Kygo | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Kygo in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (1991-09-11)11 September 1991 (age 34) |
| Origin | Bergen, Norway |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | kygomusic |
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (Norwegian pronunciation:[çʏrːəˈɡøːrʋelːdɑːl]; born 11 September 1991), known professionally asKygo (Norwegian:[ˈkỳːɡuː]), is a Norwegian record producer. He first received international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" byEd Sheeran[6][7] and his December 2014 single "Firestone" (featuringConrad Sewell).[8][9] In late 2015, he reached one billion streams onSpotify faster than any other artist, and by June 2016, he had reached two billion streams.[10]
He also experienced commercial success with the singles "Stole the Show" (2015), "Here for You" (2015), "Stay" (2015), "It Ain't Me" featuringSelena Gomez (2017),remix of "Higher Love" (2019), a remix of "What's Love Got To Do With It" (2020), and two singles from his self-titled album,Kygo (2024), “Whatever" and “For Life”. His debut album,Cloud Nine, was released on 13 May 2016.[11][12]
Kygo became the firsthouse music producer to perform at an Olympicsclosing ceremony in August 2016 at the2016 Rio Olympics.[13] In March 2018,Billboard ranked Kygo third on its 2018 ranking of dance musicians titledBillboard Dance 100.[14] The same year, he was ranked 32 onDJ Mag's top 100 DJs of the world, and in October 2019, he was ranked 42.
Kygo's stage name is aportmanteau derived from the first two letters of his first and last names (replacingø witho).[15] His stage name Kygo can be pronounced asNorwegian pronunciation:[kyːɡu] for Norwegian speakers and/ˈkaɪɡoʊ/ for English speakers. Kyrre got the idea for his stage name through ausername he received inhigh school for thelearning management system platformitslearning.[16]
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll was born on 11 September 1991 inSingapore to Norwegian parents and raised inBergen, Norway.[17][18] He is the son of Kjersti Gjerde, a dentist in Norway, and Lars Gørvell-Dahll, who was working abroad in the maritime industry.[19][20] He has an older stepbrother Mads, two older sisters Johanne and Jenny, and a younger half-brother Sondre.[17][20] During his childhood, he lived and travelled with his family in Brazil, Japan, Kenya and Egypt.[17]
Kygo started taking piano lessons at the age of six and considers himself more of a pianist than a disc jockey.[21] He stopped when he was 15 or 16 and started producing music withLogic Studio and aMIDI keyboard while watching several tutorials on YouTube.[22] When he decided to pursue music full-time, he was halfway through a degree in business and finance atHeriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.[21] He has citedAvicii as his main inspiration.[23]
On 15 May 2013, Kygo released his first single called "Epsilon" on the Romanian record label Ensis Records.[26] On 1 December 2014, he released the single "Firestone", featuring vocals fromConrad Sewell, which gained international recognition and debuted on several charts worldwide, being streamed 810 million times on YouTube and 1 billion times on Spotify, as of April 2024. After receiving over 80 million views on YouTube and SoundCloud, Kygo was contacted byAvicii and byChris Martin of Coldplay to create a remix of the song "Midnight".[27][28] He has also supported Avicii at Findings Festival in Oslo, Norway, in 2014.[27] On 19 September 2014, it was confirmed that Kygo was to replace Avicii at mainstage in Tomorrowland, due to Avicii's health concerns.[29]
He was also featured in an interview forBillboard magazine, where he talked to writer Matt Medved about his remixes for musiciansDiplo andColdplay, and talked about his upcoming tour in North America.[30] In July 2014, Kygo entered into a partnership with EDM lifestyle brand Electric Family to produce a collaboration bracelet[31] for which one hundred per cent of the proceeds are donated toMédecins Sans Frontières.[32] In the same month, he signed a record label deal with Sony International andUltra Music.[33]
In February 2015, Kygo's song "ID" was featured in the official trailer forUltra Music Festival.[34] The same track is also featured onFIFA 16, a popular association football video game byEA Sports.[35] On 21 March 2015, he released his second single, titled "Stole the Show", featuring Parson James, which as of 2 January 2019, had 326 million views on YouTube[36] and 1 billion streams on Spotify. On 31 July 2015, he released his third single, "Nothing Left", featuringWill Heard. "Nothing Left" reached number one on theNorwegian Singles Chart. In August 2015, Kygo was a featured headliner atLollapalooza in Chicago, one of the biggest music festivals in the world. On 4 September 2015, he released his fourth single, titled "Here for You", featuringElla Henderson, which was revealed to be the vocal version of the song "ID" that was released as part of the Ultra Music Festival. He made his U.S. television debut onThe Late Late Show with James Corden in October 2015.[citation needed]
