Grammy Award-winning country duo Dan + Shay are set to release their forthcoming album, "Young," a collection of 10 autobiographical tracks marked by a newfound emotional vulnerability. The album explores themes of mental health, aging, and family life, representing a significant shift from their previous work, which often focused on wedding-themed songs.

The lead single, "Say So," directly addresses suicide prevention and serves as a tribute to the duo's late mentor, Ben Vaughn, who died by suicide a year prior. The song's hopeful chorus, "If you’re going through hell, you’re not alone. If you need somebody, say so," reflects the duo's desire to tackle difficult subjects.

"For one of the first times in our career, I was like, ‘I’m not like sure if we should tackle this,’" said Dan Smyers. He recounted how the song emerged organically while sharing stories about Vaughn with co-writers David Hodges and Jimmy Robbins. The creation process became a therapeutic experience for the artists.

Smyers noted the poignant coincidence that the day they began working on "Say So" would have been Vaughn's 50th birthday, viewing it as a sign that the song could help others. While "Say So" is one of the more somber tracks, it anchors the album's exploration of personal experiences and emotional openness.

Another track, the album's title song "Young," is described by Smyers as a "message from your future self to your present and past self, about the passage of time and appreciating the moment." He also elaborated on the song's resonance with men's tendency to suppress emotions, sharing his own experience of breaking down those walls to improve his life.

Prior to finalizing "Young," Dan + Shay wrote and discarded an entire album's worth of material, a process that demanded open conversation and self-reflection. The album also features more overt religiosity than their previous works, with songs like "Her, the Kids and Jesus" and references to the King James Bible.

Shay Mooney described "Her, the Kids and Jesus" as a snapshot of his current life. The album also touches on themes of grief and affection through tracks like "Dogs in Our Twenties," an ode to a first pet, and "The Old Guys," which features Cody Johnson and offers a twist on the traditional love song format.

Despite their genre-hybrid approach to country music, exemplified by their 2019 multiplatinum hit "10,000 Hours" with Justin Bieber, Dan + Shay find common ground with artists like Johnson. Smyers acknowledged their different spaces within country music but noted that vocal harmonies with Johnson "perfectly meet in the middle."

Mooney expressed hope that "Young" offers something for everyone, stating, "Whatever people need to get out of this album, I hope that they get that."