It was everywhere. You literally couldn’t walk into a grocery store, a gym, or a college dorm in 2016 without hearing that four-chord synth loop. But the Chainsmokers Closer music video did something the audio alone couldn't quite nail—it gave a face to the longing. Or, more accurately, it gave a face to the messy, slightly toxic, "we’re never getting back together but let's do it anyway" vibe that defined the mid-2010s.
Honestly, the video is a time capsule. It features Andrew Taggart and Halsey, who was then a rising alt-pop powerhouse, playing two exes who run into each other at a party. It’s awkward. It’s sweaty. It’s intensely relatable for anyone who has ever made a bad decision at 2:00 AM. While the lyric video—which featured a couple in a vintage Bronco—actually racked up billions of views first, the official music video directed by Rory Kramer is what solidified the song's place in pop culture history.
What Actually Happens in the Chainsmokers Closer Music Video?
Most people remember the skin. The video is heavy on close-ups. It’s built on the tension between Drew Taggart and Halsey, moving between a chance encounter at a party and flashbacks of their relationship in a small apartment. It’s not a big-budget sci-fi epic. It’s intimate.
Director Rory Kramer, who is basically the king of that "high-end home movie" aesthetic, shot it to feel raw. You see them in bed, you see them arguing, and you see them in that iconic shot where they’re nearly kissing but not quite. It mirrors the lyrics perfectly. "Stay and play that Blink-182 song that we beat to death in Tucson"—it’s about the specific nostalgia that only two people who used to love each other can share.
Interestingly, the video was released months after the song had already hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Usually, a video helps a song climb. In this case, the song was already a juggernaut, and the video was the victory lap. It gave fans a visual narrative to attach to the voices they’d been hearing on repeat for an entire summer.
The Halsey Factor and the Chemistry Debate
Let's talk about Halsey. Before "Closer," she was the "New Americana" singer with a dedicated cult following. This video shoved her into the absolute center of the mainstream. Her chemistry with Drew Taggart was so convincing that the tabloids went into a total frenzy.
People were convinced they were dating. They weren't.
But that’s the sign of a good music video, right? It sells a lie so well that you believe it. Halsey’s performance is what gives the video its edge. Without her, it’s just a song about a guy who misses his ex. With her, it’s a dialogue. The way she looks at him in the party scenes—that mix of "I hate that I'm seeing you" and "I want to leave with you"—is exactly why the Chainsmokers Closer music video worked. It captured the duality of modern dating.
Why the Critics Weren't Always Kind
It wasn't all praise. If you go back and look at the reviews from late 2016, a lot of critics found the video a bit... much. Some called it "frustratingly thirsty." Others felt it focused too much on the physical attraction and ignored the deeper themes of the lyrics.
But critics often miss what the general public loves. The public loved the simplicity. They loved the "aesthetic." This was the peak of the Instagram-filter era, where everything had to look slightly faded, slightly vintage, and very moody. The video nailed that look. It used warm tones and soft lighting to make a generic hotel room feel like the most important place in the world.
The Legacy of the "Closer" Visuals
Looking back from 2026, it’s easy to see how this video influenced a whole wave of EDM-pop visuals. Before this, EDM videos were mostly footage of DJs jumping in front of pyro or girls in bikinis at a festival. The Chainsmokers changed the script. They turned the DJ into a protagonist. They made the music video about a story, even if it was a simple one.
🔗 Read more: War of the Wildcats Cast: The Real Story Behind John Wayne's Oil Boom Classic
It also changed how we view "lyric videos." Because the initial lyric video for "Closer" was so successful, it forced labels to realize that the "pre-video" was just as important as the official one. That footage of the couple in the car became just as synonymous with the song as Drew and Halsey in the official cut.
A Few Things You Probably Didn't Notice
- The Tucson Connection: Even though the lyrics mention Tucson, the video doesn't really try to look like Arizona. It’s more of an "anywhere USA" vibe, which makes it feel more universal.
- Rory Kramer’s Style: If you look at the fast cuts and the way the camera moves, you can see the DNA of the "lifestyle vlog" culture that was exploding on YouTube at the time.
- The Fashion: Drew’s basic tees and Halsey’s minimalist look became the unofficial uniform for college students for the next three years.
Why We Still Watch It
We still watch the Chainsmokers Closer music video because nostalgia is a hell of a drug. It reminds us of a specific window of time before the world felt quite so heavy. It represents the peak of the "EDM-Pop" crossover era where every song felt like it was designed to be played at a bonfire or a graduation party.
It’s a masterclass in branding. It took two guys who were known for "Selfie" and turned them into romantic leads. It took a rising star and made her a household name. And it took a song that was already a hit and gave it a visual identity that refuses to die.
How to Apply These Vibe-Based Marketing Lessons
If you’re a creator or a brand, there’s a lot to learn from how this video was rolled out and shot. It wasn't about the biggest budget; it was about the strongest feeling.
- Lean into relatability over perfection. The party scenes in the video feel like a real party, not a movie set. People connect with what looks real.
- Focus on the "Almost." The most powerful moment in the video is the tension before the kiss, not the kiss itself. In marketing or storytelling, the "will they/won't they" is always more engaging than the resolution.
- Visual Consistency Matters. Ensure your visuals match the "temperature" of your message. "Closer" is a warm, nostalgic song, and the video uses a warm, nostalgic palette.
- Don't ignore the "Secondary" content. Sometimes the lyric video or the "behind the scenes" footage can outperform the main event if it captures the right mood.
To really understand the impact, go back and watch the video on mute. You’ll see that the body language and the color grading tell the story just as well as the lyrics do. It’s a textbook example of visual storytelling that prioritizes emotion over plot, which is exactly why it’s still sitting with billions of views years later.
💡 You might also like: The Bend It Like Beckham Trailer: Why We Are Still Obsessed 20 Years Later
Check your favorite streaming platform and look at the "Top Hits of 2016" playlist. Notice how many of those songs have faded into obscurity while this one remains a staple. The video is a massive reason why. It gave the song a soul.