Hardwell

Hardwell
Background information
Birth name Robbert van de Corput
Born (1988-01-07) 7 January 1988
Breda, Netherlands
Origin Netherlands
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer
Instruments
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website djhardwell.com

Robbert van de Corput (born 7 January 1988 in Breda),[1] who performs under the stage name Hardwell, is a Dutch big room house and electro house[2] DJ and music producer. He was voted the World's No. 1 DJ on DJ Magazine's annual Top 100 DJs poll in 2013,[3] and again in 2014. Hardwell is known for his live sets at major music festivals such as Tomorrowland and Ultra. The video streams of his performances on his personal YouTube channel have collectively garnered more than 100 million views.

Hardwell first gained recognition in 2009 for his bootleg of "Show Me Love vs. Be". He founded record label Revealed Recordings in 2010 and his own radio show and podcast, Hardwell On Air in 2011. He has since released six compilation albums through his label, as well as his own documentary film. His debut album, United We Are was released on January 23, 2015.[4][5]

Early life

Robbert van der Corput was born on the 7th of January 1988 in Breda, Netherlands, where he grew up as well. He started learning classical piano and DJing. Van der Corput was first inspired to become a DJ after watching a documentary about DJs on the Dutch MTV. He was signed to his first record label and he began DJing at reputable clubs across the Netherlands.[6] As a kid, he enrolled at a music-oriented school and the Rock Academy. Three months into the Rock Academy, he was advised to quit and to pursue a career in music immediately, changing his name to Hardwell. He often cited fellow Breda native, Tiësto, as his biggest inspiration and mentor.

Musical career

Hardwell Logo

Hardwell gained recognition in 2009 for his bootleg of "Show Me Love vs. Be".[7] The song is a mashup of Robin S.'s "Show Me Love" and the instrumental track "Be" by Steve Angello and Laidback Luke.[8]

In 2010, Hardwell formed his own record label, Revealed Recordings. Soon after the launch, Hardwell started the release of Hardwell presents Revealed, a compilation album released annually which featured some of the label's biggest tracks of that year.

In March 2011, Hardwell launched his own radio show and podcast, Hardwell On Air. It is being broadcast on various international radio stations. Additionally, the podcast has a spot on iTunes' Top 10 Podcasts in several countries.[9] His collaboration single with Tiësto, "Zero 76", was one of the biggest club tracks of that year and his first single to chart at number 1 on Beatport and on the American iTunes dance chart. In addition to multiple other hits released by Hardwell in 2011, including "Encoded" and "Cobra", Hardwell entered DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs annual poll at number 24.[10]

In 2012, Hardwell's biggest track was the solo-original known as "Spaceman", which has seen more sets, bootlegs, and remixes than any of his previous releases. In July of that year, he went on to perform at the main stage of Tomorrowland. As of March 2014, the performance holds over 21 million views on YouTube and was the most watched live DJ set on the site for over a year. It was dubbed by many as a contender for the best set of the year. Alongside other artists such as Alesso, Nicky Romero and R3hab, Hardwell was named an EDM artist to watch in 2012 by MTV.[11] He then placed at #6 on DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs annual poll for 2012.

Hardwell kicked off 2013 with a nationwide Hardwell presents Revealed: Canadian Bus Tour, joined by fellow DJs Dyro and Dannic. This was then followed with a nationwide Go Hardwell or Go Home tour that took place in venues across the United States. In March 2013, having featured for the first time on the main stage of Ultra Music Festival only one year prior, he returned to the Miami event and, with over 22 million views, it is the most watched live DJ set on YouTube as of February 2014, surpassing Hardwell's 2012 Tomorrowland set. Hardwell’s set also broke all records for the most watched Ultra live broadcast with over 80,000 people watching his set online through the live stream.[12]

In April 2013, Hardwell launched his I Am Hardwell world tour.[13] The first phase of the tour saw sold-out shows in Jakarta, Singapore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Lisbon, and London with further venues coming up. Following on from his 2012 Tomorrowland performance, he returned to the main stage of the music festival in 2013. This time the live set gained a million views on YouTube in several days and has been viewed over 19 million as of April 2014.

During Amsterdam dance event (ADE) in October 2013, Hardwell held the world premiere of his I Am Hardwell documentary at the Tuschinski cinema in Amsterdam. The documentary, filmed by Robin Piree, provides an inside-look at Hardwell’s rise and career over the past few years. The premiere was attended by several other famous DJs, including Armin van Buuren and Tiësto. Shortly after, Hardwell ranked at number 1 on DJ Magazine's annual Top 100 DJs poll, making him the youngest DJ ever to top the list at 25 years of age.[14][15] In an interview with DJ magazine, Hardwell stated that he is working on his debut studio album, which is expected to be released sometime in 2014. However, he later stated that the release date has been postponed to early 2015.[5][16] In October 2014, he released the music video of the album's lead single "Young Again", which features vocals from Chris Jones. A day prior to that, he unveiled the cover art for his debut album which is entitled United We Are. On October 18, DJ Magazine announced that Hardwell has topped their annual top 100 DJs poll at number 1 for the second year in a row. He was the only DJ on the list to have not move from their previous spot. On November 3, Hardwell announced that he will release another single prior to the album release date, his collaboration with W&W featuring vocals from Fatman Scoop, "Don't Stop the Madness". On November 15, Hardwell concluded the North American leg of his I Am Hardwell tour at Madison Square Garden, following the way of many other big artists.

On July 2, 2015 Hardwell announced that he will be playing a show in Mumbai on December 13, 2015. A world record for the biggest guestlist is expected to be broken via this event. Hardwell aims to have 100,000 people in his private guestlist. It will be organised by Indian dance music festival giants Sunburn Festival, and all proceeds from the event will be donated to the United We Are Foundation which would provide free education for children in India, making a contribution towards the eradication of illiteracy in India.

On October 12, 2015, Hardwell released his new single featuring Jake Reese "Mad World" as the 200th Track on his label Revealed Recordings.

Again during Amsterdam dance event (ADE) in October 2015, Hardwell premiered his Second Documentary I Am Hardwell - Living The Dream a film by Robin Piree on October 13, 2015. The movie was premiered in Amsterdam and hit the Dutch Box Office on October 15, 2015.

Discography

Main article: Hardwell discography
Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ "Hardwell Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2010-07-19. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  2. ↑ "Biography - Hardwell". Djhardwell.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  3. ↑ "HARDWELL WINS 2013 TOP 100 DJS POLL". Djmag.com. 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  4. ↑ "Hardwell on "Titan" d album release date". 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  5. 1 2 "Hardwell - Top 100 Djs Interview". 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Biography". Archived from the original on 2013-12-16.
  7. ↑ "Hardwell Bio | Hardwell Career". MTV. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  8. ↑ "Steve Angello and Laidback Luke Ft. Robin S* - Show Me Love (CDr) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  9. ↑ "Hardwell on Air Bio". Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  10. ↑ "Hardwell Biography and History". Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  11. ↑ Stewart, Adam (2012-01-11). "EDM Great To Watch In 2012 - Music, Celebrity, Artist News.". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  12. ↑ "Hardwell Is The World's #1 DJ". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  13. ↑ "Don't Tell Mum: Hardwell Set To Rock Singapore This May". Popspoken. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Biography and#124; HARDWELL". Djhardwell.com. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  15. ↑ "Hardwell WINS TOP 100 DJS 2013". DJ Magazine. 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  16. ↑ "Hardwell on "Titan" and album release date". 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2014-10-11.

External links

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