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9 T h i n g s Yo u N e e d t o K n o w A b o u t T h e
Chainsmokers
T h e E D M d u o i s n o m i n a t e d f o r t h r e e G r a m m y s t h i s y e a r.
b y M O R G A N E VA N S JAN 30, 2017
GETTY IMAGES
You may not know their faces, but you probably know The Chainsmokers'
music (they're responsible for the hit "Closer"). You'll get to know the EDM duo
even better after their first Grammy Awards, where they are nominated for
Best New Artist, Best Dance Recording, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
1. They studied music in college.
Both Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall have a background in music. Taggart
attended Syracuse University's prestigious Bandier Program for Music &
Entertainment Industries while Pall attended New York University and majored
in art history and music business. Pall told Rolling Stone in an October
interview that his main focus in college was getting all his work out of the way
so he would have time to put on shows as a DJ. This is what he called "gaming"
college.
In 2012, Pall was working in New York trying to establish himself as a
professional DJ, and Taggart had just graduated from Syracuse and was
working as an aspiring producer, making music on his laptop while also
interning at Interscope records . Pall was introduced to Taggart by their now-
manager, Adam Alpert, and the aspiring DJs came together and created The
Chainsmokers.
They emerged onto the scene in 2014 with "Selfie," but 2016 is the year they
really blew up, with three singles in the Billboard Top 10.
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2. Their first two singles featured collaborations with Quantico's Priyanka
Chopra.
Before The Chainsmokers were Grammy-nominated musicians and before
Chopra became famous in the U.S. for her role on ABC's Quantico, the EDM
duo and the Bollywood superstar worked together on "Erase" (2012) and
"Rookie" (2013), both of which featured Chopra's vocals.
3. They don't love their 2014 hit "Selfie."
The 2014 mash-up, which made fun of the self-observed Millennial generation,
is what landed them their first major label deal with Dim Mak records, owned
by EDM DJ Steve Aoki. But it's not exactly the duo's favorite song. Nonetheless,
Pall told Rolling Stone, "it taught us so much about the music business and
ourselves — what type of artists we wanted to be." The single received
backlash from EDM artist Deadmau5, who tweeted, "The only thing
@TheChainsmokers and pop EDM have in common is probably cancer."
Taggart, who is a fan of Deadmau5, acknowledged the insult and said, "It was
the first time anyone cared enough to shit on us."
The only thing @TheChainsmokers and pop EDM have in common is
probably cancer.
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) May 20, 2014
4. The lyric video for "Closer," featuring Halsey, has more than 1 billion
views on Vevo.
With the release of the summer single "Closer," The Chainsmokers were the
first EDM artists to take the Billboard no. 1 spot since Baauer's "Harlem Shake"
in 2013. The chart-topping single surpassed Drake and Justin Bieber for the
longest Hot 100 reign of the year, sitting at the top of the charts for 12 straight
weeks. In addition to "Closer," the duo also released the singles "Roses" and
"Don't Let Me Down," both of which debuted in the Billboard Top 10. In
addition to the song's already popular music video, the lyric music video, which
was created later, went viral, with more than 1 billion views.
5. They had some beef with Lady Gaga.
Pall shared his honest opinion about the Gaga's song "Perfect Illusion," saying
that that the single "sucked" in his Rolling Stone interview. Taggart jumped in
and added, "she's a great artist — like, Jeff Koons made a sculpture of her." In
response, Gaga directly tweeted at The Chainsmokers and said, "maybe u
guys’ll like this 1 better,” with a link a link to her then brand new single, "A-
YO." #GagaEndedTheChainsmokersParty began to trend on Twitter.
#AYO @TheChainsmokers maybe u guys'll like this 1 better
#NowPlaying
Apple: https://t.co/u0r8kOeLCr Spotify: https://t.co/iCwMjenJut
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) October 18, 2016
6. Celebrities love to cover their songs.
One of the most viral ones belonged to Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, who
teamed up with pop-rock band Boyce Avenue to perform an acoustic version of
the song that has amassed more than 32 million views on YouTube. The
Chainsmokers gave Boyce Avenue and Hyland a special shout-out on their page
after the performance took over social media.
7. They've made their mark on the fashion industry.
They helped with the creative design for the NYC-based fashion line Our Thing.
The streetwear brand, which includes athleisure-inspired looks, unisex tees,
bomber jackets, and jerseys, has taken the concept of concert merch and made
it everyday apparel.
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8. Drew Taggart made 2017's Forbes "30 Under 30."
He shares the honor with the18-year-old singer Daya, who is featured in The
Chainsmokers' single "Don't Let Me Down," and "30 Under 30" alum Halsey,
who was featured in "Closer."
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9. They claim their penises are 17 inches tip to
tip.
Okay, sure.
Follow Morgan on Instagram and Twitter.
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