A world in which Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are separate musicians with separate lives may seem unimaginable to country fans now, but a mere six years ago, the duo met each other on Dec. 7, 2012. In 2018, they're celebrating that special milestone with their first Grammy Awards nominations: On Friday morning (Dec. 7), when Grammys nominees were revealed, Dan + Shay found themselves nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo / Group Performance.

"We met exactly 6 years ago, today (12/7/12), and woke up this morning to our first Grammy nomination(s)," Dan + Shay write on Twitter. "Emotion level: maximum."

According to Smyers, he and Mooney try to take a moment every year to celebrate the anniversary of the day they met: "We'll have an extra tequila,"  the singer joked with The Boot and other outlets during a recent press event.

In 2018, Mooney and Smyers have an especially big year to celebrate even aside from their Grammys nomination. The pair released their self-titled third album, a project that garnered them critical acclaim, several nominations at the 2018 CMA Awards and the No. 1 single "Tequila." Smyers says that celebrating this year is especially important because their strength as a duo has been so consistent.

"It has been a big year. It's changed our world; it's been crazy," he continues. "We started off the year with "Tequila" and now we're ending it up with "Speechless." It's climbing the charts and doing its thing and making an impact for us, so we started the year strong, carried it through and [are] ending it strong."

The special day comes at an important time of year, when Smyers and Mooney are both wrapping up a year's worth of hard work, and need a little boost of encouragement. Plus, having the chance to celebrate also lets the duo cut loose.

"When you're out on the road, it does wear on you. It does get tiring towards the end of the year," Smyers admits. "You gotta celebrate the moments, because they go by fast, and you gotta let it sink in and not take it for granted. So yeah, we'll maybe have a few tequilas."

The 2019 Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 10. The televised ceremony will begin at 8PM ET on CBS; the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony will be available to stream online earlier in the evening. Further details, including a list of performers, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Boot will be staying up late covering the most buzzed-about country winners, fashion and moments at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Readers can watch along with us by checking back to TheBoot.com for the latest Grammys headlines, liking The Boot on Facebook and following The Boot on Twitter.

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