Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were caught way off guard by their Duo/Group of the Year win at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards. And the country stars’ reaction was priceless.
“Are you kidding me?” Smyers burst out.
“No way – is this a joke?” Mooney asked, taking his award.
“This is definitely a prank,” Smyers added. “Are you serious?”
“No way,” they both chorused.
“I honestly am completely in shock right now,” Mooney said.
“Dude honestly, I was on social media before we came down here,” Smyers said. “And I was posting a graphic. It was us, BTS, Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, Jonas Brothers – I was like, there’s no chance we’re winning this. And this is insane.”
“This is crazy,” Mooney chimed in.
“Somebody must’ve read the card wrong or something, but—” Smyers began.
“But we’ll take it, you can’t take it back now!” Mooney declared.
Watch Dan + Shay’s reaction here:
Dan + Shay Also Performed at the iHeart Awards
Meanwhile, Dan + Shay were not just winners at the awards show. They were also performers. The duo sang their hit song “Glad You Exist” before a live audience there. The ceremony was streamed live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
This month, “Glad You Exist” hit No. 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. And it made it to No. 63 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
The song is an ode to a relationship that’s lasted through some rocky times. Its chorus goes, “There’s a couple billion people in the world/And a million other places we could be, but you’re here with me/Take a moment just to take it in/’Cause every high and every low led to this/I’m just so glad you exist.”
Dan + Shay said in an Instagram post earlier this year that the song has taken on a special meaning for them since the pandemic hit.
“It’s a message of gratitude and hope. A message to everyone in our lives… to remind them all how grateful we are to be on the planet at the same time,” the duo wrote. “This song has taken on new meaning not being able to see our loved ones in person, but throughout history, music has always had a special way of bringing people together, even when we are furthest apart.”
“Glad You Exist” clearly works on multiple levels, as most good songs do. And now, that song will forever be associated with the memory of their win tonight.