Three months later, his fifth single, "Stay", produced with fellow Norwegian record producerWilliam Larsen and featuring vocals byMaty Noyes, was released on 4 December 2015. In December 2015, Kygo became the fastest artist in history to reach one billion streams onSpotify.[37]
After the release of the single, Kygo announced that he was embarking on a worldwide tour to promote his debut studio album. Soon after, revealed that his debut studio album was going to be released on 19 February 2016, but was delayed. He, instead, released a teaser of the songs that he was working on that were on his debut studio album and released it onSoundCloud.[citation needed]
In the beginning of March 2016, Kygo announced that his debut studio album was going to be released on 13 May 2016, under the titleCloud Nine. He also announced that he would be releasing three promotional singles, leading up to the release of the album. The first of these singles, which was released 18 March 2016, was entitled "Fragile", which features vocals and was collaborated withLabrinth. The second single came out on 1 April 2016 and was called "Raging", which features vocals from the Irish bandKodaline and was also co-written byJames Bay. The third and last single was released on 22 April 2016 and was entitled "I'm In Love", featuring vocals from James Vincent McMorrow. Kygo's debut studio album was released on 13 May 2016.[11] Other collaborations were revealed to includeParson James,Tom Odell,Kodaline,Conrad Sewell,John Legend,James Vincent McMorrow,Foxes,Rhodes,Matt Corby,Maty Noyes,Julia Michaels andAngus & Julia Stone.[citation needed]
Kygo launched a new lifestyle brand calledKygo Life AS on 17 August 2016 in Europe, the United States and Canada.. The brand consists of two collections of high-fashion and relaxed wear, in addition to hardware such as headphones.[38][39][40][41][42]
He performed "Carry Me" with American singer and songwriterJulia Michaels at theclosing ceremony of the2016 Summer Olympics on 21 August at theMaracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, as part of a segment that promoted the newOlympic Channel service launching after the Games. His performance in the Olympics helped grow his popularity.[43]
On 9 February 2017, Kygo posted a snippet of his collaboration with American singerSelena Gomez.[44] They confirmed the single titled "It Ain't Me", via their social media accounts on 13 February. It was released on 16 February.[45] The song is the lead single from Kygo's first EP,Stargazing. It the first song by Kygo to reach over a billion streams on Spotify. In addition to reaching number one in Croatia, Lebanon and Norway, the song attained top five peaks in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland. It also reached the top 10 in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. On 28 April, Kygo released the second single from the EP, "First Time", with English singerEllie Goulding. This track was certified gold in UK on 20 February 2020 selling over 400,000 copies.
On 15 September 2017, Kygo remixed theU2 song "You're The Best Thing About Me", which was also released as his collaborative single with the band.[46]
On 19 October 2017, Kygo announced via Facebook that his second studio album is calledKids in Love, which was released on 3 November. On 20 October, he released the lead single and title track "Kids in Love", which featuresThe Night Game. Shortly after releasing the album, Kygo announced the Kids in Love Tour. On 16 March 2018, Kygo released "Remind Me to Forget", a track featuring American singerMiguel, as the third single from the album, which streamed 400 million times on Spotify as of 2 January 2020, following "Stranger Things" featuring the American pop rock bandOneRepublic. "Stranger Things" received a remix fromAlan Walker.
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In June 2018, Kygo announced a collaboration withImagine Dragons titled "Born to Be Yours".[48] The single was released on 11 June. On 21 September, Kygo debuted "Happy Now", a collaboration withSandro Cavazza, during his set at theiHeartRadio Music Festival, held at theT-Mobile Arena. On 24 October, Kygo posted a clip from the single's music video on his social media account. The single was released on 26 October.[49] In October 2018, Kygo and his manager, Myles Shear, partnered with Sony Music Entertainment and launched the Palm Tree Records label. Palm Tree Records aims to be a platform for up-and-coming artists.[50]
"Think About You" featuring American singer Valerie Broussard was released as a single on 14 February 2019 and considered timed forValentine's Day.[51] "Carry On", a song with English singerRita Ora, was released as a standalone single for the 2019 filmDetective Pikachu.[52] The song was released on 19 April 2019 throughRCA Records. It has been streamed more than 174 million times on Spotify.
