The Chainsmokers Explore Folk Crossover In Beautiful Collaboration With Kelsea Ballerini
The Chainsmokers have gone with a different strategy in terms of new releases in 2018. After their debut album in 2017, the guys have started to let singles trickle out and be added to their EP upon release. Today we saw the release of ‘This Feeling’ featuring gorgeous lyrics by Kelsea Ballerini. The Chainsmokers have had a ton of success with duet song formats but does this one live up to their platinum record ‘Closer’?
The Chainsmokers – ‘This Feeling’
‘This Feeling’ is an interesting song that explores a crossover folk sound. The vocals are done by Drew and Kelsea and both artists really hit a home run. The track is carried by the lyrical back and forth. While the future bass drop is a bit basic, the song is catchy, captivating and risky.
The Chainsmokers have demonstrated time and time again they are not afraid to take risks when it comes to exploring new sounds. While this strategy has had mixed results, it is safe to say that ‘This Feeling’ is a major success and breakthrough when it comes to working outside of one’s comfort zone. Check it out below.
How ‘This Feeling’ Performed
Turns out the risk paid off. ‘This Feeling’ went on to become the seventh single pulled from The Chainsmokers’ album ‘Sick Boy,’ reached No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, and eventually earned a triple platinum certification from the RIAA in the US, along with additional platinum certifications in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It also crossed over onto the country side of things, showing up on the deluxe edition of Kelsea Ballerini’s own album ‘Unapologetically,’ which speaks to how well that folk-pop crossover landed with both fanbases rather than feeling like a one-sided EDM feature.
That kind of dual-genre success is exactly what The Chainsmokers seem to have been chasing with the trickle-out single strategy this album cycle. Instead of betting everything on one format, pairing with an established country star let ‘This Feeling’ find an audience that a typical dance-pop single probably wouldn’t have reached, and it holds up as one of the more successful genre experiments from that era of the group’s catalog.
