It took Dan + Shay slightly more than two years from the release of their debut album, 2014's Where It All Began, to put together their sophomore project, Obsessed, released in early June, but the duo insists that they "never stopped writing" during that time. It's just that, when you're on the road, timing can be tough.

"It was tough being on the road a lot, touring on this first record for a couple years," Dan Smyers tells The Boot. "Not a lot of time to write on the road, but we did what we could and never stopped writing ... It’s been a fun process."

Smyers and Shay Mooney say that it's their newest record that fully illustrates their diversity as artists.

"We think this is 'Dan + Shay 2.0,'" Smyers says. "I think we’ve matured a little bit as songwriters."

Take, for example, Dan + Shay's debut single from Obsessed, "From the Ground Up." Written by Smyers and Mooney, along with hit songwriter Chris DeStefano, the emotional tune was inspired by a personal loss.

“We’re really proud of that song,” Mooney admits. “It came from a conversation we had: We were doing vocals for another song, and Dan and I were discussing that his grandfather had just passed away, and mine was in the hospital. We were talking about the true love. Both of our grandfathers separately were married for over 65 years.

“That kind of love doesn’t exist anymore, it seems,” he continues. “We wanted to pay homage to our grandparents. We saw that love in them, and they really did build something ‘from the ground up,’ if you will. We started talking about that example and started the song. It came from a very organic and special place for us.”

Dan + Shay are currently on the road with Darius Rucker, serving as an opening act on Rucker's Good for a Good Time Tour. They note that their new music is being well received by the crowds.

"We’re so pumped," Smyers says of Obsessed. "We’re so proud of it, and fans have been super receptive of it so far."

Obsessed is available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

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