Dan+Shay’s mammoth hit “Tequila” has been a mainstay on both country radio and Hot AC this year, with its smooth dynamics and aching vocals.

The song has surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, and has earned more than 260 million on-demand streams. The track spent multiple weeks atop the country radio charts. In August, on the heels of the No. 1 party for “Tequila,” the duo headlined a block party in Nashville for 10,000 fans.

The smash also brought the the duo’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney multiple nominations at the upcoming Country Music Association Awards in November, including Music Video of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year. They are also nominated for Duo of the Year.

“It’s funny because we were the ones who announced them with Luke Bryan and Sugarland,” Smyers tells MusicRow. “I probably looked like a fool when our names were called, because you never go into it expecting that. We knew the song had a great impact, but there is a lot of great music and it’s a very hot time for the country format. For our name to be called a few times is a cool thing. We worked super hard on that song and the album, so it was a great validation. To be accepted by our peers and be nominated by our peers is just awesome. It’s a win just to be nominated.

“And getting a free ticket to the show! Those tickets are expensive,” he quips. “We know, we just bought some for our families.”

“Tequila” is one of three songs this year to be nominated in both the Song and Single of the Year categories at the upcoming Country Music Association awards. While the Single of the Year honors commercial success, the Song of the Year accolade tends to honor songs on the basis of songwriting quality.

“It’s fun to have both of those nominations because they do honor very different things. Those are always two of our favorite categories,” Smyers says. “We moved here to be songwriters. That’s our first love. We love being artists and doing shows, but part of that is being able to hear and feel fans singing our songs back to us, or hearing it on country radio. Being an artist is a vehicle for our true passion, which is being songwriters. To be in both of those categories is crazy.”

He gives credit to his “Tequila” co-writers, Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds. “To be in the song category with two of my favorite writers. Jordan Reynolds, we live like next door to each other so we are always working on songs like three or four days per week, and he’s about to be the next ultimate breakout songwriter star. The first day I ever wrote with him a few years ago, I texted my publisher and said, ‘This guy is about to take over Nashville.’ And then Nicolle, who is just prolific and genius. We’ve worked with her on a few of our albums and she’s incredible.”

Smyers co-wrote the track in early 2017. He says “Tequila” garnered interest from other artists in the Nashville community looking to record the song, but Smyers elected to hold on to it, knowing he had something special.

Smyers knows well the hold frenzy that comes when the songwriting community hears a great song; Dan+Shay had attempted to put another hit, “Break Up In The End,” on hold. The song would later be recorded by Cole Swindell.

“With ‘Break Up In The End,’ someone sent me that demo and said, ‘This song was just written,’ and I thought, ‘This is a Song of the Year, I’m putting it on hold.’ And right when I sent that email back, they said, ‘Hey sorry you’ve got the second hold on it. Cole just put it on hold.’ We were hoping he would cut a different song, but those things happen.”

Though the duo’s tight-knit vocals make “Tequila” sound effortless, Smyers recalls the weeks he spent in the studio, crafting “Tequila” to match his sonic vision.

“I worked so hard on that track. I think there were like 140 tracks in my Pro Tools session,” says Smyers, who worked with co-producer Scott Hendricks and mixer Jeff Juliano.

“In the studio we cut at Ocean Way with a great band. On the demo, we had a piano start it off, but I wanted to have an acoustic guitar because I could see the video in my head of a heartbroken person walking up to the mic and singing it. We tracked it at 80 beats per minute, six bpms slower than we have it on the album. I finished up a rough track and we did a scratch vocal on it, and something didn’t feel right to it,” he recalls.

Smyers collected the bare bones recordings made for the track, working feverishly to revamp it. “I basically took everything that was recorded and I sped up all the band instruments and I asked Jordan to send me the midi from his piano on the original demo, which was in a different key. I transposed it and subbed that piano back into my track with the band and it was magic. That was the missing thing. That original piano in the demo, there was something haunting and ethereal about it. It was still dynamic and a ballad but it had more energy.”

Smyers’ hours of painstaking work to get the exact sound he was looking for has paid off, as “Tequila” has transcended the country charts, crossing over into the Top 15 on radio’s Hot AC chart, a milestone Smyers appreciates for opening up the possibility of more fans to gravitate toward country music.

“The crossover of ‘Tequila’ has been really cool because we haven’t abandoned our sound. That’s a song you could hear at The Listening Room or the Bluebird or any writer’s round. It’s a Nashville song, four chords and the truth on this one. When it gets to the mainstream and it’s on Hot AC or Top 40 it’s an honor for us, because we know someone is listening to that station that may not have heard country music before.”

“Speechless,” the duo’s follow-up to “Tequila,” has also earned nearly 80 million on-demand streams and has sold 600,000 track equivalents. The official music video, featuring footage from each of their real-life weddings, has reached nearly 20 million views.

A songwriter at heart, Smyers says he and Mooney are always in the studio working on new music. “Even though as artists we are on record cycles, we still write songs. Literally, I think the day after our album came out, we were still writing and we had writers on the road with us. It’s nonstop. We are hashing out demos and working out ideas for what could be the next project.

“It’s interesting because we’ve had some success and got a fanbase and the attention of a lot of people. It puts more pressure on you, because more people are listening now. Your fans will check it out at midnight when [new music] comes out, so you owe it to those fans to deliver the best music you possibly can.”

