Pierre David Guetta (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁdavidɡeta]; born 7 November 1967) is a Frenchelectronic music producer and DJ. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams onSpotify.[2] Guetta was voted the number one DJ in theDJ Mag Top 100 DJs polls in 2011, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2025.[3] In 2013,Billboard ranked his song "When Love Takes Over" (featuringKelly Rowland) as the number onedance-pop collaboration of all time.[4]
Guetta was born and was raised inParis. His father, Pierre, was asociologist who was born in aMoroccan Jewish family.[14][15][16] His mother, Monique, was ofBelgian descent.[17] Through his father, Guetta is the younger half-brother of the prominent FrenchjournalistBernard Guetta and French-Italian actressNathalie Guetta.[18] He also has a half-brother, Dominique Vidal and a half-sister, Joëlle Vidal from his mother's first marriage to Frenchcybernetician Jacques Vidal.[19] David Guetta began his music career as a disc jockey in Parisian nightclubs. At the same time, he read economics and social policyat theParis Nanterre University.[20]
Guetta began to DJ at the Broad Club in Paris.[21] He first played popular songs, and he discoveredhouse music when he heard aFarley "Jackmaster" Funk track on French radio in 1987. The next year, he began hosting his own club nights.[22] In 1990, he released "Nation Rap", a hip-hop collaboration with the French rapperSidney Duteil.
In the mid-1990s Guetta played in clubs including Le Centrale, the Rex, Le Boy, and Folies Pigalle.[23][24] Released in 1994 Guetta's second single, a collaboration with American house vocalistRobert Owens titled "Up & Away", was a minor club hit.[22] In 1994, Guetta became the manager ofLe Palace nightclub and he continued to organise parties there and in other clubs, such as the "Scream" parties inLes Bains-Douches.[25]
Guetta's second album,Guetta Blaster, was released in 2004. It was supported with the release of four singles: "Money" and "Stay" featuring Chris Willis and "The World Is Mine" and "In Love With Myself" featuring JD Davis. In 2006 theJust a Little More Love single "Love Don't Let Me Go" was re-released as a mash-up with the Tocadisco remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg. The mash-up single entitled "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" was charted higher than the original release of the song.
In 2007, Guetta's third albumPop Life was released. The album was successful in the UK and Ireland as well as in mainland Europe. According to EMI in 2010, the album has sold a total of 530,000 copies worldwide. The lead single "Love Is Gone" reached Number 1 on the American Dance Chart and charted on theBillboard Hot 100.
"Delirious" featured the vocals ofTara McDonald who also co wrote the record. The song was released as the album's fourth single on 31 January 2008. The song charted No. 27 Austrian singles chart, No. 17 Belgian (Flanders) chart, No. 2 Belgian (Wallonia) singles chart. No. 12 Dutch singles chart, No. 16 French singles chart, No. 16 Swiss singles chart, No. 36 Hungary singles chart, No. 29 Romanian singles chart, No. 51 Swedish singles chart. The remixes of the song, including mixes by Fred Rister, Marc Mysterio,Laidback Luke, and Arno Cost and Norman Doray were released. A video clip for the song was filmed by Denys Thibaut in Montreal, featuring Guetta andTara McDonald, picturing an executive assistant throwing paint all over her boss's office. McDonald also sang and co wrote "You're Not Alone" from this album.
He has played in many countries around the world to promote the album. He played in Mauritius in January 2008, accompanied by French rapperJoeyStarr. In the same year, he and his wifeCathy also planned a new event which took place in theStade de France on 5 July 2008. The event was called "UNIGHTED", he performed withTiësto,Carl Cox, Joachim Garraud andMartin Solveig in front of a crowd of 40,000.[27]
In 2009, he was placed third in the "Top 100 DJs" poll byDJ Magazine,[28] and was elected "Best House DJ" by DJ Awards in 2008. Since April 2009, Guetta had his own radio show on the internet radio stationRauteMusik on Saturday evening. The show was afterwards moved intoRadio 538, being aired every Friday evening afterTiësto's Club Life.
