Dan + Shay on ‘Obsessed’ Songwriting: The Ram Report
Harmony-rich country duo Dan + Shay released their new album, Obsessed last week. The album got off to a galloping start with first single “From the Ground Up,” which was penned by the two singers with Chris DeStefano and now has more than 16 million online streams.
“It’s a song we wrote at an emotional time, my grandfather had just passed away and Shay’s grandfather was in the hospital,” says singer-producer Dan Smyers. “We were chatting about how our grandparents were married for 60-plus years.”
Smyers and singing partner Shay Mooney, who met in Nashville’s songwriting circles, wrote all but two tracks on Obsessed.
“Writing our own music, that’s how it started,” says Mooney. “To write a song like ‘From the Ground Up,’ we’re so proud of it. . . it’s like your kids. It’s bigger than us. Every now and then you write that one and you’re like, I don’t know how that happened but that song used us to get out there. It was waiting to be written.”
Dan + Shay are on the road with Darius Rucker on his Good for a Good Time Tour. Check out cities and dates on the trek here.