Calvin Harris

Scottish producer and DJ Calvin Harris ranks among dance music's biggest names, boasting an extensive roster of number-one smashes and high-profile partnerships. Starting from online self-releases, he shifted in the 2000s and 2010s to multi-million sales through accessible electronic dance crossovers including "Feel So Close," "This Is What You Came For," "Slide," and "One Kiss." Beyond capturing a Grammy in 2013, he surpassed Michael Jackson's mark for the highest number of U.K. Top Ten singles drawn from a single album and earned the title of Forbes' top-earning DJ that same year. Following his initial pair of projects—2007's I Created Disco and 2009's Ready for the Weekend—Harris achieved mainstream breakthrough in 2012 via 18 Months, an album that enlisted prominent guest vocalists such as Rihanna, Kelis, Ellie Goulding, and Florence Welch to deliver numerous chart successes and platinum certifications. Applying the same electronic pop crossover approach, he delivered the U.S. Top Five album Motion in 2014, then hit a commercial high point in 2017 with Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1, a hip-hop and retro-R&B summer project. Additional U.K. Top 20 entries arrived afterward, among them the 2018 Dua Lipa collaboration "One Kiss" and the 2021 Tom Grennan track "By Your Side." His sixth LP, Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 2, surfaced in 2022, with further singles alongside Sam Smith, Eliza Rose, and Rag'n'Bone Man extending through 2024.

Born Adam Richard Wiles on January 17, 1984, in Dumfries, a city in southern Scotland, Harris developed an early interest in electronic sounds during adolescence and began cutting bedroom demos by 1999. Two of those tracks, "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days," appeared as a 12" club single and an EP on the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the name Stouffer. With that release behind him, the still-teenaged Harris relocated from Scotland to London, yet struggled amid intense competition; only a single song surfaced during his stay there, the 2004 Unabombers live-mix CD Electric Soul, Vol. 2 contribution "Let Me Know" featuring vocalist Ayah.

Back in Dumfries, Harris started uploading homemade solo recordings to MySpace. An EMI A&R scout responded positively and secured him a deal with the label in 2006. After two well-received singles, he unveiled his debut album, I Created Disco, during summer 2007. The set included a pair of Top Ten hits—"Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls"—and rose high on the album charts. While maintaining his solo career and performing live with a full band, Harris quickly established himself as a sought-after remixer, handling tracks for Jamiroquai, Groove Armada, All Saints, and CSS. He also contributed songwriting and production to Kylie Minogue's 2007 comeback album and joined Dizzee Rascal for "Dance wiv Me," which topped the U.K. chart.

"I'm Not Alone," the lead single from his sophomore album, likewise reached number one upon its April 2009 release, and the album itself debuted at the summit when it arrived that August. Titled Ready for the Weekend, the record claimed the top spot on the U.K. albums chart and reached number 12 on Billboard's U.S. dance/electronic tally. Throughout 2011, Harris handled production duties for Example, Tinchy Stryder, and Rihanna—most notably the quadruple-platinum U.S. hit "We Found Love"—while issuing two of his own singles, the Kelis collaboration "Bounce" and "Feel So Close." His third solo album, 18 Months, arrived in October 2012 as a star-studded affair that incorporated "We Found Love" and "Bounce" alongside vocal appearances from Ellie Goulding, Florence Welch, and Ne-Yo. The project hit number one on the U.K. albums chart, peaked at number 19 in the U.S., and yielded nine U.K. Top Ten singles—an unprecedented achievement.

The following May, his songwriting earned the leading Ivor Novello Award. Forbes named him the highest-earning DJ of 2013, citing $46 million in earnings—$14 million ahead of runner-up Tiësto. Harris maintained momentum as the first three singles from 2014's Motion each topped the U.K. pop chart and the album itself entered at number two in the U.K. and number five in the U.S. A productive 2015 link-up with Disciples produced "How Deep Is Your Love," a number-two U.K. and number-one Australia hit that gave Harris his eighth Billboard Dance Top Ten, then the most by any artist. He added two more successes the next year: the Top Five U.S. Rihanna duet "This Is What You Came For" and the Top Five U.K. solo vocal track "My Way." Despite their strong reception, neither appeared on his subsequent album and remained standalone releases.

His fifth studio effort, Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1, landed in summer 2017. Packed with an array of guest artists, the album placed Frank Ocean and Migos on "Slide," Young Thug, Pharrell Williams, and Ariana Grande on "Heatstroke," Future and Khalid on "Rollin'," and Katy Perry, Big Sean, and Williams on "Feels," while further uniting him with John Legend, Schoolboy Q, D.R.A.M., Nicki Minaj, Lil Yachty, Snoop Dogg, and others. It reached number two on both the U.K. charts and the Billboard 200. In 2018 Harris began issuing standalone singles with "Nuh Ready, Nuh Ready" featuring Canadian rapper PartyNextDoor. Later that year he scored two '90s-house-inflected U.K. number ones: the Dua Lipa pairing "One Kiss" and the Sam Smith collaboration "Promises." He also hit number two in the U.K. with Rag'n'Bone Man on "Giant." Additional partnerships followed, including the August 2020 Weeknd duet "Over Now" and the June 2021 Tom Grennan track "By Your Side." He also launched material under the Love Regenerator alias, among them "Rollercoaster" with Solardo and "Lonely" with Riva Starr featuring Sananda Maitreya.

Under his own name he prepared a long-awaited follow-up to Funk Wav Bounces with the 2022 single "Potion" featuring Dua Lipa and Young Thug. Further high-profile cuts landed on Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 2, including "New Money" with 21 Savage, "Stay with Me" with Justin Timberlake, Halsey, and Pharrell, and "New to You" with Normani, Tinashe, and Offset. Issued in August 2022, the sequel performed nearly as strongly as its predecessor, reaching number five in the U.K. and number 17 on the Billboard 200. The standalone Ellie Goulding collaboration "Miracle" appeared in March 2023 and became Harris' eleventh U.K. chart-topper. "Desire" with Sam Smith arrived next and entered the Top Ten, while the Eliza Rose partnership "Body Moving" placed in the Top 40. In 2024 Harris released "Lovers in a Past Life" with Rag'n'Bone Man.