[5] The song was written by Taggart, Halsey, Shaun Frank, Freddy Kennett, Isaac Slade and Joe King.

Halsey's vocals were produced by DJ Swivel,[6] while the main song production was handled by the Chainsmokers as usual.

[8] The song was performed live for the first time at the Number Fest Concert at Ohio University on Saturday April 16, 2016.

[14] The song's beat was created in a session between Chainsmokers member Andrew Taggart and Freddy Kennett of Louis the Child.

[15] He later said the song instead was "Feeling This", though he could not really remember which: "I've listened to their self-titled album so many times the whole thing is pretty much beat," he tweeted.

[17] Before Halsey was brought on as the female vocalist, the collaboration was originally supposed to feature former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello.

[21] The song is written in the key of A-flat major with a common time tempo of 95 beats per minute and a chord progression of D♭(9)–E♭6add4–Fm7–E♭.

[22] The title of the song comes from part of the main hook; the singer asks his lover to "pull them closer" in the car's backseat.

[citation needed] Matt Medved of Billboard wrote the song "sounds like an instant classic," stating that it "[boasts] an earworm chorus and evocative verses like 'play that Blink-182 song that we beat to death in Tucson,' (one of Halsey's few solo verses), "Closer" captures the millennial zeitgeist in brilliantly infectious fashion.

"[25] MTV journalist Deepa Lakshmin called the song "an upbeat, dance-worthy jam that deserves a spot on your summer playlist.

[27] While reviewing Halsey's 2021 album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power, Dani Blum of Pitchfork described their[note 1] "Auto-Tuned" part of the song as the "ache [...] that threatened to define their career.

Overplay might've done The Chainsmokers and Halsey a temporary disservice, but just wait for the emotional rush that hits in 2025 when you're hanging in a hotel bar and hear this for the first time in years.

)[34] On the chart issue dated November 26, 2016, the song was ousted from number one by "Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane.

The record was broken later that year by Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You", which spent 33 consecutive weeks in the top ten.

[37] The track became the third best-selling song of the year, behind Flo Rida's "My House" and Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!".

[40] The lyric video for "Closer" was edited and directed by Rory Kramer, and features Alyssa Lynch and Jordan Wright.

The Chainsmokers invited Halsey to the stage during their set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival to perform "Closer" for the first time in June 2016.

[43] Halsey and Taggart also performed the song live when they closed the show at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.