I Dare You

Album: Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Released on January 31, 2025, "I Dare You" is a musical handshake between two generations of chart-topping trios: Rascal Flatts and the Jonas Brothers. For Rascal Flatts, it marks a grand return after a four-year hiatus that began in 2021.
  • With both Rascal Flatts and Jonas Brothers on the same song, you'll need to pass the mic around a bit. That's Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox on the first verse and chorus. In the second verse, he cedes to Nick Jonas, who is joined on the next chorus by his brother Joe. All three come in on the bridge and take it home from there.

    Both groups often sing about matters of the heart, and that's the case here, where they dare a reluctant lover to give them a chance. It's a country-pop anthem in line with Rascal Flatts hits like "Take Me There" and "These Days," and Jonas Brothers offerings like "What A Man Gotta Do" and "Fly with Me."
  • Nick Jonas wrote the song alongside Dan + Shay's Shay Mooney and co-writers Dewain Whitmore Jr. (Joji's "Die For You," Zara Larsson and David Guetta's "On My Love") and Tommy English (Kacey Musgraves' "High Horse," K Flay's "Bad Vibes").
  • According to Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, when the Jonas Brothers came to them with the idea, they were excited, noting that the chorus had a sound that just felt like Rascal Flatts.

    The collaboration seemed like a perfect fit. "We thought this might be a cool way to just kinda sneak back in on radio and release some new music," DeMarcus explained.

    After all, Rascal Flatts has long admired the Jonas Brothers - not only for their talent but for everything they've achieved. "It seemed like a good opportunity and a good time and a good fit," he explained.
  • "I Dare You" is Rascal Flatts' second time working with a pop act. Back in 2010, they collaborated with Natasha Bedingfield on "Easy."
  • Jay DeMarcus produced the song with Dann Huff, Tommy English and Jeremy Hatcher. DeMarcus also plays the bass, his bandmate Joe Don Rooney and Kevin Jonas both contribute lead guitar and Nick Jonas keyboard. The other musicians are:

    Shay Mooney: electric guitar
    Dann Huff: mandolin, bouzouki, electric guitar
    Ilya Toshinskiy: acoustic guitar
    Rob Mcnelley: electric guitar
    Paul Franklin: steel guitar
    Tommy English: keyboard
    Jerry Roe: drums
  • The song gave the Jonas siblings their first hit on the Billboard country chart when "I Dare You" entered the listing at #31.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Justin Timberlake

Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction

Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?

Daryl Hall

Daryl HallSongwriter Interviews

Daryl Hall's TV show is a hit, and he's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - only one of these developments excites him.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.