Officially Christmas

When Dan Smyers met up with Jordan Reynolds ("Speechless" "Glad You Exist"), Dave Barnes ("You") and Nicolle Galyon ("Tequila," "All to Myself") to pen some holiday music, he already had two titles in mind: "Officially Christmas" and "Pick Out a Christmas Tree." It was a baking hot August day, so Smyers lit up a patio fireplace and some candles to get him and his co-writers into the holiday mood. After penning the chorus, they threw in a sackful of festive images into the two verses: Christmas lights, crackling fireplace, Santa's footsteps on the roof and "Jingle Bell Rock."

On the bridge, Dan & Shay sing about the anticipation of Christmas: We've been countin' down the days all year Raise a glass, it's finally here The lyric touches on how is important in these troubled times to have something to look forward to. "Right now, you can just feel in our writing community how important it is to be writing toward the future because I think everyone has high hopes to kind of come out of the other side of what we've all been through with a fresh face, fresh excitement and hope," Galyon reasoned to Billboard. "And you know, as cheesy as it sounds, Christmas is about hope, and it's about all things new. And so, in a way, that bridge speaks to that."

Smyers and co-producer Scott Hendricks (Blake Shelton, Michael Ray) recruited a studio band to lay down the track, adding horns, bells and staccato strings to give it a timeless festive feel. They released the song to country radio on November 9, 2021, having dropped "Pick Out a Christmas Tree" the week before.