On 23 May 2019, Kygo released "Not OK" withChelsea Cutler. On 14 June 2019, Kygo released his first Norwegian-language song, with Bergen rappersStore P andLars Vaular called "Kem kan eg ringe". On 28 June,[citation needed] having been asked to byWhitney Houston's estate, he remixed Houston'scover version ofSteve Winwood's song "Higher Love".[53] On 21 August, "Higher Love" reached the No. 1 position onBillboard magazine's Dance Club Songs chart, making it Houston's highest-charting posthumous release to date. "Higher Love" has been streamed over 917 million times onSpotify as of April 2024. On 6 December, Kygo collaborated withThe Chainsmokers on a track, named "Family".
After his fellow and frequent collaborator, Sandro Cavazza, sent him an unreleasedAvicii track known as "Forever Yours" and with due consent from Avicii's family, Kygo completed the song while adding his signature tropical house elements. The track was released on 24 January 2020. On 23 March 2020, Kygo announced that he had completed his third album titledGolden Hour. He released the single "Like It Is", withZara Larsson andTyga, on 27 March 2020.[54] On 2 April 2020, Kygo released "I'll Wait" with vocals bySasha Sloan. The next day, a music video was released starring real-life American coupleRob Gronkowski andCamille Kostek containing personal footage of their life together.[55] On 16 April 2020, Kygo collaborated with Moroccan-English singerZak Abel on a track titled "Freedom".
On 11 May 2020, Kygo announced the track list for theGolden Hour album. On 15 May 2020, he released "Lose Somebody", withOneRepublic.[56] Kygo released the next single from the album, "The Truth", featuring Valerie Broussard (with whom he previously collaborated on "Think About You"), on 22 May 2020.[57]Golden Hour was released on 29 May 2020. Kygo also collaborates withJay Sean on the track: "Out Of My Mind", but the song is not released.
On 11 July 2020, Kygo released a music video for the album track "Broken Glass" with German singerKim Petras,[58] and 6 days later, Kygo released a remix ofTina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It".[59]
On 18 September 2020, Kygo released a remix ofDonna Summer's "Hot Stuff".[60]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2025) |
On 15 April 2021, Kygo released the track "Gone Are The Days" with singer James Gillespie.
On 13 August 2021, Kygo released a music video for the track "Love Me Now" featuring German singerZoe Wees.
On 15 October 2021, Kygo released the single "Undeniable" featuring American pop-rock bandX Ambassadors.
On 25 February 2022, Kygo released a song withDNCE called "Dancing Feet".
On 11 November 2022, Kygo released his fourth album,Thrill of the Chase as asurprise album.
On 31 March 2023, Kygo released a remix of the song "Say Say Say" byPaul McCartney andMichael Jackson.
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2025) |
On 19 January 2024, Kygo released a song withAva Max called "Whatever" which interpolates "Whenever, Wherever" byShakira.[61]
On 19 April, he released "For Life" withZak Abel andNile Rodgers, which interpolates "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" byModjo.[62] After this release, Kygo announced his Kygo World Tour on social media,[63] which is scheduled for late 2024.[64]
On 30 May 2024, he announced a new album, simply calledKygo, which was released on 21 June 2024 as he commemorates 10 years of his career.[65] A day later, he released "Without You", in collaboration with singer-songwriter Hayla. On 14 June 2024, Kygo released "Me Before You" with singer-songwriterPlested, as the fourth single fromKygo. The song was already played by him in some shows before its release.
On 21st June 2024, Kygo releasedKYGO, which contains 18 tracks and runs for 1 hour and 4 minutes. The album peaked No.1 in Norway and No.2 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Charts.
On the 27th of September, during his KYGO World Tour, he released "Stars Will Align" withImagine Dragons.
On the 15th of November, he released the song "Hold On Me" withSandro Cavazza.
On the 24th of January 2025, he released "Chasing Paradise" withOneRepublic.
On the 2nd of May, he released "Can't Get Enough" with Victoria Nadine.
