GRAMMY-nominated producer and dance artist Alesso and Marshmello share the stripped version of their recent single “Chasing Stars” featuring critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter James Bay.
Built on a breathtakingly intimate performance from Bay, “Chasing Stars (Stripped)” marks a bold departure from the original track’s epic collision of driving beats, soaring synth lines, and heart-stopping drops. With Bay’s soulful vocals and impassioned guitar work serving as its sole instrumentation, the result is a raw yet captivating rendition that intensifies the track’s mood of tender nostalgia.
Directed by Jake Jelicich (Dua Lipa, Niall Horan), the video for “Chasing Stars (Stripped)” puts a brilliant spin on the original visual. While the “Chasing Stars” video found Bay working the counter at a video store — and ultimately saw him transported into a mysterious alternate reality — the new visual places Bay in a wildly different but equally dreamlike setting. To that end, the video unfolds as Bay strums his guitar and sings at the edge of the ocean shore, leaning against that same video-store counter and surrounded by a pair of shelves stacked high with VHS tapes. With his feet submerged in the ocean, Bay delivers a quietly spellbinding performance touched by the sound of gently crashing waves. In a callback to the original, the video for “Chasing Stars (Stripped)” also features a number of cleverly stylized posters bearing images of Alesso and Marshmello.
