Tiësto

Since the start of the new millennium, Tiësto has held a prominent place in electronic dance music as a widely known Dutch DJ and producer. Renowned for his lengthy live performances and vast catalog, the artist also crossed into mainstream pop territory during the 2010s through several hit singles such as “Red Lights,” “Feel It in My Bones” with Tegan & Sara, “Wasted” featuring Matthew Koma, and “Jackie Chan” alongside Dzeko, Preme, and Post Malone. A longtime occupant of the upper reaches of the DJ Mag Top 100, Tiësto has collected multiple distinctions over the years, among them a 2015 Grammy for his remix of John Legend’s “All of Me” and an appointment as Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Dutch crown. Elements of Life topped Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in 2007, while A Town Called Paradise reached the Billboard 200’s top 20 in 2014. The London Sessions became his 18th top-ten electronic album in 2020. Later singles paired him with Karol G, Ava Max, and Charli XCX. His seventh studio album, the platinum-certified global top-40 success Drive, arrived in 2023 and was followed in 2024 by the dance-chart entries “My City” with Prophecy and “Hot Honey” with Alana Springsteen.

Born Tijs Verwest on January 17, 1969, in Breda, the Netherlands, Tiësto began spinning records at the local Sprock club. Recognition from the general manager of Rotterdam’s Basic Beat Recordings led to his first of five mix CDs in the Forbidden Paradise series. Rapid progress prompted a 1997 partnership with Arny Bink to launch Black Hole Recordings, the home of his Space Age project and the acclaimed Magik series. The label also issued early mix compilations by Ferry Corsten, Johan Gielen, and Armin van Buuren, as well as the In Trance We Trust series.

Extensive international touring soon drew attention beyond the Netherlands, resulting in a U.S. contract with Nettwerk. Summerbreeze served as Tiësto’s American introduction, a mix album built around his extended rework of Delerium’s “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan—an 11-and-a-half-minute piece driven by deep beats and expansive synthesizers with McLachlan’s voice prominent. The track not only dominated dance floors but also spent four weeks inside the U.K. top ten, climbed to number three on the Billboard dance chart, and became a landmark of the progressive dance period. Tiësto quickly gained demand as a producer and remixer, shaping a style that embedded ethereal female vocals within pulsing electronic textures. His credits range from Chicane and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer on Delerium’s “Innocente” to Faithless.

Tiësto’s debut solo album, In My Memory, appeared in 2001 and blended original tracks and club anthems with more accessible material; its lead single “Lethal Industry” reached number six on the Dutch pop chart. The next year brought the third installment of his In Search of Sunrise mix series, known for its refined, Ibiza-inspired atmosphere; he continued the series through volume seven. Just Be became his first chart-topping album in 2004, joined by Parade of the Athletes, the soundtrack to the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games whose sound evoked Jean-Michel Jarre and Giorgio Moroder. Queen Beatrix named him an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau that same year.

Elements of Life, released in 2007, earned Tiësto his second number-one album and first Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album. He sustained commercial momentum with his fourth studio set, Kaleidoscope, issued in 2009—the year he founded Musical Freedom—which featured guests including Sigur Rós vocalist Jónsi and pop singer Nelly Furtado. The platinum-certified “Feel It in My Bones” with Tegan & Sara helped the album succeed in the duo’s native Canada. Magikal Journey: The Hits Collection 1998–2008 compiled earlier highlights in 2010, while Club Life, Vol. 1: Las Vegas launched a city-themed mix series in 2011. That year also saw the Allure project Kiss from the Past. Club Life, Vol. 2: Miami followed in 2012, containing his versions of Coldplay’s “Paradise” and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and Club Life, Vol. 3: Stockholm appeared in 2013 with reworkings of Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and Passion Pit’s “Carried Away.” The fifth studio album, A Town Called Paradise, surfaced on Casablanca in 2014 with its most pop-focused productions to date; the standout singles “Red Lights” and “Wasted” reached the Billboard dance top ten and secured gold and platinum status in several countries.

Throughout the second half of the 2010s, Tiësto maintained activity through numerous collaborations with younger producers and vocalists. More than a dozen singles emerged in 2015 and 2016, among them team-ups with Martin Garrix on “The Only Way Is Up,” the Chainsmokers on “Split (Only U),” “On My Way” featuring Bright Sparks, and Oliver Heldens and Natalie La Rose on “The Right Song,” the latter earning silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry. His remix work included John Legend’s “All of Me,” which received the Grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. “Jackie Chan,” a 2018 collaboration with Dzeko, Preme, and Post Malone, entered the top ten in the Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. and later achieved platinum status in the U.S. and U.K. Tiësto stayed engaged across the dance industry as a performer, advocate, technology advisor, and satellite-radio host. After several 2019 singles he issued the EP Together, followed in 2020 by tracks such as “My Frequency” with 7 Skies and Rebmoe and “Nothing Really Matters” with Becky Hill.

The 2020s opened with Tiësto’s sixth studio album, The London Sessions, shaped by the city’s club environment and incorporating recent singles including “Jackie Chan,” “God Is a Dancer” with Mabel, and “Ritual” with Jonas Blue and Rita Ora. He joined Atlantic Records in September 2020, debuting with the Grammy-nominated “The Business” featuring uncredited vocals by James Yami Bell; the track topped the Dutch charts and reached number two on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. “The Business, Pt. II” with Ty Dolla $ign arrived in January 2021. Later that year “Don’t Be Shy” with Karol G became another hit, followed by “The Motto” with Ava Max, which returned him to the top of the Dutch charts, and “Hot in It” with Charli XCX the next year. These tracks appeared on Drive, released in April 2023, which led the U.K. dance chart, placed inside the top 20 in multiple markets, and reached number 87 on the Billboard 200 while generating further U.S. dance-chart entries such as “Drifting” and “Both” featuring 21 Savage and Bia. Tiësto’s notable 2024 releases included “Explode” with Moguai, “My City” with Prophecy, and “Hot Honey” with Alana Springsteen.