Niko Moon and Shaggy on catching a 'Good Time' with new collaboration

Need a feel-good getaway? Niko Moon's got you covered. 

The country-pop upstart infectiously sang last year about a "Good Time" on his debut radio single — delivering a bottle-passin' campfire daydream that scored millions of streams and continues to climb airplay charts. 

And, to ease through another year defined by social distance and self-isolation, he called in the cavalry for a "Good Time" remix. 

Grammy Award-winning reggae artist Shaggy — AKA Mr. Bombastic, who two decades later still reminds listeners "It Wasn't Me" — joins Moon on a new rendition of his genre-blurring earworm. 

"Niko did a great job of creating a beautiful message: just have a good time," Shaggy told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. "It was perfect during a pandemic and all the hell we've been going through the past year. (He made) you feel like there's a little bit of light at the tunnel of this madness that's going on. That's what he's done with this song and all I did was put a little sprinkle around it."

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The reggae-infused take on "Good Time" debuted last month via Sony Music Nashville. 

Lyrics include, "We just tryna catch a good time/ Even if it takes all night/ Pass that bottle 'round the campfire/ Sippin' apple pie moonshine." 

The pair join a growing list of Nashville collaborations to blur genre lines. Dan + Shay earned a 2021 Grammy nomination for "10,000 Hours," a country-pop number featuring superstar Justin Bieber. Kelsea Ballerini enlisted Halsey for 2020 single "The Other Girl" while Maren Morris remixed her smash hit "The Bones" with indie artist Hozier (and she notably surpassed a billion Spotify streams last month on "The Middle," a mammoth crossover hit with Zedd). 

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Moon and Shaggy recorded without meeting in-person, a by-product of the pandemic they could afford "in the beauty of the modern age," Moon said. Despite distance between them, Moon knew Shaggy fit because "he's all about positivity and making people feel good." 

"Shaggy is one of those people that good enough ain't good enough," said Moon, who penned songs for Zac Brown Band and Dierks Bentley before launching his major label career. "And that's the type of person I am, too. It was great working with another person who was on the mindset (of making) it as great as it can possibly be." 

Shaggy added: "And you wanna have fun. I've learned over the years that it's just songs. I don't like one? I write another one, ya know what I mean? You still want it to be pleasurable to you. You wanna like what you do. At the end of the day, you have to be personally satisfied with it.

"You go at it until it's perfect and everybody's happy." 

Shaggy — a 52-year-old Marine veteran from Kingston, Jamaica — grew up hearing some of the most celebrated voices in country music. 

He's a fan of Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers ("Who doesn't love 'The Gambler?'" he said). 

"Country music is a big thing in Jamaica," Shaggy said. "It's been there for years. I remember the first time Kenny Rogers came there. There was a road block. He was surprised at how well-received his songs were. 

"As a kid growing up, country music was played a lot on radio. It was a big part of our growing up. It has definitely been part of our DNA, in the music of reggae." 

And, when safely possible, could the two find finally share a room together for a live "Good Time" performance? 

"I think it would be great," Shaggy said. "Whatever opportunity we get to actually do this record, I'd be totally welcome to do it."