"Closer" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as the second single from their second studio album, The Downward Spiral. It is considered one of Nine Inch Nails' signature songs and remains their most popular song. Lyrically, "Closer" is a song about self-hatred and obsession, but was widely interpreted as a lust anthem due to its chorus.
"Closer" reached #41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #25 on the UK Singles Chart, and #3 on the Australian Singles Chart. "Closer" did not initially appear on Canada's official music chart during its original release, but it reached a peak of #5 on the Canadian Singles Chart in 2002. It also did not chart in Denmark until 2007, when it reached #12.
Although there were numerous remixes of "Closer", the version titled "Closer to God" was heavily reworked, as the vocals were completely re-recorded and the overall song retained only a few elements from the original version. "Closer to God" was also released as a promotional single separate from "Closer", mainly intended for club-play.
"Closer" received a total of 70,9% yes votes! Nine Inch Nails' music has previously been featured in the polls, at #33 with the remix of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" and at #81 with Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt".