Since coming together a little over a year ago, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney—known collectively as Dan + Shay—have established themselves as one of country music’s most promising duos. With pristine vocals and a knack for writing clever yet relatable songs about looking for, finding and losing love, Dan + Shay bring a youthful sense of energy to country music. Their debut album, Where It All Began, harnesses that energy with 12 radio-ready tracks.
The album’s title comes from the last line of their debut hit single, “19 You + Me,” which, upon its release, had the biggest first week by a new duo in trade publication Country Aircheck’s history, was the most added debut of 2013 at country radio and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The harmony-rich song reinvents the popular theme of nostalgia through a flurry of evocative imagery: you were California beautiful, I was playing everything but cool; it was everything we wanted it to be, the summer of 19 You + Me.