Dan + Shay made The Voice history last year. The duo, made up of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, utilized a double chair for Season 25 for the first time in the show's history. Surprisingly, the news that they were going to be part of the reality TV talent show came when Smyers was hanging out with one of 2024's biggest breakout stories, namely Megan Moroney.
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"I've been a huge fan of hers since the beginning," Smyers says on Country Countdown USA. "She messaged me to hang with her and her friends at a beach bar in Florida. I go there, and I get a message from my manager. The first thing he says was 'How would you like to be the next coaches on The Voice?' So she was there when we found out we got to be coaches on The Voice."
Dan + Shay had one contestant, Karen Waldrup, who made it to the Top 5 on The Voice. While not opposed to returning for another season, they do admit it was a challenge for them, in ways they didn't expect.
"You really get close with a lot of these people," Mooney says. "Then you have to kick them off. That's tough. When you get to know them, and know their story, you get close to them. That's why we explain that getting kicked off doesn't have to be the end of their journey."
Now that they are no longer part of The Voice, both Smyers and Mooney understand in a new way what the coaches experience week after week.
"When I do watch, I have a newfound appreciation for all the editing they do," Smyers says. "They spent months recording each episode."
New Baby in 2025
Dan + Shay have a Top 5 hit right now with "Bigger Houses," the title track of their 2023 album. The two plan on recording more songs, and performing more shows, after Mooney's wife Hannah gives birth to their fourth child.
"January 20th is the due date," Mooney says. "With four kids, I'm never gonna have time off again. This was a tough pregnancy in the beginning. It's become better towards the end. It's gonna be an adjustment."
"Bigger Houses" is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The ceremony will air on February 2.
