The songs combined electro-house and house-influenced beats with standard pop melodies and structures, creating compelling, relatively novel dance-pop. While Guetta, a French DJ, achieved moderate success throughout Europe in the early 2000s, it was not until 2009 that he broke through in the U.S., on the strengths of his production on the Black Eyed PeasвЂ™ вЂњI Gotta Feeling,вЂќ one of the few songs to top the charts for longer than вЂњCloser.вЂќ вЂњI Gotta FeelingвЂќ and the singles off of GuettaвЂ™s 2009 album вЂњOne LoveвЂќ would provide the blueprint for all the EDM and EDM-influenced singles that followed. While danceable electronic music has existed since the electro-disco pioneered by Giorgio Moroder in the late 1970s, EDMвЂ™s history as a force in American pop music begins around 2009, with the ascendancy of David Guetta.

While вЂњCloserвЂќ is a child of many lineages, including the passive-aggressive dueting of the Human LeagueвЂ™s вЂњDonвЂ™t You Want MeвЂќ and the 20-something ennui of Blink-182 and other pop-punk bands, its chief forebear is electronic dance music, and more specifically the variety of pop-ready EDM that first staked its foothold on the American pop charts of the late 2000s. To understand how such a thoroughly bland piece of music could so thoroughly capture the pop-listening public, we have to first understand вЂњCloserвЂќвЂ™s musical roots. ItвЂ™s the sort of song that fits in equally well in the club or in the grocery store, not really offensive or provocative in any way. YouвЂ™ve probably heard it many times over without even recognizing it. It doesnвЂ™t have a particular novelty to it, either - itвЂ™s not a nostalgic throwback like вЂњUptown Funk,вЂќ or a heartfelt tribute like вЂњSee You AgainвЂќ or вЂњCandle in the Wind.вЂќ Instead, вЂњCloserвЂќ is just a song, and a fairly nondescript one at that. In interviews, The Chainsmokers frequently describe themselves as just being normal frat bros - and they largely look the part. ItвЂ™s not by hyper-famous, instantly recognizable stars. Unlike most of those other hits, вЂњCloserвЂќ isnвЂ™t a particularly distinctive song. Yet thereвЂ™s something odd about вЂњCloser,вЂќ something about it that makes it sit uneasily in the pop pantheon. At 12 weeks, вЂњCloserвЂќ is now rubbing shoulders with an assortment of instantly recognizable, world-dominating pop songs, from вЂњLose YourselfвЂќ to вЂњYeah!вЂќ That longevity at No.В 1 is where вЂњCloserвЂќ becomes noteworthy - only 10 songs have ever lasted longer at the top spot of the charts, and only six others have matched that record. (If youвЂ™re wondering, DrakeвЂ™s вЂњOne DanceвЂќ and DesiignerвЂ™s вЂњPanda,вЂќ two of the biggest hits of the early part of this year, are still hanging around in the middle region of the chart they currently stand at 31 and 37 weeks, respectively.) What is impressive about вЂњCloserвЂќвЂ™s tenure on the pop charts is how dominant the song has been throughout late summer and fall - for all 15 of its weeks on the chart, itвЂ™s been in the top 10, and for the 12 weeks between Sept.В 3 and Nov.В 16, itвЂ™s been the No.В 1 song.

Songs have stayed on the Hot 100 for as long as 87 weeks - in the semi-miraculous case of Imagine DragonsвЂ™ вЂњRadioactiveвЂќ - and itвЂ™s fairly common for songs to limp their way to long tenures on the chart. As of Nov.В 26, 2016, вЂњCloserвЂќ by The Chainsmokers and Halsey has been on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 15 weeks.

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