Zedd

Zedd, a producer of electronic music who has captured a Grammy, earned acclaim through his energetic electro-house creations and a signature production approach marked by glitch effects and rhythmic pulses. Breakthrough arrived for him in 2010 after he delivered a remix of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” momentum he converted into wider recognition with the arrival of his first album Clarity in 2012. Powered by the track “Stay the Night” recorded with Hayley Williams, that project climbed into the U.S. Top Ten and brought him the Grammy for Best Dance Recording. His second album True Colors yielded the successful single “I Want You to Know” featuring Selena Gomez and claimed the top spot on the Dance Albums chart. Outside his solo output, Zedd has stayed highly sought after as a studio collaborator, working alongside an array of major pop artists that includes Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande. In 2018 he united with Grammy-winning country singer Maren Morris and the Los Angeles electronic duo Grey to create the Top 40 single “The Middle.” Subsequent joint releases encompassed 2019’s “365” with Katy Perry and 2022’s “Follow” with Martin Garrix, the latter introducing his third album Telos, released in 2024 and led by the single “Out of Time” with Bea Miller. He further partnered with Griff on the Grammy-nominated 2024 track “Inside Out.”

Anton Zaslavski entered the world in 1989 in Saratov, Russia, and spent his formative years in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where piano study began at age four. After classical training he shifted focus to drums and joined the German deathcore band Dioramic in the early 2000s. Exposure to electronic sounds prompted him to start crafting original productions in 2009. During that period he adopted the stage name Zedd, drawn from the non-American pronunciation of the letter z, and quickly developed a following by uploading material to Beatport and supplying remixes for established artists, among them Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” and Armand Van Helden’s “Witch Doktor.”

Zedd next issued his own singles and EPs, culminating in the 2012 full-length Clarity, a set tailored for club play. The album cut “Spectrum” rose to number one on the U.S. dance chart. Follow-up single “Stay the Night” with Hayley Williams also connected, reaching number two on the British pop charts and entering the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Its title track, featuring British pop singer Foxes, received the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2014. That same year Zedd scored another success with Ariana Grande’s “Break Free.”

The 2015 sophomore LP True Colors displayed broader stylistic range through rock and hip-hop touches. Guests included Selena Gomez, Troye Sivan, and Logic, and the collection topped Billboard’s dance/electronic chart. An international tour in support followed. In 2017 Zedd released the single “Stay” with Canadian singer Alessia Cara providing vocals. The next year he joined country sensation Maren Morris and electro duo Grey for “The Middle,” a song that led Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and earned three Grammy nominations. 2019 brought the single “365” with Katy Perry, followed by “Good Thing” with Kehlani. July 2020 introduced “Funny” featuring Jasmine Thompson.

After a relatively quiet stretch, Zedd resurfaced in 2022 with collaborative singles including “You’ve Got to Let Go If You Want to Be Free” with Disclosure and “Follow” with Martin Garrix. “Out of Time” featuring Bea Miller appeared in June 2024 as the lead single for his third album Telos. Released that August, the project also included guest contributions from Remi Wolf, Dora Jar, John Mayer, and Muse, among others, and reached the top ten on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic albums chart. Zedd closed the year with a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for the standalone track “Inside Out” recorded with British singer Griff.