NBC has green lighted the upcoming songwriter competition Songland, ordering an 11-episode first season of the series. Songland will offer undiscovered songwriters a chance to create a hit song. The first episode will include singer-songwriter-producer Shane McAnally, as well as OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, recording artist Charlie Puth, and songwriter Ester Dean.

Each episode will offer five contestants the chance to work with producers and an artist on new music, and one winner per episode will have his or her song released as an artist’s next single, according to NBC. The series is executive produced by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart.

Songland will be produced by Live Animals in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, Dave Stewart Entertainment and 222 Productions. Levine and 222 Productions are represented by Irving Azoff, Adam Harrison for management and WME for film and television.

“Songwriters shape the anthems and tell the stories of each generation, and now we’re pulling back the curtain on the collaborative process and opening the door for new talent to emerge,” said Meredith Ahr, president of Universal Television Alternative Studio. “While filming our first episode, the excitement was palpable as we witnessed the creative direction of our panelists transform and elevate the music right before our eyes. Without a doubt, Songland will inspire music lovers and give us all a greater appreciation for the songs we love.”

The series is currently seeking submissions at songlandcasting.com.

Kane Brown was country music’s biggest winner at last night’s (Oct. 9) American Music Awards. The Sony Music Nashville artist took home three awards in the country categories, including Favorite Male Artist-Country, Favorite Album-Country, and Favorite Song-Country (for “Heaven”). Brown also served as a presenter with CCM artist Lauren Daigle, who earned the Favorite Artist-Contemporary Inspirational honor.

Carrie Underwood was honored with the Favorite Female Artist-Country honor, and also performed a track from her recently-released Cry Pretty album, titled “Spinning Bottles.”

Florida Georgia Line, who served as presenters with their “Meant To Be” cohort Bebe Rexha, were honored with Favorite Duo or Group-Country.

The evening’s biggest winner was undoubtedly Taylor Swift, who opened the show with an electrifying rendition of “I Did Something Bad.” She took home Tour of the Year for her top-selling reputation tour, as well as Favorite Female Artist-Pop/Rock, Favorite Album-Pop/Rock (for reputation), and the coveted Artist of the Year title.

 

Rachel Reinert was just 18 when she joined pop-country harmony group Gloriana. Within a year, she and bandmates Tom and Mike Gossin, as well as Cheyenne Kimball, hit the Top 15 on the country charts with “Wild at Heart” in 2009. That same year, the duo earned a CMT Award, as well as an American Music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. By 2010, the group had been named the ACM’s Top New Vocal Group, and in 2011, Gloriana’s “(Kissed You) Good Night” reached No. 2 on the Hot Country chart. “Wild at Heart” was certified Gold, while “(Kissed You) Good Night” was certified Platinum.

“I joined this band and we had been on this rocketship,” recalls Reinert, who moved to Nashville at 16 to pursue a career as a solo artist and songwriter. “We were barely a band for a year when we started opening for Taylor Swift in arenas. It was a crazy ride—one I’m grateful for because I have so many great memories.”

But 2011 also brought about major changes for the group, as Kimball left before the release of the band’s second album, A Thousand Miles Left Behind. Reinert would stay on with the Gossins for 2015’s album Three.

Reinert also left the band in 2016, determined to get a recording contract as a solo artist—and the opportunity to showcase her own songs, something she says was tough to come by as part of her former group.

“I was writing [while] in Gloriana but there were so many people who had their hand in choosing what we would do. It was definitely one of those situations when you are one girl against 10 men deciding things like that, it was difficult to get my voice heard. But that’s part of the beauty of doing this on my own—I can call the shots and make my own decisions. It is important that I write all my own songs. Every song has to be very reflective of who I am. I’m very excited about what I’m doing and excited for people to hear it and hope the right doors open.”

Though not signed with a label or publisher at the moment, Reinert has spent the past couple of years finding her voice as an artist, and reclaiming her dreams of a solo career.

During a recent visit to the MusicRow Magazine offices, she showcased several of those self-penned songs, including “Cool,” a single she released earlier this year, which traces the dissolution of a young romance.

The months of writing new music and experimenting with new sounds also resulted in her latest single, “Dark Star,” which she co-wrote with Joe Pisapia (Guster) and K.S. Rhoads. The track was produced by Davis Naish.

“This song really came from a place of frustration,” Reinert says. “When I left Gloriana, I think I had this idea that I was going to turn around and immediately get a [solo] record deal and that did not work out. It was a very frustrating time because I was very wrong. I had walked away from everything and had to sacrifice a lot to fight to be a solo artist to be on my own.

“I was in this place where I felt like I was falling behind and watching all of these other people come up with all these amazing opportunities. You just feel like ‘Why is it not me?’ and you are comparing yourself to other people constantly. Then, just hearing people talk about ‘Oh, she’s done,’ or ‘She’s given up.’ Even though I didn’t have any music out at the time, it didn’t mean that I wasn’t out there putting the work in and trying to make things happen. This song is my way of saying, ‘I’m still here and I’m still fighting for this.’”

With her new music, Reinert celebrates her California roots, and her early influences including Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and Neil Young. “I wanted to capture that kind of essence of Southern California, but still have this modern country feeling.”

“Dark Star” releases to all digital retailers and streaming services Oct. 26, and is available to radio via PlayMPE on Oct. 15. Reinert is in the studio working on an upcoming debut solo album, expected to release in early 2019.