Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. McAnally has written, and/or produced over 50 number one songs. Writing and producing for artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Walker Hayes, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Lady A, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Midland, and more. He has received Billboard’s Trailblazer Award for his work both in country music and in championing voices in the LGBTQ community.

From the early 2010s onward, McAnally has worked almost exclusively as a songwriter and producer, earning significant commercial and critical success. He has garnered three Grammy Awards, been nominated for more CMA Awards than any other songwriter in history and has been named ACM’s Songwriter of the Year twice. In 2023, he brought the Tony Award winning musical Shucked to Broadway – a production he wrote the music and lyrics for with his frequent collaborator Brandy Clark. Shucked was nominated for 9 Tony Awards in the 2023 season.

Shane McAnally was born October 12, 1974, in Mineral Wells, Texas.^[1] He began performing at local clubs at the age of 12 and appeared on Star Search when he was 14, singing Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch." He moved to Branson, Missouri at 15, then to Nashville at 19.^[2]

McAnally and music producer Rich Herring recorded a demo of a song that McAnally had written. The song, "Just One Touch", earned McAnally a publishing deal as well as a recording contract with Curb Records.^[1] In 1999, McAnally signed with Curb and began recording his first album for the label as well as his first single. "Say Anything" was released in 1999 as his debut single. The song peaked at No. 41 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The follow-up single, "Are Your Eyes Still Blue", became his first top 40 single, peaking at No. 31. McAnally charted a third and final time with "Run Away", which reached No. 50. All three tracks appeared on a self-titled debut album released on Curb in 2000 before he left the label.^[3]

McAnally told Yahoo! Entertainment in 2020 that he struggled with his sexuality for many years while working in Nashville, as he knew that no country music singers were openly gay at the time. At the time, he was dating a woman to whom he later came out, although he kept his orientation hidden from others and later referred to his girlfriend as a beard.^[9] After exiting Curb in 2000, McAnally decided to come out while living in West Hollywood, California, a city he knew was more accepting of the gay community. He worked songwriter shows there and chose to return to Nashville due to his enjoyment of music.^[9] McAnally received attention as a gay musician in 2013 when he co-wrote and co-produced "Follow Your Arrow" by Kacey Musgraves, a song which features a lyric in support of the gay community.^[9]

McAnally married his partner of five years, Michael Baum, in September 2012. The couple have two children.^[4] In January 2017, the two were legally married by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.^[10]

McAnally has produced or co-produced the following works:

McAnally is also a mentor on NBC's songwriting competition series, Songland. On Songland, McAnally works alongside esteemed producers Ryan Tedder and Ester Dean, collaborating with unknown songwriters to craft hit songs. Each "winning" song is recorded by that episode's musical guest and released immediately following the episode. McAnally has described his role on the show as his "wildest dream job that I never knew I wanted." Songs co-written by McAnally as a part of his role on Songland are as follows.