Roses

The harmony of 'Roses' is built on deliberate simplicity. A four-chord minor-key loop that never deviates forces the listener's attention toward production texture and vocal nuance instead. The minor tonic (Am) grounds the track's bittersweet emotional register, while the diatonic major chords (F, C, G) keep it from feeling closed-off or gloomy. What gives the song its harmonic character is not complexity but restraint — The Chainsmokers understood that in future-bass production, the drop and the timbre are the arrangement; the chords are just the skeleton underneath.

Andrew Taggart co-wrote 'Roses' with singer-songwriter ROZES, whose legal name is Elizabeth M. Mencel. The collaboration merged Taggart's electronic production sensibility with ROZES's confessional writing style, producing a track that sat between dance-floor functionality and genuine lyrical vulnerability — a balance The Chainsmokers had been refining since their earlier SoundCloud releases.

Released in June 2015, 'Roses' was the record that pushed The Chainsmokers from blog-house curiosity to mainstream crossover act. Written by Andrew Taggart and vocalist ROZES (Elizabeth M. Mencel) and released on RCA, its restrained drop, airy synth textures, and emotionally candid lyrics set a template the duo would refine on later global hits. The single appeared first on the EP Bouquet and later on the 2017 album Memories…Do Not Open.