New York, NY (Top40 Charts) GRAMMY-nominated producer and dance artist
Alesso joins forces with
Marshmello featuring GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist
James Bay for the invigorative release of "Chasing Stars" - a sublime and soulful new uplifting single that finds each superstar at the top of his game. Out now via 10:22PM/Astralwerks/Universal, "Chasing Stars" is accompanied by a wildly imaginative video that succinctly captures the song's mood of dreamy nostalgia.
A beautifully detailed look back at a broken relationship, "Chasing Stars" opens on a poignant, piano-accompanied vocal performance from Bay (who also created the single's enchanting artwork). From there,
Alesso and
Marshmello work their undeniable magic, layering in driving beats and folk-infused guitar work before building to a heart-stopping drop. Equal parts bittersweet and euphoric, "Chasing Stars" then transforms into a full-tilt anthem, its chorus lit up in gloriously soaring synth lines that perfectly reflect the track's no-regrets sentiment.
Directed by Jake Jelicich (Dua Lipa, Niall Horan), the fantastically surreal visual for "Chasing Stars" finds Bay working the counter at a video store and scanning through a stack of VHS tapes. As the video unfolds, he becomes more and more mesmerized by the deeply intimate, home-movie-like scenes onscreen — and by the beguiling woman who appears in each tape — and soon ends up fully transported into those memories. In a particularly clever twist, the video store's walls are plastered with posters bearing images of
Alesso and Marshmello. In addition, a number of the VHS sleeves also feature
Alesso and Marshmello, brilliantly stylized in classic B-movie aesthetic.
"Chasing Stars" arrives as the follow-up to PROGRESSO VOL 2, a long-anticipated two-track release that
Alesso shared in early June. The second installment in a series that began with 2019's ALESSO MIXTAPE - PROGRESSO VOLUME 1, the release includes "TOGETHER" (a massively catchy floor-filler) and "AGAIN" (a forward-thinking techno track that also harkens back to rave classics).
A global maverick in the dance world,
Alesso has repeatedly proven that his influence transcends boundaries and crosses over into countless genres — to that end, he's collaborated with such eclectic artists as OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, Calvin Harris, Tove Lo, Liam Payne, Swedish House Mafia's
Sebastian Ingrosso, Hailee Steinfeld, Florida Georgia Line, Anitta, and more. With his past hits including the platinum-certified "
If I Lose Myself" and gold-certified "Under Control," the Sweden native has also found major success with "Calling (Lose My Mind)," which topped the Billboard US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. On Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, his massive breakup anthem "
Let Me Go" — a collaboration with
Hailee Steinfeld and
Florida Georgia Line — reached No. 9, while "Is That Me" peaked at No. 25. In 2020, he released a pair of hit singles: "Midnight," featuring former
One Direction member Liam Payne, and "THE END" with goth-pop singer/songwriter
Charlotte Lawrence. To date, he's performed at international festivals ranging from Tomorrowland to Ultra
Music Festival to Electric
Daisy Carnival, with his national TV experience including closing out GMA's Summer Concert Series, performing on The Late Late Show with
James Corden, and taking the stage at the AMAs.
Marshmello's star continues to rise as the famously masked artist breaks boundaries across the industry. With chart-topping singles and collaborations with the likes of Juice WRLD, Halsey, Demi Lovato, Bastille, Kane Brown,
Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, and more.
Marshmello has clocked almost a staggering 10.5 billion streams across Spotify alone, and with almost 45 million monthly listeners on the platform, he's one of the top 30 most streamed artists in the world on Spotify and the third most subscribed artist on YouTube. Featured on the cover of the Forbes magazine "
30 Under 30" issue
Marshmello has proved to not only be an innovative producer, but a forward-thinking businessman. With his own brand of chocolate-filled marshmallows ("Stuffed Puffs"), he's also launched a children's entertainment channel Mellodees. Most recently
Marshmello collaborated with the
Jonas Brothers on their early summer smash "
Leave Before You Love Me" which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
For as much as
James Bay upholds traditions of timeless songcraft, the UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer also confidently challenges himself and popular music. He spikes a tried-and-true style with clever lyricism, honest confessions, and instrumental proficiency. On the heels of his platinum- certified 2015 debut
Chaos And The Calm, he garnered GRAMMY® nods in the categories of Best New Artist, Best Rock Album, and Best Rock Song for the gold-selling single "Hold Back The River." Meanwhile, "
Let It Go" went triple platinum. Nominated for dozens of awards, he took home two BRIT Awards, two Q Awards, and top honors at the Ivor Novello Awards and ECHO Awards. Tallying nearly 7.5 billion streams by 2021, he has performed on Saturday Night Live, The
Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. He also notably dueted with icons such as
Alicia Keys on The Voice and
Mick Jagger while supporting The
Rolling Stones at Twickenham Stadium in London. In addition to selling out shows on four continents, Epiphone honored him with his own limited-edition
James Bay Signature "1966" guitar. Following the success of 2018's Electric Light, he deconstructed his sound to its bare essentials on the Oh My Messy Mind EP a year later hitting nearly 500 million global streams. It yielded the hit "Peer Pressure" [feat. Julia Michaels], generating over 300 million global streams, received critical acclaim from Time, Rolling Stone, and Billboard and the next year saw
James opening up for
Ed Sheeran on his 2019 record-breaking stadium run. Last year,
James released his new single "
Chew On My Heart" which has already hit nearly 70 million streams, delivered a historic performance on the top of the London Eye for The Late Late Show with
James Corden, performed on The Today Show, Mahogany Sessions and a full concert on YouTube in support of #SaveOurVenues. He also created his own virtual event,
James Bay - Live At Shakespeare's Globe, which was a full concert event livestreamed at the historic venue. This year, he guested on Maisie Peter's song "Funeral," which was featured on the soundtrack to Apple TV+ original series Trying: Season2.
