Country singer-songwriter Brett Eldredge is no stranger to a life without a smartphone, social media and gadgets. After all, he has gone off the grid, retreated to a flip phone and lived life outside of excessive screen time. But, one thing technology and the initial onset of COVID and quarantine gifted him with was a deeper friendship with Shay Mooney—all thanks to the social aspect of gaming.
“[Over this pandemic,] I became very close to Shay Mooney from Dan + Shay. We’ve been buddies for a long time [and] we’re on the same label. We were inside playing video games all the time, and then I got to really enjoy it,” Eldredge shares in a recent Zoom interview.
Naturally, because of the bonding over a shared interactive activity, both singers started conversing with each other more outside of their typical, sometimes random run-ins at shows or industry events.
“I just realized how great a person [Shay] is, how fun he is and how many things we share in common by going through what we’re going through with this and what we have in the past,” the Paris, Illinois native reflects. “We talk a lot about all the mental aspects of all of it, and he’s just a real open, kind-hearted guy.”
On the music front, Eldredge released his critically acclaimed fifth studio album, Sunday Drive, last year. The 12-song record includes the heart-rending title track, lead single “Gabrielle,” as well as its timely and uplifting second single, “Good Day.” Dan + Shay, on the other hand, are top 20 and climbing with their friendship-tributing single, “Glad You Exist.”
Listen to both Eldredge and Dan + Shay’s singles on our Today’s Country playlist below.