Dan + Shay shared a video to offer an explanation for the duo’s unplanned “hiatus” from social media throughout the year.

Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney sat side-by-side as they addressed fans in the clip they shared on Instagram and TikTok on Wednesday evening (October 1). Smyers said:

“Hey, we just wanted to pop on here real quick…to give you guys an update as to where we’ve been. We did not plan to take a social media hiatus for almost a whole year. But last year was crazy. We did The Voice, we did two tours, we did two Christmas albums, and then we went wild on social media for the Christmas blitz. And then Shay and Hannah had a baby at the top of this year [Mooney and wife Hannah Love Mooney welcomed Baby No. 4]. And we’ve been in the studio literally all year, pretty much every day, making our favorite music we’ve ever made.

“People are asking, ‘did Dan + Shay break up?’ Literally, we could not be further from breaking up. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. We’re having a blast, having the time of our lives, but just wanted to pop on here and say we love you guys. We’ve been thinking about you. We miss you. We’ve just been buried in the studio and forgot to post on socials. so here we are. we’re posting on socials. …Before the end of the year, we’ve got a couple cool things happening. We are going to release a Christmas song. We weren’t planning on it. But as we’ve been working on a new album for next year, we stumbled upon a Christmas song that we’r super excited about. There might also be a couple other little surprises that happen between now and the end of the year. stay tuned. We’ll be teasing them soon. And then next year’s gonna be crazy. More music than ever, more shows, more tours than ever. We’re fired up. 2026 is gonna be huge for us.”

Mooney thanked fans “for your patience,” and reiterated that “we’ve been thinking of you every single day. We’ve been in the studio so much, writing, like Dan said, our favorite music ever. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. We love you. We’ll see you soon.”

Last year, Dan + Shay released It’s Officially Christmas: The Double Album, a 21-track project featuring original music and the duo’s renditions of Christmas classics. Before that, Dan + Shay’s latest album was Bigger Houses, a 12-track record that arrived in September 2023. Smyers and Mooney released that album after opening up about feeling “ready to quit” music amid intense burnout in 2022. Instead, they powered through and released the project that included “Save Me The Trouble,” “Always Gonna Be” and more. Watch the duo’s latest update here:

Chris O'Gorman