Guetta andKelly Rowland in concert at the Orange Rockcorps festival inLondon, 2009
Guetta's fourth studio album,One Love, was released in August 2009. Its first single "When Love Takes Over", which featuredKelly Rowland, peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped many other countries worldwide, selling over 5,5 million copies worldwide.[29][30] His second single from the album, "Sexy Bitch" featuringAkon, became his second No. 1 in the UK. "One Love" featuringEstelle, "Memories" featuringKid Cudi and "Gettin' Over You" featuringChris Willis,Fergie andLMFAO followed. As of May 2011 the album had sold three million copies worldwide.[31] Guetta's fourth studio albumOne Love was nominated as "Best Electronic/Dance Album" at the52nd Annual Grammy Awards.[32] His song "When Love Takes Over" featuring American R&B singerKelly Rowland received two nominations; Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, and won the latter. After conflicts over whether or not an album re-issue should go ahead,One More Love was released on 29 November 2010. The first single, titled "Who's That Chick?" featuringRihanna was released a few weeks prior.[33]
On 16 June 2009,The Black Eyed Peas released the Guetta-produced "I Gotta Feeling" as their second single from their fifth studio album,The E.N.D.. It became a worldwide hit topping the charts in seventeen countries. It became the most downloaded song of all-time in the United States with almost 7.5 million downloads and in the United Kingdom selling more than 1 million copies.[34][35] He was nominated twice for his work withThe Black Eyed Peas at the52nd Grammy Awards; in the category Record of the Year for "I Gotta Feeling" and Album of the Year for their albumThe E.N.D.. In 2010, Guetta co-wrote and producedKelly Rowland's "Commander" from her third albumHere I Am. It peaked at number one onBillboard'sHot Dance Club Songs chart in the United States, and reached top ten positions in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Guetta has also co-produced "Forever and a Day", which was Kelly's next UK single from that album.[36][37] Guetta also produced the singles "Acapella" and "Scream" for American singer-songwriterKelis's fifth studio album,Flesh Tone, released on 14 May 2010. "Acapella" was released as the lead single on 23 February 2010 and topped the dance charts in the United Kingdom and United States. On 28 June 2010 American rapperFlo Rida released the single "Club Can't Handle Me" featuring Guetta. The song is included on thesoundtrack album to the American 3D dance filmStep Up 3D and Flo Rida's third studio album,Only One Flo (Part 1).
2011–2012:Nothing but the Beat and Jack Back Records
Guetta teamed up with Afrojack andTara McDonald again to release "Pandemonium" on his FMIF Ibiza Mix 2011 compilation through EMI records.[43] Guetta also performed alongsideNicky Romero andNervo at London'sAlexandra Palace on 1 June 2012.[44]
A re-release ofNothing but the Beat, titledNothing but the Beat 2.0, was released on 7 September 2012. The first single from the album, "She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)", which saw Guetta collaborate with Sia yet again, was released in support of the album.[45] The next single offNothing But The Beat 2.0 was confirmed by Guetta as "Just One Last Time" which features vocals from Swedish duoTaped Rai.[46] In 2012, Guetta also made an album namedNothing But The Beat: Ultimate, which combined the two albumsNothing But The Beat andNothing But The Beat 2.0 together. Summer 2012 Guetta played inFinland inWeekend Festival and he was the festival's headliner also for year 2013.[47] 15 March saw the third single release fromNothing but the Beat 2.0 entitled "Play Hard". The song features vocals from American singersNe-Yo andAkon.[48]
Nothing But the Beat[49] is a feature-length biographical documentary about Guetta's rise to fame, featuring many of his collaborators, includingKelly Rowland,will.i.am and Snoop Dogg. It was financed by the energy drink,burn, with whom Guetta became a brand ambassador from 2011. Together with burn, Guetta also provided support and mentoring for the burn-sponsored "burn studios residency" program[50] for up-and-coming DJs.