As of May 2025, Kygo was dating Victoria Nadine, a Norwegian musician.[66] Kygo is a supporter of British football clubManchester United, and his favourite player wasJuan Mata.[67] He also supports his local team,SK Brann.[68] He is also a fan ofFormula One and performed a concert at the2019 Bahrain Grand Prix. He also performed at the2021 Mexico City Grand Prix and the inaugural2022 Miami Grand Prix.[69]
In June 2016,NRK reported that Kygo is "giving 50 000 USD [...] of the profits [of his sold-out festival on 20 August]" to UgandanLGBTadvocateFrank Mugisha; Kygo was quoted: "Everyone should be permitted to live with one's sexual orientation. That is not the situation in Uganda and quite a few other countries across the world".[70]
| Year | Title | Role | Running time | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Stole the Show | Himself | 51 min(0 hr, 51 min) | Documentary byApple Music | [71] |
| Year | Title | Role | No. of episodes | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bring On the Night | Himself | 2(season 1) | Docuseries byVGTV | [72] |
| Nøkkelen til suksess | 1(season 1, episode 4) | Docuseries byNRK | [73] |
| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | YouTube Music Awards | YouTube Music Video Award | "Stole the Show" | Won | [80] |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Norwegian Act | Himself | Nominated | [81] | |
| 2016 | International Dance Music Awards byWinter Music Conference | Best Break-Through DJ | Won | [82] | |
| Best Break-Through Artist (Solo) | Won | ||||
| Best Chillout/Lounge Track | "Stole the Show" | Won | |||
| 2016 Spellemannprisen | Spellemann of the Year | Himself | Won | [83][84] | |
| Newcomer of the Year & Gramo Scholarship | Nominated | ||||
| Music Video of the Year | "Stole the Show" | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Won | ||||
| "Firestone" | Nominated | ||||
| Electronic Music Awards & Foundation * Still pending postponed award show | Best New Artist | Himself | Nominated | [85] | |
| Single of the Year | "Stole the Show" | Nominated | |||
| Spellemannprisen and Music Norway | Export Award | Himself | Won | [86] | |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Norwegian Act | Nominated | [87] | ||
| NRJ Music Awards | DJ de l'année (DJ of the Year) | Nominated | [88] | ||
| 2017 | 2017 Spellemannprisen | Popsolist (Pop Solo Artist) | Cloud Nine | Nominated | [89] |
| Song of the Year | "Stay" | Nominated | |||
| WDM Radio Awards | Best New Talent | Himself | Nominated | [90] | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Dance/Electronic Album | Cloud Nine | Nominated | [91] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Collaboration | "It Ain't Me" (shared with Selena Gomez) | Nominated | [92] | |
| Choice Electronic/Dance Song | Nominated | [93] | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Dance Video | Nominated | [94] | ||
| Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards | Colaboración Favorita (Favorite Collaboration) | Nominated | [95] | ||
| Nickelodeon Mexico Kids' Choice Awards | Nominated | [96] | |||
| Nickelodeon Argentina Kids' Choice Awards | Nominated | [97] | |||
| LOS40 Music Awards | International Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated | [98] | |
| Best International Video | "It Ain't Me" (shared with Selena Gomez) | Won | |||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Norwegian Act | Himself | Nominated | [99] | |
| iHeartRadio Titanium Awards | 1 Billion Total Audience Spins on iHeartRadio Stations | "It Ain't Me" (shared with Selena Gomez) | Won | [100] | |
| 2018 | 2018 Spellemannprisen | Song of the Year | "It Ain't Me" (shared with Selena Gomez) | Nominated | [101] |
| WDM Radio Awards | Best Global Track | Nominated | [102] | ||
| Best Deep House DJ | Himself | Nominated | |||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Dance/Electronic Artist | Nominated | [103] | ||
| Top Dance/Electronic Album | Stargazing | Nominated | |||
| Top Dance/Electronic Song | "It Ain't Me" (shared with Selena Gomez) | Nominated | |||
| International Dance Music Awards byWinter Music Conference | Best Live Act | Himself | Won | [104] | |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Norwegian Act | Nominated | [105] | ||
| 2019 | 2019 Spellemannprisen | Song of the Year | "Remind Me to Forget" (shared with Miguel) | Nominated | [106] |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Dance Song of the Year | Nominated | [107] | ||
| Dance Artist of the Year | Himself | Nominated | |||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Dance/Electronic Artist | Nominated | [108] | ||
| Top Dance/Electronic Album | Kids in Love | Nominated | |||
| P3 Gull '19 | P3 Prize | Himself | Honoree | [109] | |
| 2020 | 2020 Spellemannprisen | Song of the Year | "Kem kan eg ringe" (shared withStore P andLars Vaular) | Nominated | [110] |
| 2021 | 2021 Spellemannprisen | "Lose Somebody" (shared withOneRepublic) | Nominated | [111] | |
| 2024 | P3 Gull '24 | "Whatever" (shared withAva Max) | Nominated | [112] | |
| 2025 | 2025 Spellemannprisen | Won | [113] |
| Year | Position | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 33 | New Entry | [114] |
| 2016 | 26 | Up 7 | |
| 2017 | 24 | Up 2 | |
| 2018 | 32 | Down 8 | |
| 2019 | 52 | Down 20 | |
| 2020 | 28 | Up 24 | |
| 2021 | 48 | Down 20 | |
| 2022 | - | Down |
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