- Electronic DJs formed in 2012 from New York New York. The duo is Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. Taggart is the primary writer or co-writer of their original songs.
- Pall was a DJ as a kid, and after college he partnered with DJ Rhett Bixler to form The Chainsmokers. Meanwhile, Taggart was an intern at a record label, with an interest in being a DJ. He released some original songs on SoundCloud. In 2012, Bixler left Pall, and Taggart learned that Pall had an opening in The Chainsmokers. Pall and Taggart were introduced to one another, and they decided to collaborate.
- They posted remixes of their favorite indie bands to streaming services, and they gained fans over time. In late 2013, they released for free a song that Taggart wrote titled #Selfie. The mostly instrumental electro-pop song includes spoken lyrics by a young woman at a club, talking to friends about taking selfies, criticizing others at the club, and discussing her love/hate boyfriend relationship. The lyrics are delivered in a “valley girl” style. A month after its free release, it was picked up by an independent record label, and it became a hit, reaching #16 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. It also was a hit globally.
- The Chainsmokers had their first live performance in a New York City dance club in September 2014. By 2015, they were signed to a recording contract, and an EP titled Bouquet was released in October that year. A single from the EP, Roses, reached #6 on the Hot 100 and it was their second #1 song on the Hot Dance Songs chart. Roses was certified 5x platinum, and The Chainsmokers became stars in the EDM world. They played over 300 shows in 2015.
- Their next studio EP, Collage, was released in 2016. It included their 2 biggest singles – Don’t Let Me Down (featuring Daya) peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance chart, and Closer (featuring Halsey) reached the top of both charts. Closer remained #1 on the Hot 100 for 12 weeks, longer than any other song in 2016. Don’t Let Me Down won a Grammy award for Best Dance Recording, while Closer was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and The Chainsmokers were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist.
- Their debut full length studio album, Memories…Do Not Open, was released in 2017. It was certified platinum and it topped the Billboard 200 album chart. It included the hit singles Paris (#6 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Hot Dance Songs chart) and a collaboration with Coldplay, Something Just Like This, which peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 and was their sixth #1 song on the Hot Dance Songs chart.
- Albums were released in late 2018 and 2019. Singles from these albums have not been as successful on the Hot 100, but they continue to perform well on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with 10 more tracks reaching the top 10 of that chart. Their best performer was Call You Mine (featuring Bebe Rexa), which reached #2 on the chart.
- The Chainsmokers host two shows on Sirius XM Radio, and in 2019, they became the highest paid DJs in the world, dethroning Calvin Harris. If you know EDM, you know The Chainsmokers. They have managed to take a genre that doesn’t crossover easily to the masses, and score some major successes, as they’ve moved to electro-pop. I’m a Coldplay fan, so here’s the video of the collaboration between these mega artists – Something Just Like This. It definitely sounds like a Coldplay song, turned into electro-pop. Enjoy the lyric video – it’s fun to watch! If you want more, go to YouTube and watch Closer – maybe the catchiest song ever (2.6 billion YouTube viewers would agree).