Where It All Began is the debut studio album by American country duo Dan + Shay. It was released on April 1, 2014, via Warner Bros. Nashville. The album includes the singles "19 You + Me", "Show You Off", and "Nothin' Like You".
Critical reception
Where It All Began has garnered generally positive reviews from five music critics. Brian Mansfield of USA Today gave the album three stars out of four, saying stating that the duo "make[s] the music of first dates and summertime flings that last forever in the memory", and their "sun-kissed harmonizing and carefree delivery may be informed by contemporary pop, but they're storytellers at heart." Alanna Conaway of Country Weekly gave the album a B grade, writing that the duo "have emerged [...] as true songwriters and vocalists, and still have plenty of directions to go with future albums." However, Conaway believes that the album could have been better in the lyrical department because they focus on "the good memories and moments in life." Mark Deming of AllMusic rated it three out of five stars, saying that "As far as craft goes, Dan + Shay clearly know what they're doing and are remarkably canny" and "If country radio needs clean-cut but hunky young men to croon with maximum professionalism for female listeners (and the guys who want to get to know them better), there's no question Dan + Shay can fill the bill, and Where It All Began shows they do what they do very well indeed." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock rated the album four out of five stars, stating that the release "feels like the album will indeed be the point where the duo and fans point to and say" this is the place it started, which according to him is "Not bad for the music world’s latest 'overnight sensation.'" Tara Toro of Got Country Online rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that "The songs flow together nicely, but at times tend to sound alike, especially lyrically." In addition, Toro closes with saying that this "is an easy to listen to youthful album that many country fans surely wont 'say no' to adding to their library."
Commercial performance Where It All Began debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top Country Albums, selling 29,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. As of June 2016, the album has sold 157,000 copies in the United States. On January 10, 2018, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 in the United States.
Track listing
All songs produced by Dan Smyers, Scott Hendricks, and Danny Orton, except "Can't Say No", produced by Smyers and Hendricks, and "Nothin' Like You", produced by Chris DeStefano.
Personnel
Dan + Shay Shay Mooney – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar Dan Smyers – programming, acoustic guitar, electric guitars, banjo, percussion, backing vocals
Additional musicians Tim Akers – programming Danny Orton – keyboards, programming, drums Chris DeStefano – keyboards (7), programming (7), acoustic guitar (7), electric guitars (7), mandolin (7), bass (7), drums (7) Adam Shoenfeld – electric guitars Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass Eric Darken – percussion Craig Nelson – arco bass Anthony LaMarchina – cello Carole Rabinowitz – cello Carolyn Dawn Johnson – backing vocals (11)
Production Scott Hendricks – A&R direction, recording, digital editing Jeff Balding – recording Danny Orton – recording Dan Smyers – recording, digital editing Brian David Willis – digital editing Justin Niebank – mixing Drew Bollman – mix assistant Seth Morton – mix assistant Andrew Mendelson – mastering at Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee) Scott Johnson – production assistant Shane Tarleton – creative director Patrick Tracy – art direction, design Williams + Hirakawa – photography Scooter Brown – management Jason Owen – management
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peakposition
Year-end charts Chart (2014)Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)44
Singles Year Single Peak chart positions US Country US Country Airplay US CAN Country CAN 2013 "19 You + Me" 7 11 42 23 47 2014 "Show You Off" 29 21 111 — — 2015 "Nothin' Like You" 5 1 51 4 72 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Certifications
References