Guetta also wrote, produced, and featured onRihanna's seventh studio album,Unapologetic, and acts as the support act for the European leg of herDiamonds World Tour.
In 2012, Guetta created a new record label known as Jack Back Records, where he intends to focus only on electronic music releases (compared to the dance pop productions he's most known for).[51][52] The label is named after a project Guetta started alongsideNicky Romero when they remixed the song "Wild Ones". The premiere release of the new label was "Metropolis", another one of his collaboration with Romero, which also became a track fromNothing but the Beat 2.0. The label also included releases from the likes ofDaddy's Groove and other collaborators, as well as a two-track EP from production duo Spencer & Hill. All of the label's releases can be found onBeatport.[53]
While on tour withRihanna, he debuted his new track at Twickenham Stadium on 15 June 2013. Guetta stated "Twickenham, I hope you like this new track, it's brand new and you're the first people in the world to hear it." The single, called "Ain't a Party", was released on 8 July 2013.[54] It is a collaboration betweenGLOWINTHEDARK and Harrison. Guetta released the artwork for his new single on his Instagram profile on 19 June 2013.
In September, Guetta unveiled the music video for new track "One Voice" featuringindie singerMikky Ekko. It was released on 4 November as part of the UN's humanitarian campaign called The World Needs More.[55]
Guetta co-wrote and produced the song "Fashion!" onLady Gaga's third studio albumArtpop.[56] He also had songwriting and production contributions toBritney Spears' eighth studio albumBritney Jean, on multiple tracks and instrumentation imitations.
In February, Guetta released a remix ofAvicii's track "Addicted to You" on Beatport. Later that month, record labelCherrytree hinted through a message on Twitter that English singer-songwriterNatalia Kills was in a studio inStockholm,Sweden, along with Guetta and Giorgio Tuinfort to record a new song.[57] The trio was later joined by DJAfrojack, andAvicii.[58] On 17 March 2014, he released "Bad", a collaboration withShowtek andVassy on Jack Back Records, and released his remix ofAfrojack's single "Ten Feet Tall" on 15 April.
Guetta released "Blast Off", withKaz James on 14 June. It appeared on the four-track EP titledLovers on the Sun he released later that month. The EP contains "Blast Off", "Shot Me Down", "Bad", and "Lovers on the Sun" featuring vocals from American singerSam Martin.
On 20 February 2015, the third single from the album "What I Did for Love" featuringEmeli Sandé was issued.[63]On 30 April 2015, the song was released as a special version featuring vocals fromJapanese singerNamie Amuro for her studio albumGenic.[64] In March 2015, Guetta released the fourth single fromListen, entitled "Hey Mama". It features the vocals ofNicki Minaj andBebe Rexha, and also featuresAfrojack. The single proved successful, reaching the top ten in the UK and in the US. On 22 June 2015, Guetta became the third artist to reach 2 billion streams onSpotify and released a remix of "Hey Mama" byBoaz van de Beatz to celebrate the occasion.[65]
On 27 November 2015, Guetta re-releasedListen asListen Again to promote the songs and then-recent singles "Sun Goes Down", "Pelican", "The Death of EDM", "Clap Your Hands" and a new version of "Bang My Head" featuringFetty Wap alongsideSia.
On 15 April 2016, Guetta released a single withDisciples, titled "No Worries". Later, on 16 May 2016, saw Guetta released an extended mix of his song "Pelican" on his label Jack Back Records.
