Paris (The Chainsmokers song)



"Paris" is a song by American DJ duo The Chainsmokers. It features uncredited vocals from American singer Emily Warren. Who also composed "Don't Let Me Down". It was released on January 13, 2017, as the lead single from their debut album Memories...Do Not Open, through Disruptor Records and Columbia Records. It was served to Top 40 radio on January 17, 2017 as the follow-up radio single to "Closer".

It reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single became the duo's fourth number one on the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart in its February 25, 2017 issue, and their fifth number one on the magazine's Dance/Electronic Songs chart in its March 11, 2017 issue.

Background
In an interview with Billboard's Taylor Weatherby, Warren said about the collaboration:

"The Chainsmokers happened to be in New York and I was working on some stuff at a studio nearby, and they were like, 'Can you please come? We're finishing this song. It needs a little something; we don't know what it is. Can you just come sing some background or something?' So I came in and just layered some of Drew's parts and sang those different parts that you can hear on the song. They were like, 'All right, sick, the song's done now.' It was awesome. They just put me in the booth and were like, 'Do whatever you want,' and it turned out how it did.""

She was also asked about why she wasn't credited on the song, to which she replied,

""I think that their reasoning was that they wanted it to be a Chainsmokers thing and not featuring anyone. Drew did most of the singing and is doing a lot more singing now. And since it's not a proper duet, the vocal is meant to be more of an effect than an actual part. And there's other stuff I'm doing with them that I'm singing on, so I think in terms of what's coming out, they didn't want to do a lot of features."

Critical reception
Nolan Feeney of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B rating, saying "The track itself makes similar alterations to the band's sound without straying too far from the formula: You'll find the familiar chilled-out keyboards of 'Closer', a guitar loop like the one in 'Don't Let Me Down', and more lyrics about nostalgia and youth and living wild and free, but there's no real drop, and the synths that kick in at the end are relatively subtle. On paper, that all sounds like a bid to showcase some stripped-down musicianship, and The Chainsmokers have certainly earned the right to do so: anyone who thinks they're just DJs who twist knobs just hasn't been paying attention. But in the end, 'Paris' feels like the demo of a song that wants to take more risks than it actually does." Idolator's Carl Williott claimed "it's a subdued piece of EDM-pop, relying more on guitars than synths, but it's still that signature 'smokers MOR sound", and also stated "the song is about Paris, but the visual takes place on a beach with a supermodel because nothing makes sense in 2017." Raisa Bruner of Time labeled it "a less-than-encouraging reflection on yet another tricky relationship" and went on to say "this seems to be The Chainsmokers' sweet spot: slow-burning tunes—this one is especially down-tempo—with tropical house undercurrents, a little bit of nostalgic story, and an emotionally ambiguous core." USA Today's Patrick Ryan stated "the low-key banger is a nostalgic ode to the City of Lights, painting a schmaltzy picture of millennial romance that's marked by cigarette drags and disheveled hotel rooms." Chris Southcott from Gloss pointed out that this song sounds like Midnight City by M83

Chart performance
"Paris" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number seven, but in its second week, the song dropped to number 11 but it bounced back to the top 10 in its February 25, 2017 issue. The song peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the duo's fourth top 10 entry.

Music video
A lyric video for "Paris" was released on January 12, 2017. It was edited and directed by Rory Kramer and shows an unknown man who is holding the camera filming the journey through a tropical country together with a young girl who is played by Alexis Ren.

The official music video for "Paris" was released on February 16, 2017. It features the duo (Drew Taggart and Alex Pall) walking, intercut with shots of them and American model Martha Hunt, who stars in the video, in a house that begins floating and rising up into the sky, with the duo watching from the ground. Towards the end of the show, Hunt slides out of the window of the floating house and somehow falls back down into the same house from which she fell.

Live performance
On March 5, 2017, The Chainsmokers performed "Paris" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The song was also performed during The Chainsmokers' appearance on Saturday Night Live as musical guest on April 8, 2017.