Highest Debut-Week Stream-Total Of Any New Country Release In 2018

When Platinum-selling duo Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) released their first album, Where It All Began, it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and made them the only new duo in Soundscan history to do so. Now, the award-winning artists are celebrating another history-making album release – for the first time since 2009, Dan + Shay are the only duo or group to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart the same week their new self-titled album debuts atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart.

With 200,000 album equivalents and 200 million cumulative streams, Dan + Shay accumulated 29 million streams during release-week alone, making it the highest debut-week stream-total of any new country release in 2018. It’s also the only country album released this year to have all 11 tracks hit Nielsen’s Country On-Demand Streaming chart, including their fourth consecutive and fastest rising No. 1 single to date “Tequila,” which surpassed 150 million on-demand streams this week.

The album has drawn the attention of fans and fellow artists spanning multiple genres, including Keith Urban, Demi Lovato, Luke Combs, Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge and Shawn Mendes. An array of national media outlets have tendered their praise, with Rolling Stone applauding Mooney for “a voice that is both lithe and brawny, yet steeped in contemporary vernacular” and noting, “Dan + Shay are at their most collectively potent on the soulful cuts ‘What Keeps You Up at Night’ and ‘Speechless,’ their groove-oriented production giving Mooney plenty of space to proclaim his love in soaring fashion.” People featured the album as a “People’s Picks,” citing music laden with “plenty of soul.”

Dan + Shay took “Tequila” to Ellen, the 53rd Annual ACM Awards and the 2018 CMT Music Awards, performing three songs for the Citi Summer Concert Series on TODAY last week. Other recent activities found the duo with GRAMMY-winning recording artist Kelly Clarkson for a special Facebook Live event in which they discussed their collaboration on “Keeping Score.” Spotify featured the mid-tempo ballad on their New Music Friday playlists in three different countries upon its release as well as Everyday Favorites, All About Country, Fresh & Chill and Daily Lift. Dan + Shay also previewed the record for fans with an iHeartRadio/iHeartCountry album release event and a YouTube Live from YouTube Space NYC in Chelsea.

Committed to bringing their music to as many fans as possible, the duo is out on the road with Rascal Flatts for their Back To Us Tour through the summer and will join Chris Young for the fall leg of his Losing Sleep Tour in October. They’ll take their collection of No. 1 hits and brand new music across the globe with their recently announced a six-date UK tour kicking off January 17, 2019.