Brett Eldredge and Dan + Shay share a record label and have hung out together backstage at concerts, but it took being quarantined inside their respective homes for Eldredge and Shay Mooney to develop a deeper friendship.

"We've been buddies for a long time ... but [during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic], we started playing video games," Eldredge shares during a media roundtable event. Getting together virtually, via a gaming system, offered a social outlet that was definitely safe during a time when little was known about the virus.

"Next thing you know, we're playing every day, all the time, and then start talking away from it more than we used to," Eldredge recalls. "I just realized how great of a person he is and how funny he is and how many things we share in common ... He's just a real open and kind-hearted guy."

After having to push back their arena tour plans to late 2021 due to the pandemic, Shay and bandmate Dan Smyers have been able to work on new music during their unplanned time off the road. Eldredge, meanwhile, released a new album in 2020 and has been focusing on himself and his mental health, in addition to promoting two singles from that project, the latest of which is the song "Good Day."

"The decision to wake up and not focus on the negative things ... was a big message for myself to learn, 'cause I can find a lot of things to be negative about ...," Eldredge says of his reasons for co-writing that single with Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian.

"[I needed to teach myself to be] able to try to find some optimism," he adds, "and say, 'You know what, I'm gonna have a good day and spread that optimism around ... I'm gonna have a good day, even if there's a lot of negative things; I'm gonna put my best self forward, I'm gonna be there for other people, I'm gonna be there for myself, and I'm gonna have a good day and make that decision when I wake up.'"

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