Guetta performing at the 2016 Utopía Festival in Madrid
On 30 September 2016, Guetta released a new single withCedric Gervais andChris Willis named "Would I Lie to You" on his label Jack Back Records. The song interpolates the vocals/lyrics of the 1992Charles & Eddie hit "Would I Lie to You?". 2016 also saw Guetta collaborate with German DJRobin Schulz on the third single from Schulz's third album,Uncovered, entitled "Shed a Light" which also featured American DJsCheat Codes. The song was released on 25 November and certified Gold and Platinum in various European countries.[69]
On 24 March 2017, Guetta released "Light My Body Up". The single was his fourth collaboration with rapperNicki Minaj and also featuredLil Wayne. The following month, on 28 April, Guetta released his collaboration with DJAfrojack entitled "Another Life". The song featured singerEster Dean. On 9 June 2017, Guetta's single "2U" featuringJustin Bieber was released, this song was featured onWorldhit and marked the Top 200 in over 40 countries as well as certifying Gold to Multi Platinum in many European and Oceanian countries.[70] The end on the month saw Guetta release a remix version of "Versace on the Floor" byBruno Mars and served as the third single from Mars's highly successful album24K Magic.
During the summer, Guetta headlinedTomorrowland, providing a main stage performance for Night 3 on both weekends.[71] In addition, he was a guest duringMartin Garrix's closing set, during which they debuted their yet to be released single "So Far Away" which featured vocals fromJamie Scott andEllie Goulding. Guetta also hadDimitri Vegas & Like Mike join him on stage to premier their new song "Complicated" which was released on the Friday of the festival's second weekend. During this time Guetta, Vegas, and Mike also performed the latter two's long-awaited single withW&W: "Crowd Control".
On 1 December 2017, Guetta released the single "So Far Away" on Garrix's labelStmpd Rcrds. The single version contained vocals fromJamie Scott and Romy Dya.Ellie Goulding's vocals were cut from the song as her label was pushing back the release. That is the reason why the two DJs decided to replace her and use the vocals of Romy Dya.[72] On 25 January 2018 Guetta released a remix version ofSia'sHelium along with Dutch DJAfrojack.[73] This marks Guetta's and Sia's sixth collaboration.
On 16 February 2018, David Guetta released his new song "Mad Love", together withSean Paul andBecky G. A few months before the release Sean Paul reported thatShakira would be the singer of the song, but she has been replaced by Becky G.[74] A week later, Guetta released his second collaboration withMartin Garrix and Dutch DJBrooks entitled "Like I Do".[75] Guetta's seventh collaboration with Sia, "Flames", was released on 22 March 2018.[76]
On 29 June 2018, Guetta announced in an interview withBillboard China that he was almost finished working on his seventh studio album and that it would be released after the summer of 2018. During that summer when he playedTomorrowland, a video emerged of Guetta apparently playing a remixed version of the SpanishFalangist anthemCara al Sol used duringFrancisco Franco's dictatorship. However, the video was confirmed to have been faked.[77] On 23 August, Guetta confirmed the album's title as7 and revealed its track list, including the singles "2U", "Like I Do", "Flames" and "Don't Leave Me Alone".[78] The album also included theBebe Rexha andJ Balvin featured single, "Say My Name". In December 2019, Guetta led a DJ set at an Avicii tribute concert where he previewed a previously unheard collaboration with Avicii,Giorgio Tuinfort andAfrojack. In Guetta's own words, he played "Before I Say Goodbye" for the first and probably only time during the concert. It features British singer-songwriterAmanda Wilson.[79]
2020–present:New Rave EP, United at Home and Future Rave
On 11 September 2020, David Guetta and Sia reunited for new single "Let's Love".[80] The single was produced and recorded during isolation.[81]
On 17 July 2020, Guetta andMorten released theirNew Rave EP.[82] Guetta and Morten started the newfuture rave sound movement in late 2019. Less than a year later, the duo amassed more than 110 million combined streams. It consists of four new tracks “Kill Me Slow”, “Nothing”, “Bombardment”, and “Odyssey”. Their record collection includes “Never Be Alone" feat Aloe Blacc, “Make It To Heaven” with Raye, the tribute remix of Avicii's “Heaven” and “Detroit 3 AM”.[83]
