httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mWQ38SpEf8
The Chainsmokers were the first to admit that their debut performance of “Closer” with Halsey at the MTV VMAs left some room for improvement.
“It sounded like sh-t,” Drew Taggart bluntly told Billboard.
“Nearly every other person lip-synced it, and we knew because we had them in our ears. So now I know why you lip-sync.”
The New York duo took the lesson to heart tonight at the AMAs, tapping Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker for a dynamic stage show that featured stage dancers, fireworks and a special final drop that brought attendees to their feet.
Given the benefit of a backing track, Taggart commanded the stage with poise and confidence while Alex Pall manned the electronics in a flat-brim hat.
Halsey’s pitch-perfect vocals and Barker’s energetic drumming helped seal the hit’s smoothest performance to date.
“Closer” became the New York duo’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, dominating the chart for 12 straight weeks before being supplanted by Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles.”