The soundtrack for The Best of Me is available now, and it features a pair of relative newcomers – Gareth Dunlop and SHEL. Gareth and SHEL lead singer Eva Holbrook wrote “Hold On” a while ago and felt it was a pretty special song.

“When Eva [Holbrook] and I sat down and finished this song, I think we both felt that we’d landed on something very, very special,” says Gareth. “Like a lot of songwriters, I’ve written and co-written a lot of songs that have not seen the light of day. So, for this song to find its home in this movie is very encouraging and very, very exciting, indeed.”

“Gareth and I got together downtown and we were grabbing some ice cream, and we were talking about the fact that we had never really written together before and as well as lamenting over the fact that that week had been rather unproductive writing on our own,” recalls Eva. “So, we decided to go back to the house and do something about it, and I brought up this little melody to him, and was like, ‘Well, what do you think of this?’ He picked it up and ran with it, and before we knew it, we both had this song that we loved and were really excited about it. So, we finished it up and brought it to the girls and they put this heavenly music behind it.”

Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Kip Moore, Kacey Musgraves, Thompson Square and Colbie Caillat are also featured on the soundtrack. The film, starring Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden, opens in theaters nationwide October 17th.

Gareth Dunlop (Best of Me) OC: …exciting, indeed. :28
“Hey there! This is Gareth Dunlop, and I just want to talk a little bit about how great it is to have ‘Hold On’ featured in The Best of Me. When Eva [Holbrook] and I sat down and finished this song, I think we both felt that we’d landed on something very, very special. Like a lot of songwriters, I’ve written and co-written a lot of songs that have not seen the light of day. So, for this song to find its home in this movie is very encouraging and very, very exciting, indeed.”

SHEL (Best of Me song) OC: …in some way. :47
“It began with a melody that I woke up with in my head some time ago now actually. I just sort of croaked it into my phone early in the morning, so I wouldn’t forget it. Gareth and I got together downtown and we were grabbing some ice cream, and we were talking about the fact that we had never really written together before and as well as lamenting over the fact that that week had been rather unproductive writing on our own. So, we decided to go back to the house and do something about it, and I brought up this little melody to him, and was like, ‘Well, what do you think of this?’ He picked it up and ran with it, and before we knew it, we both had this song that we loved and were really excited about it. So, we finished it up and brought it to the girls and they put this heavenly music behind it. I listen to it now, and I think, ‘Well, I’m really glad I was a part of that in some way.’”