Dan + Shay Cover Taylor Swift’s ‘Back to December’: LISTEN

Dan + Shay are accepting their Swiftie fate, and dropping a cover of a Speak Now favorite! Over the weekend, the country duo released their rendition of Taylor Swift‘s “Back to December,” weeks after sharing a clip of them performing the song during a soundcheck.

“What started as an impromptu soundcheck cover of one of our favorite @taylorswift songs turned into the quickest recording-to-release turnaround in our almost 13 year career,” the band wrote in an Instagram post. “Huge thanks to our fans who encouraged us to get in the studio and make a full version, and to everyone on our team who worked like crazy to help us make it happen.”

The pair asked fans for their help in “spreading the word” about the song, sharing that they didn’t have time for a proper rollout, but were very excited to release the recording (which arrived just in time for Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl buzz).

“Back To December + fall weather go together like 2026 + a @danandshay world tour,” joked Dan Smyers in an Instagram comment on Monday, teasing that they may perform the cover on the road.

Earlier this month, the duo shared a clip of the two of them playing a small snippet of the song, which immediately gained traction from fans. “Such a great song,” Smyers and Shay Mooney wrote on Instagram at the time. They later posted a video on their way to record the “Back To December” cover, calling it “one of our favorite songs of all time.”

The new musical offering is the band’s first release since their It’s Officially Christmas double album, which dropped last year. The duo’s last non-holiday record arrived in 2023, Bigger Houses.