# Selfie (song)
"#SELFIE" is a 2014 electronic dance music single by the American DJ duo [The Chainsmokers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-chainsmokers), built around a satirical spoken-word monologue by a woman preparing a night out, whose refrain is "but first, let me take a selfie". Written by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart as a joke about selfie culture, it was their breakout hit, reaching number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[1](https://hitslist.fyi/song/the-chainsmokers-selfie-bawxtvan9tyk) • [2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | The Chainsmokers, the New York City DJ duo of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/03/18/chainsmokers-selfie-track-a-study-in-desperation-to-go-viral/) |
| Release | Originally a free download in December 2013; released on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak label in early 2014, with the music video uploaded to YouTube on January 29, 2014[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23148-memoriesdo-not-open/) • [5](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/let-me-take-a-selfie) |
| Vocal | Uncredited spoken-word vocal by the duo's friend Alexis Killacam, over a house-tempo synth track[2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) |
| US peak | Number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, 11 weeks on the chart; number 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart[1](https://hitslist.fyi/song/the-chainsmokers-selfie-bawxtvan9tyk) • [2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) |
| UK peak | Number 11 on the Official Singles Chart, 13 weeks on the chart from 15 March to 7 June 2014[6](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/chainsmokers-selfie/) |
| Certification | RIAA gold, listed in the August 2014 awards with a release date of 3/3/2014 on Dim Mak/Republic[7](https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/August2014.pdf) |
| Follow-up | The novelty single "Kanye" did not chart well; the duo changed direction with "Roses" in 2015[8](https://stereogum.com/2283569/the-number-ones-the-chainsmokers-closer-feat-halsey/columns/the-number-ones) |
## Sound and lyrics
The song trades the euphoric vocals typical of electronic dance singles for a satirical spoken-word track: a woman at a nightclub trying to take the perfect photo, obsessing over Instagram filters, captions, and the affections of a man named Jason.[2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) The uncredited vocal was performed by Alexis Killacam, a friend of the duo.[2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) *Time* described the result as "arch social commentary dressed up as a floor filler", holding a mirror to the selfie-driven self-involvement of the Instagram era.[2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) Vogue described the track as cruising along at the tempo of house music with the synth textures common in Vegas-friendly electronic music.[9](https://www.vogue.com/article/the-chainsmokers-interview-closer-number-one-hit)
Taggart later framed the song as deliberate satire: "We made a novelty record that was, in my opinion, one of the most clever records ever made... Obviously not everyone got the joke."[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23148-memoriesdo-not-open/) In other interviews the duo said they wrote it as a joke for their fans and never intended it to bring them fame.[10](https://houstonlawreview.org/article/3882.pdf)
## Release and marketing
The Chainsmokers released "#SELFIE" as a free download in December 2013, when they were still relative unknowns on the EDM scene; a month later [Steve Aoki](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-aoki)'s Dim Mak label picked up the single.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23148-memoriesdo-not-open/) The official music video, uploaded to YouTube on January 29, 2014, is littered with selfies from celebrities and fans, and features Aoki as well as the Vine personality [Nash Grier](https://www.edgepedia.org/nash-grier), who had more than 7 million followers.[5](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/let-me-take-a-selfie) • [11](https://www.forbes.com/sites/livbuli/2014/04/15/art-of-selfie-the-chainsmokers-successful-approach-to-making-virality-last/)
**Engineered virality.** The song's spread was organized rather than accidental. The social media company theAudience, founded by [Ari Emanuel](https://www.edgepedia.org/ari-emanuel) and [Sean Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-parker), sent the song to Aoki and used its network of influencers to promote it; Oliver Luckett, the firm's CEO, worked with the duo and their manager Adam Alpert to orchestrate the campaign after hearing a two-minute preview.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/03/18/chainsmokers-selfie-track-a-study-in-desperation-to-go-viral/) • [11](https://www.forbes.com/sites/livbuli/2014/04/15/art-of-selfie-the-chainsmokers-successful-approach-to-making-virality-last/) The Washington Post argued that this corporate orchestration, following the similar revelation about Baauer's "Harlem Shake", showed that viral hits were no longer organic accidents.