Matoma

Norway's Tom Stræte Lagergren, performing as Matoma, works as a DJ and producer specializing in upbeat tropical house sounds. Early notice arrived through his remix projects, most prominently a 2015 European success reworking Notorious B.I.G.'s "Old Thing Back," which opened doors to the star-laden 2016 debut album Hakuna Matoma featuring appearances from Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, Becky Hill, and additional artists. His 2018 follow-up One in a Million climbed into the Top 20 on both the Norwegian album chart and Billboard's dance club tally. Subsequent singles paired him with MNEK, Ally Brooke, Wilder Woods, and others before the Rytme EP surfaced in 2021. Standalone releases such as 2020's "Wow," the 2022 Arizona collaboration "Heart So Big," 2023's "Barn som deg" with Gabrielle, and 2024's "Samurai Swords" have sustained his presence on Norwegian and international charts.

Lagergren entered the world in Åsnes in 1991 and first explored music through classical piano during childhood. Exposure in his teens to his older brother's recordings by Paul van Dyk, Tiesto, and Armin van Buuren gradually steered him toward electronic dance music. After completing secondary school, he pursued a bachelor's degree in Music Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology while already issuing Matoma remixes and originals online. International attention for those remixes, including versions for Jessie J, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, and further acts, built steadily through 2014. The following year brought a major European and New Zealand breakthrough with the Notorious B.I.G. "Old Thing Back" remix once more. Lagergren also issued his first original Matoma single that year, "Feeling Right (Everything Is Nice)," which featured rapper Wale alongside Jamaican dancehall singer Popcaan and later appeared on the Hakuna Matoma LP that closed out 2015. The album further incorporated Becky Hill, Sean Paul, Astrid S, Akon, Frenship, plus Matoma reinterpretations of Dua Lipa's "Hotter Than Hell," Jason Derulo's "Try Me," and Coldplay's "Adventure of a Lifetime."

During 2017 Lagergren dropped the single "Girl at Coachella" with Magic! and D.R.A.M. A tropical reworking titled "Party on the West Coast," spotlighting Snoop Dogg and drawing samples from Faith Evans and the late Notorious B.I.G., achieved chart placement in Norway. He also joined British boy band the Vamps on their 2017 track "All Night." After releasing "Lonely" with MAX, he unveiled the sophomore album One in a Million in 2018; it reached a peak just outside the Norwegian Top Ten and spawned the modest hit "Slow" featuring Noah Cyrus. In 2019 he joined MNEK and Kiana Ledé for "Bruised Not Broken" and Bryn Christopher for "All Around the World." The Rytme EP followed in May 2020, enlisting Brando and Anna Clendening. After "Good Vibes" with HRVY, additional standalone singles arrived, among them 2020's "Wow" with Emma Steinbakken and 2021's "Never Surrender" with Steve Garrigan. The 2022 Arizona pairing "Heart So Big" climbed to the Top 50 on Billboard's Dance Songs chart, while 2023 saw Lagergren team with Armin Van Buuren and Teddy Swims on "Easy to Love." Further non-album tracks included the 2023 Gabrielle duet "Barn som deg," which rose to number three in Norway, and 2024's "Samurai Swords" with Miriam Bryant.