Dan + Shay Share the Inspiration Behind ‘Glad You Exist’

Dan Smyers credits his wife, Abby, with the song's grateful heart.

Written by Chris Parton
Dan + Shay Share the Inspiration Behind ‘Glad You Exist’
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 13: Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney attend the 53nd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Dan + Shay didn’t have to look far for the inspiration behind their latest release, “Glad You Exist” — it was sitting just across the room. In a new clip explaining the open-hearted standout, the duo’s Dan Smyers credits his wife, Abby, with the sentiment.

“I had the phrase ‘glad you exist’ written down in my phone, and I always caught myself saying it to my wife, just being appreciative that she is on this planet at the same time that I’m on this planet,” Smyers explains in a video for The Country Daily. “I brought it to Shay and we started kicking around ideas, we thought it would be a really cool song.”

Featuring a laid-back acoustic pop sound, warm vocals from fellow duo member Shay Mooney and an up-tempo beat that helps build romantic energy, the track is all about saying thanks. Thanks to the one you love, just for being themselves. And Smyers says that’s been on his mind a lot in the last year.

“[It] turned into just a message about how grateful we are for everybody in our lives — our friends, our families, our fans,” he went on. “And it’s taken on new meaning for us, not being able to see everybody in person. So this song is super close to our hearts and we’re proud to get it out there into the world.”

“Glad You Exist” was co-written by the duo with Tayla Parx, Jordan Reynolds and Ryan Lewis, and released last week (February 5). The guys included multiple notes about the track ahead of its arrival, hoping it would inspire others to follow their lead in paying the good-vibes forward.

“It’s a message of gratitude and hope,” the guys wrote in a note posted to Instagram. “Throughout its history, music has always had a special way of bringing people together, even when we are furthest apart.”

“Glad You Exist” is out now, and it joins a pair of instant hits as an early taste of an upcoming album project. Both the heartbreak ballad, “I Should Probably Go to Bed,” and country pop smash, “10,000 Hours” (featuring Justin Bieber), have made a splash with fans, and the duo are riding a hot streak that goes all the way back to 2015. But Dan + Shay have yet to officially announce their next studio album.