Dan + Shay Reflect On CMA nomination, Reveal How Time Off Fueled Their Next Musical Chapter [Exclusive]

Dan + Shay are once again up for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year—a category they know well. Over the course of their career, the pair has been nominated in this category a dozen times and have taken home the trophy twice. Even with their longstanding recognition, they admit the excitement never fades and each nomination still feels just as meaningful as the first.

“We’ve been doing this for so long. We’re grateful to, truly, just grateful to be involved and included in the conversation,” Shay told Country Now. “It’s been amazing over the years to be able to even be included with so many amazing artists. And the fact that we’ve been doing this since 2012 is unbelievable.”

Along with celebrating another nomination, the three-time GRAMMY-winning duo has also been navigating some big career and life changes behind the scenes. They recently reemerged on social media after a lengthy hiatus that allowed them to recharge and prepare for new music and more in 2026.

“This year has been a bit of a change for us. We took a year off the road to reset. It was necessary after 10 years of doing the thing, and we just wanted to spend more time writing. Shay’s got a new baby at home…We’ve been locked in the studio. We didn’t post on social media. People were like, ‘oh my gosh, did they break up?’ We just literally forgot to post on social media,” Dan explained.

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Now, they’ve revealed that while they weren’t active online, they were still hard at work behind the scenes. One highlight that came from this time away from the screens was their brand-new holiday tune, “Long Live Christmas.”

“I feel like we’ve been on such a good stretch of creativity with writing and that’s how these Christmas songs came about. We were just in the studio nonstop, hanging, enjoying being home. We hadn’t taken a break from the road since 2013, so it was…it felt good,” they added. “It was our first kind of real break, even though it wasn’t a break. We were in the studio. But no, it’s been really good.”

They also recently dropped a highly-requested cover of Taylor Swift’s “Back To December,” and joked that if Taylor or her fiancé Travis Kelce ever called about performing at their upcoming wedding, they’d clear their schedules instantly.

“We can put it out in the world. We are open for business. We will do it for free…Even if we’re not open, we’ll just clear whatever we’re doing. We’ll be free, I’ll tell you that.”

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Looking ahead to 2026, Dan and Shay are fired up about more music and more shows. In the midst of all the excitement, they are also hoping to take more time to appreciate all the special moments coming their way.

“Life goes fast. Those 10 years went by really, really fast. And just looking around and being like, this moment’s amazing. Just trying to enjoy every step of it.”

The duo is set to appear at this year’s CMA Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, November 17. While the country stars tend to spend a lot of time together, they are looking forward to sharing the celebration of this coveted evening with their wives by their sides for what’s poised to be a memorable date night.

“Our wive are coming with us. It’s going to be awesome. We’re fired up. It’s just awesome to get out on the town like that,” they noted.

Dan and Shay are nominated for vocal group of the year alongside Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne,  Maddie & Tae, andThe War And Treaty.

Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the 59^th CMA Awards will broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC and is available next day on Hulu.