On 30 May 2020, Guetta performed atNew York City'sTop of the Rock Observation Deck atRockefeller Center for the second edition of United At Home to a virtual crowd of over 24 million to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.[87] The event, titled "Major League Soccer andHeineken presents United at Home", raised half a million dollars for Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City,Feeding America,World Health Organization and Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris - Hôpitaux de France.[88] The performance was the second edition of “United At Home,” following Guetta's first fundraiser in Miami which raised more than US$750,000 for global charities and drew more than 25 million online views.[87] Funds raised went directly to The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, chaired by First LadyChirlane McCray, which is New York City's official fundraising arm for COVID-19 relief.[89] However, Guetta was criticized for this performance, which included a shout-out to the family ofGeorge Floyd, followed by a fast-paced electronic dance tune which sampled a recording ofMartin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.[90][91] Critics found this decision to be "tone-deaf."[92]
David Guetta receivingDJ Mag's World's No.1 DJ award
On 7 November 2020, Guetta wonDJ Mag's annualTop 100 DJs poll for the second time, almost a decade after he first took the No.1 spot in 2011. Guetta was presented his award duringAMF Presents Top 100 DJs, a virtual awards show in Amsterdam that was broadcast to the world.[93] On 31 December 2020, Guetta presented a New Year's Eve virtual concert fromMusée du Louvre,United at Home – Paris Edition, as a fundraiser forUNICEF andRestos du Cœur.[94] On 20 May 2021, Guetta released his new single "Heartbreak Anthem" in collaboration withLittle Mix andGalantis.[95]
On 17 June 2021, Warner Music acquired rights to Guetta's recorded music catalog from the last two decades.[96]
In March 2022, Guetta and Morten announced a joint US tour,[97] which concluded atEDC Las Vegas on 21 May 2022.[98] They also announced a residency atHï Ibiza to take place every Friday from 3 June to 30 September 2022.[99]
On 8 April 2022, Guetta released the song "Crazy What Love Can Do" with British singer-songwritersBecky Hill andElla Henderson.[100] On 2 September 2022, Guetta teamed up with British DJ and producerSigala alongside British singer-songwriterSam Ryder on the song "Living Without You".[101] On 27 October 2023, Guetta released ahouse-influenced afrobeat single "Big FU" featuring Nigerian singerAyra Starr and American rapperLil Durk.[102][103]
On 7 November 2024, Guetta released the song "Supernova Love" with the South Korean girl groupIve.[104]
Guetta and his then-wife Cathy in January 2012 at theNRJ Music Awards
Guetta married French nightclub managerCathy Lobé in 1992. They had two children: a son born in February 2004 and a daughter born in September 2007.[105] After 22 years of marriage, the couple divorced in a Paris court in March 2014.[106] Neither party was present at the hearing and the reason for their divorce is unknown.[107]
In 2015,Forbes estimated that Guetta's annual income was $37 million.[108] The same year, one of his companies was subject to a tax reassessment by theFrench Treasury.[109]
Guetta announced at the Latin Grammys 2023 that he was expecting a child with his long-term partner Jessica Ledon.[110] On 17 March 2024, he announced the birth of their son.[111]
^Robrecht van Goolen (23 October 2010)."Super DJ David Guetta gaf exclusieve show op Legendz in Luik" [DJ David Guetta gave an exclusive show at Legendz Liege].Sterrennieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved22 September 2011....de moeder van Guetta is afkomstig van Luik.
^"Tomorrowland heeft een headliner te pakken" [Tomorrowland has a headliner deal].Clint.be (in Dutch). 21 February 2011. Archived fromthe original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved22 September 2011.David Guetta, the French house, who accidentally has another important link with Belgium - his mother is Belgian
^[1][2]Archived 1 March 2015 at theWayback Machine Sottraendo dal totale complessivo delle copie vendute con i singoli le vendite delle altre hits, si ottengono le copie vendute individualmente daWhen Love Takes Over
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