Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, better known as The Chainsmokers, have recently released a documentary on YouTube. Entitled Memories, the documentary details their 2017 tour, as well as their rise to fame.
Memories tells the story of The Chainsmokers that no one has seen before. It is very open and candid, even touching on Drew’s mental health issues.
It uses a mix of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Alex, Drew, their moms, their entire team as well as Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Zedd. The latter two give their insight to the rise in fame of the duo, as well as just fame in general.
One of the biggest takeaways was that they never intended to be famous. This adjustment to such quickly gained fame wasn’t an easy one. Their breakout original song ‘Selfie’ was meant to be a joke, and it almost ruined them. People don’t take you seriously when you make a ridiculous song like that.
They also weren’t sure that their big arena tour for their first album Memories…Do Not Open would be a success, or not. And the production for the show was intricate and expensive. Alex revealed that when the tour started, they were $3 million in the hole, with no guarantee they could even make that up.
So while they were touring, and killing themselves each night for these shows, they were also playing their DJ sets in Vegas to keep making money. They would literally leave the tour bus, fly to Vegas, play a show, then fly back for the next stop on the tour.
A lot of people hate on The Chainsmokers, which is also addressed. But the documentary does a good job of showing just how hard they work. And how they deserve all that they’ve achieved. It’s worth the watch.
