What a week for The Chainsmokers! Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart could be feeling success whiplash after conducting an epic Ultra Miami 2018 performance, having their second single hit one billion Spotify streams, and now topping Billboard’s new Dance 100 list. With the recent introduction of the Dance 100 list, The Chainsmokers are the first #1 Dance Artist/DJ to ever be recognized for their effort and talent in this way.
Matt Medved, Billboard’s Director of Dance and Electronic Programming explained the category by saying, “The Billboard Dance 100 fills the need for a holistic, data-driven ranking of dance music’s diverse range of talents. From hit makers and club curators to hard ticket-movers, all successful artist models will find a home here.”
The Chainsmokers Hit the Top of Billboard’s New Dance List
Although we are only three months into the new year, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the accolades The Chainsmokers amassed already.
The Chainsmokers in January 2018
In January, the EDM/pop duo released a single called ‘Sick Boy,’ kicking off a steady monthly drip of new music.
Featuring more live instrumentation and Drew Taggart’s vocals, the song is an evolution compared to previous songs by The Chainsmokers. It’s catchy, evocative, and intoxicating, capturing the attention of both old and new fans. The duo also dropped a video to accompany the release which currently has over 136,000,000 views.
The Chainsmokers – Sick Boy https://t.co/icVRR1Xmm7
MY NEW FAVORITE SONG— Lee (@LevonXGaming) March 30, 2018
Before you say you can’t dance to it, here is Fox crushing the ‘Sick Boy’ Anikdote Remix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhyyh4V4zko&feature=youtu.be
More of The Chainsmokers in February 2018
February brought out another single, ‘You Owe Me,’ which reached #4 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The accompanying video is dark and ironic with a shocking ending, helping to propel it to over 34,000,000 views on YouTube in a little over a month.
Alex Pall posted a picture of the filming experience on his Instagram. No doubt this will drive the video views up even further.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg8HrebhxtL
The Chainsmokers’ lyric video for ‘Closer’ hit 2 billion views in early February as well. Although the song was released late July of 2016 it is still going strong. As usual, ‘Closer’ inspired a slew of covers including this fun version by Walk Off The Earth.
Gaining Even More Momentum in March 2018
The Chainsmokers rung March in with an even more hyped release. The latest single is called ‘Everybody Hates Me,’ and while no actual video has emerged, the audio-only track has over nine million views in under a month.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIpLfV5GKo
Twitter is absolutely laden with people freaking out in support of this track.
https://twitter.com/MiiaSlettbakken/status/976850784666161153
One fan even tattooed a lyric on themselves. This is just the kind of madness The Chainsmokers elicit.
https://twitter.com/TheChainsmokers/status/976582243563945984
The iHeartRadio Awards were another high point in March. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart walked away with iHeartRadio’s awards for Best Collaboration, Dance Artist of the Year, and Dance Album of the Year.
Then there was Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The Chainsmokers took the opportunity to realize a dream of headlining the festival and put the naysayers to bed. They delivered a super-high-energy set that included six new songs, their commercial hits, and hard dubstep and electro mashups.
When they got to performing ‘Closer,’ Halsey appeared unexpectedly and made the crowd sing along and bounce for dear life.
Mere days after Ultra, The Chainsmokers reached one billion streams on Spotify with ‘Don’t Let Me Down,’ their second song to hit that many streams. The duo is one of only three artists to have more than one billion streams with multiple songs.
Dedicated and Driven with Uncanny Instincts
The Chainsmokers are in full-court press mode, trying hard to expand the boundaries of what DJs typically do. From their insightful use of social media, their impressive ability to hype up their fans, their EDM talent and instincts, and now live instrumentation and vocals, The Chainsmokers often don’t get enough credit for what they accomplish. They’re hard-working, always reaching, and ready for a party.
Right after Closer’s released in 2016, Alex Pall spoke some telling words to Interview Magazine about their future saying,
“So obviously right now, “Closer” coming out, which is going to dramatically change the way our shows work, having Drew singing and stuff. Obviously, there’s always been a performance element to our show, but that’s only getting bigger and bigger. As we move forward, we’re putting on a festival, which is basically an entirely curated show, which at its heart is what anyone’s show is. But we’re really taking it a step further with the production and the short acts and obviously what we do… [W]e’re talking about mixing videos of our live show with our DJ show… We perform our songs live, which we’re really proud of because it transcends the typical DJ now.”
Yamaha’s amps might not be as popular as the Fender and Vox gear, but they are great at creating exceptional and affordable small amplifiers. Yamaha THR10 is one of the finest offers on the market.
What’s happening with The Chainsmokers right now is no fluke. It’s a plan coming to fruition. That’s something you have to respect.
Stay tuned to The Chainsmokers’ social media for more releases, including the ‘Everybody Hates Me’ video.
https://twitter.com/TheChainsmokers/status/979794891181092866