Christmas songs are not new ground for Dan + Shay. Previously, they've recorded versions of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and performed songs including "O Holy Night" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" live. in 2018, they were part of the CMA Country Christmas television special and told media before the show that they would love to cut a Christmas album.

"But it's hard to find the time, you know? When you make a Christmas record, you have to kind of get started in, like, March or April to get it turned around in time," Smyers said at the time.

Perhaps the shutdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic afforded them time to record more than a single song? If so, the CMA-nominated duo aren't saying. Fans will have to settle for just this one Christmas original, for now.

take me home for christmas
Warner Music Nashville
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