Getty The Chainsmokers.
The Chainsmokers might not be performing at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, but the duo does have two nominations. That means Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall will be walking the red carpet. Check out photos of the duo arriving at The Forum in Inglewood, California for the awards show.
The Chainsmokers are best known for their hit “Closer,” which is up for Best Collaboration. The song features singer Halsey and also earned them their first Grammy nomination. The song was first released on their 2016 EP Collage. They followed that EP with their first full-length album, April’s Memories… Do Not Open, which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart.
Jennifer Kennedy, the editor on “Closer,” was also nominated for Best Editing.
The Chainsmokers also had two nominations at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, but are still looking for their first win. Last year, their hit “Don’t Let Me Down” was nominated for Best Electronic Dance Video and the MTV Clubland award. They also performed “Closer” with Halsey at the ceremony.
The reason why they’re not performing this year could have to do with last year’s controversy.
“It sounded like shit,” Taggart told Billboard. “We were told my voice was going to be mixed well, but there was no reverb and it was way louder than the track for the broadcast.”
He said he was “set up to fail” and now he understands why many artists lip-sync during awards shows. “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,” he said.