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Shay Mooney and duo partner Dan Smyers became country music mainstays with smash-hit Dan + Shay singles like “Nothin’ Like You,” “19 You + Me,” “From The Ground Up” and many others throughout their career. One of their fan-favorite hits, however, took the spotlight during a recent podcast interview.
Mooney spoke with Trey Kennedy and Jake Triplett on the latest episode of Correct Opinions, and revealed how his mom — described by Kennedy as a “sweet church lady,” as he set up the question for Mooney — reacts to Dan + Shay’s “Tequila.” The duo released the ballad in 2018: “But when I taste tequila, baby I still see ya/ Cuttin' up the floor in a sorority t-shirt/ The same one you wore when we were/ Sky high in Colorado, your lips pressed against the bottle/ Swearin' on a Bible, baby, I'd never leave ya/ I remember how bad I need ya, when I taste tequila/ When I taste tequila.” Correct Opinions describes Mooney as “a former sheltered kid with a shockingly similar upbringing,” in the episode’s description.
“It was a real problem,” Mooney told the podcast hosts with a laugh, when asked about his mom’s reaction to “Tequila” in an interview clip shared on Instagram. “I saw one video of her, and she was just kind of looking around, nervous.”
Mooney, Kennedy and Triplett joked about swapping the lyrics from “when I taste tequila,” to “when I taste sparkling grape juice,” or “when I taste taquitos.”
Dan + Shay’s latest project to release is Bigger Houses, a 12-track album that includes “Save Me The Trouble,” “Heartbreak On The Map,” “We Should get Married,” “Neon Cowgirl” and other highlights. Smyers and Mooney are set to kick off their headlining “Heartbreak On The Map Tour” in early 2024.