The Chainsmokers discuss Coldplay collaboration

The Chainsmokers recently appeared on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM satellite radio to take listeners behind the scenes of their collaboration with Coldplay, ‘Something Just Like This.’ Alex Pall and Drew Taggert sat down with the aging, infamous “shock jock” for a conversation about music, not Stern’s usual perverted subjects.

In the studio working on Memories…Do Not Open, The Chainsmokers played piano chords that struck a chord with Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin. Gwyneth Paltrow’s ex-husband enjoyed what he heard so much that he sat down with a pair of headphones and wrote the lyrics on the spot. Wearing the headphones, he danced around for two and half hours straight, with the song on loop. While this might sound like torture to some people, what resulted were touching lyrics about realistic expectations in a relationship, courtesy of Martin: ‘I’m not looking for someone with superhuman gifts…I want something just like this.’

‘Something Just Like This‘ has been a hit worldwide, peaking if not at number one, then within the top ten of major music charts. Coldplay benefited as well, earning their first Billboard Hot 100 top ten single in nine years. Coldplay’s contribution to its success was not limited to just Martin’s vocals and lyrics, for the other members played the instruments on the song to accompany The Chainsmokers’ programming.

Chris Martin’s first foray into electronic dance music began with Avicii. For the British rock band’s album Ghost Stories, the otherwise somber songs were joined by ‘Sky Full of Stars,’ produced by Bergling. Repaying the favor, Martin co-wrote and sang on the track ‘True Believer‘ on Avicii’s Stories, in addition to the unreleased ‘Heaven.’

Among other issues, The Chainsmokers explained the fallout from dissing Lady Gaga‘s track ‘Perfect Illusion.’ Pall described that he didn’t consider its newsworthy for his opinion to be shared so much, but he went ahead and called Gaga to apologize. While not distancing himself from attacking her iconic oeuvre with the word “sucks,” he did admit the comment should never have been made and appreciated her tweeting a diss track in response. Analysis of their position could point to their commercial sound—designed to appeal to the widest and perhaps least-discerning audience—juxtaposed with Gaga’s sonic evolutions, from dance, lofty pop art, jazz, to 70’s.

Listen to the interview below: