While it’s not usual for new songs from major artists to be released on a Tuesday, The Chainsmokers’ new song “This Feeling” is anything but usual. Teaming up with rising country star Kelsea Ballerini, The Chainsmokers present a new country crossover song that has all the hallmarks of a Chainsmokers tune while still pushing their envelope musically.
Soft piano notes and a subtle, thumping percussion bring the track in while Ballerini sings, eventually adding an acoustic guitar to the mix before the drop. The song is also unique in that the drop is only just about 10 seconds long before Drew comes in with his own vocals. The second drop isn’t much longer, clocking in at just 18 seconds.
Then again, this is a country crossover record so you can’t have something obscenely long. Speaking with Zane Lowe, Ballerini admitted that “country music’s not just like a traditional sound any more” so “This Feeling” can easily fit within that realm. 
“[…] there’s like so many different branches of it,” she says, “and I think having these kind of collaborations people that have that stigma in their head of like ‘Oh it’s all about the truck’ you know they’re like ‘Oh wait I like this song. That’s a country singer? Wait let me check out more.’ And it kind of opens the opens the doors more which is kinda sick.”
As for the album concept their team concocted toward the beginning of the year, Taggart says, “We want to put out an album and we want people to have look at a body of work representing a period of time of creativity. But you know we tour. We play 200 shows a year. So we’re like pretty much doing a show everyday. We just can’t sit in a room and make 14 songs 20 songs. I think we will at some point but like not right now.”
Pall continues, “The fact that we can just write a new song today and it’s not like ‘Oh shit it doesn’t fit into the album we have to wait like ten months to put this out’ or something. You know I mean it’s just like oh now we just swap something out swap it around do whatever. I think like what we’re doing right now and where our music goes is gonna be the most challenging part of our career I think.
Photo via Rukes.com