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/03/18/chainsmokers-selfie-track-a-study-in-desperation-to-go-viral/)
## Chart performance
In the United States, "#SELFIE" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 55 in March 2014 and peaked at number 16, remaining on the chart for 11 weeks.[1](https://hitslist.fyi/song/the-chainsmokers-selfie-bawxtvan9tyk) It reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and became a top 20 radio hit.[2](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/) In the United Kingdom it entered the Official Singles Chart at number 42 on 15 March 2014 and peaked at number 11 three weeks later, charting for 13 weeks through 7 June 2014; it also peaked at number 4 on the Official Independent Singles Chart and number 1 on the Independent Singles Breakers Chart.[6](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/chainsmokers-selfie/) The RIAA certified the single gold in 2014.[7](https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/August2014.pdf)
The music video accumulated more than 60 million YouTube views by April 2014, and over 345 million by mid-2015.[11](https://www.forbes.com/sites/livbuli/2014/04/15/art-of-selfie-the-chainsmokers-successful-approach-to-making-virality-last/) • [12](https://www.straight.com/music/482581/chainsmokers-are-about-more-viral-selfie)
## Meme and legacy
The song's refrain spawned a Vine fad called "Let Me Take a Selfie", in which users lip-synched to the verse before taking a series of selfies in dramatic poses; between February and March 2014 the tag #letmetakeaselfie was used over 23,000 times on the platform.[5](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/let-me-take-a-selfie) The duo performed the song on [American Idol](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-idol), running through the crowd taking selfies with audience members and judges.[8](https://stereogum.com/2283569/the-number-ones-the-chainsmokers-closer-feat-halsey/columns/the-number-ones)
**A hard act to follow.** The duo's next single, "Kanye", another novelty track, did not take off, and they quickly abandoned the novelty-dance route: in 2015 "Roses" established the pop-oriented template that led to "Closer" and a Grammy win for "Don't Let Me Down".[8](https://stereogum.com/2283569/the-number-ones-the-chainsmokers-closer-feat-halsey/columns/the-number-ones) • [13](https://www.nme.com/features/the-chainsmokers-nme-interview-2017-2006797) Pall later called the song's success "a crazy anomaly" and said it "was never really indicative of our sound".[9](https://www.vogue.com/article/the-chainsmokers-interview-closer-number-one-hit) Critics have continued to treat "#SELFIE" as the duo's defining early statement: Pitchfork wrote that its success and backlash threatened to eclipse their fledgling career, and by 2016 Billboard reported the duo were deliberately thinking beyond the kitsch of "#SELFIE" and "Kanye" toward more pop-inflected EDM.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23148-memoriesdo-not-open/) • [14](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-12-17-%28Double-Issue%29.pdf)
## References
1. [#SELFIE chart and list history, hitslist](https://hitslist.fyi/song/the-chainsmokers-selfie-bawxtvan9tyk)
2. [#Selfie Absorbed, Time (April 17, 2014)](https://time.com/66261/selfie-absorbed/)
3. [Chainsmokers' '#Selfie' track: A study in desperation to go viral, The Washington Post (March 18, 2014)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/03/18/chainsmokers-selfie-track-a-study-in-desperation-to-go-viral/)
4. [The Chainsmokers: Memories...Do Not Open Album Review, Pitchfork (April 11, 2017)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23148-memoriesdo-not-open/)
5. [Let Me Take a Selfie, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/let-me-take-a-selfie)
6. [SELFIE – CHAINSMOKERS, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/chainsmokers-selfie/)
7. [RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards, August 2014](https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/August2014.pdf)
8. [The Number Ones: The Chainsmokers' "Closer" (Feat. Halsey), Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2283569/the-number-ones-the-chainsmokers-closer-feat-halsey/columns/the-number-ones)
9. [How The Chainsmokers Landed the Number One Hit in the Country, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/the-chainsmokers-interview-closer-number-one-hit)
10. [Houston Law Review article on viral music videos](https://houstonlawreview.org/article/3882.pdf)
11. [Art Of 'Selfie': The Chainsmokers' Successful Approach To Making Virality Last, Forbes (April 15, 2014)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/livbuli/2014/04/15/art-of-selfie-the-chainsmokers-successful-approach-to-making-virality-last/)
12. [Chainsmokers are about more than viral "#SELFIE", Georgia Straight (July 2, 2015)](https://www.straight.com/music/482581/chainsmokers-are-about-more-viral-selfie)
13. [The Chainsmokers: "I promise you, we're not a**holes", NME (2017)](https://www.nme.com/features/the-chainsmokers-nme-interview-2017-2006797)
14. [The Dance Titans, Billboard (December 17, 2016)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-12-17-%28Double-Issue%29.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Dance and EDM songs › Modern EDM and DJ collaborations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license