Everything's coming up 'Roses' for The Chainsmokers
Months before Merriam-Webster added "selfie" to the dictionary in spring 2014, The Chainsmokers made the term a viral sensation.
#SELFIE, the DJ duo's tongue-in-cheek ode to hashtags and Instagram filters, was released that January and quickly erupted with its outrageous music video, which spoofs vapid partygoers and their smartphone obsessions. The high-octane clip catapulted the club banger to No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and has since racked up a staggering 409 million YouTube views.
For then-newcomers Drew Taggart, 26, and Alex Pall, 30, the song's novelty craze was understandably surprising.
"There was no one that was like, 'This is going to be a top-40 hit' — not a single person," Taggart says. "That was just supposed to be a fun joke for our friends on our SoundCloud. It wasn't representative of any of the other stuff we ever made."
Which is part of the reason why Roses' success smells so sweet. Sonically, their latest hit is a total about-face from the fist-pumping sugar rush of #SELIFE and its follow-up single Kanye. Layering alt-pop singer Rozes' airy vocals on top of dreamy synths and hand claps, Roses has become a mellow dance alternative to much of what's popular on radio now: peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100 last month and selling 867,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen Music.
Before creating the song, "I was listening to a bunch of indie records," Taggart says, citing Oh Wonder, Grouplove and Taylor Swift's 1989 as major influences. "I wanted to make something that sounded like a cool indie track, but had a pop, mainstream-type beat."
After hearing Rozes' vocals on Just A Gent's Limelight, "we thought she had a really interesting voice" and reached out to her with demo ideas, Pall says. Meeting in the studio one day, they tweaked the melody and played around with lyrics, and finished the song about six hours later. "It happened so naturally. It was a really great experience to watch unfold."
Both Taggart and Pall insist they weren't afraid of sinking into "one-hit wonder" status after the phenomenon of #SELFIE. Still, they say it feels "gratifying" that Roses has organically become a hit, without the boost of a viral clip. (Its music video has only tallied 11 million views since August.)
"We had no idea what was going on when #SELFIE was happening, we were just along for the ride," Pall says. "We learned a lot about ourselves and the type of artist we wanted to be from that experience. So with Roses, we were a little more prepared and proud of the record because it wasn't just a novelty" and "is a lot more personal."
The Chainsmokers just wrapped a sold-out college tour, and are gearing up to play festivals such as Coachella and Bonnaroo in the months ahead. Rather than cranking out an album to capitalize on Roses' success, they're instead focused on releasing a new song every month (most recently, Don't Let Me Down with Daya).
"We like to be really present with our content," says Taggart, who's currently listening to Local Natives, Bon Iver and Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning To Pimp a Butterfly. "We're big music fans, so we're always being influenced by what we're listening to. It allows people to hear who we are at that exact moment."