Alex Pall

The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart.

They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists.

"Don't Let Me Down", featuring American singer Daya, became their first top-five single on the Billboard chart and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 59th awards ceremony.

Their single "Closer", featuring American singer-songwriter Halsey, became their first number-one single on the Billboard chart.

The Chainsmokers were re-formed as an EDM DJ duo in 2012 under the management of Adam Alpert in New York City.

Pall attended New York University for art history and music business while Taggart had been attending Syracuse University and was an intern at Interscope Records before the two met.

Taggart had taken an interest in being a DJ and released some original songs on the website SoundCloud.

Taggart was informed by someone working for Alpert that a duo, which was being managed by Alpert, had an open spot after Bixler left, which prompted Taggart to leave Maine in order to go to New York City.

Pall, who had grown up as a DJ and had been working at an art gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan at the time, was introduced to Taggart by Alpert.

In 2012, they collaborated with Indian actress and recording artist Priyanka Chopra on the single "Erase" which was followed by "The Rookie" in early 2013.

In April 2013, the Chainsmokers released a remix of "Medicine" by Daughter and it reached number 1 on HypeMachine.

The duo started out by making remixes of indie bands.

Their single "#Selfie", released for free in December 2013, was picked up by Dim Mak Records who re-released it in January 2014 and eventually streamed it to Republic Records.

The duo achieved breakthrough success as the single charted internationally and peaked on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

Pall has described the song as "life-changing" for the pair.

The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with their 2014 song "#Selfie", which became a top-twenty single in several countries.

They have won a Grammy award, two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and nine iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The duo's first live performance was opening for Timeflies at Terminal 5 in September 2014.

On August 5, 2014, the Chainsmokers released "Kanye", featuring sirenXX, the follow-up to "#Selfie".

Seven months later, they released "Let You Go", featuring the American synthpop group Great Good Fine Ok.

Their debut EP, Bouquet, was released in October 2015 and featured the single "Roses", which reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

They signed with Disruptor Records, a joint venture label with Sony Music Entertainment by their manager Adam Alpert, in April 2015.

On May 18, 2015, the Chainsmokers released the single "Good Intentions".

Their follow-up single "Roses", released one month later on June 16, became a commercial success and has been certified multiplatinum in several countries, including the duo's native United States where it reached the top 10 of the Billboard chart.

Further singles included "Waterbed", a collaboration with Dutch DJ Tiësto entitled "Split (Only U)", and "Until You Were Gone" which was released on September 18, 2015.

These songs, except "Split (Only U)", were featured on the group's debut EP, Bouquet, which was released on October 23, 2015.

A week later, the song "New York City" was released as the fifth and final single from the EP.

The duo's second EP, Collage, was released in November 2016.

During an October 2016 television interview, ABC News Nightline reporter Nick Watt asked Pall and Taggart "What's with the (duo's) name?"

Pall replied that, "At the time of conception, it was... it was totally just like I was in college. You know I enjoyed smoking weed and you know it was just like such a 'yeah the domain's open'. I don't have to have any, like, underscores."

Taggart added "It's just a name."

In an interview during the Upfront Summit 2023, Alex Pall stated that the name "Chainsmokers" was a provisional based on the fact that he used to smoke a lot of cigarettes and they needed only one name for promotional flyers.

On February 5, 2016, the duo released a new single, "Don't Let Me Down", featuring vocals from American singer Daya, which won a Grammy award.

On March 19, the group played at Ultra Music Festival, where they publicly denounced presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Their debut studio album, Memories...Do Not Open, was released in April 2017 and topped the US Billboard 200 chart.

Their second album, Sick Boy, was released in December 2018.

According to Forbes 2019 list of highest-paid celebrities, the Chainsmokers were the highest-paid DJs, dethroning Calvin Harris after six years.

Their third studio album, World War Joy, was released in December 2019 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart.

So Far So Good, their fourth studio album, was released on May 13, 2022.

The Chainsmokers were initially made up of Pall and former DJ Rhett Bixler.