The Chainsmokers, whether they anticipated it or not, have done a fantastic job of remaining at the forefront of most music media pages for the past two months. The success they achieved with “Closer” could have been predicted, but anticipating it to this degree… it’s rather unheard of.
If it wasn’t one thing, it was another: in three days, “Closer” made it to the iTunes #1 spot; less than a month after the track was released, it hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; less than a week after that, they performed the track live at the VMAs with Halsey; in early September, “Closer” officially went platinum; they later revealed they’d been in the studio with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, on top of also teasing collaborations with Linkin Park, Big Sean & Weezer; and finally, last Friday, The Chainsmokers released their follow up single, “All We Know,” with Phoebe Ryan.
It’s been a busy two months for The Chainsmokers and as cliché as it is, they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. As it appears on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 charts, “Closer” is #1 for the seventh week running, but this week it carries a little more significance.
Meanwhile, “Closer” bests the six-week reigns of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” (featuring Wanz) in 2013 and LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” (featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock) in 2011 to become the longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 by a duo in more than 12 years: since OutKast’s “Hey Ya!,” which ruled for nine weeks in 2003-04.
All of that is on top of the already staggering amount of records it either tied or beat when it first went #1 in August.
If there’s any reason to wonder why The Chainsmokers are getting so much media coverage, it’s because they deserve it.