Calvin Harris is one of the most current talked about DJs, from his rapid good looks to his No1 hits he really does know how to do it right. The Grammy award-winning, multi-talented DJ, Ivor Novello-winning songwriter, performer and producer has been going from strength to strength after his first single releases ‘Acceptable in the 80s’ and ‘The Girls’ in 2007. He has collaborated with top artists from Florence Welsh to Rita Ora and by the sounds of his latest single with production trio Disciples with ‘How Deep is Your Love’ and his hotly tipped appearance right here in Marbella, the hunk has no signs of ever slowing down his fast paced career.
GEEK CHIC TO MEGASTAR
The Scottish DJ who was born Adam Richard Wiles was attracted to electronic music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by the age of 15. Calvin released his debut album ‘I Created Disco’ in June 2007, which led to his singles reaching the top 10 and catching the attention of talented musicians who were as keen as ever to work with the young prodigy. Unusually in the industry today, Calvin was known to write, produce and perform all 14 tracks on his debut album and he did this solely on his (now extremely dated) Amiga computer!
By the release of his second number one album ‘Ready for the Weekend’ Calvin had made a mark in the industry and led to his nomination of ‘Best British Male’. In terms of vocals the DJ regularly used to sing on records until February 2010 and the release of ‘You Used To Hold Me’ in which he opted to focus more on music production while having guest vocalists singing the main tracks marked a change in his career.
Harris has now worked with most of the big names in music. He produced Dizzee Rascals single ‘Holiday’ which reached number one in the UK singles chart and after claiming that global megastar Chris Browns track ‘Yeah 3x’ plagiarised his single ‘I’m Not Alone’ he was added to the song writing credits. Harris’ top of the league collaboration has to come from Barbadian singer Rihanna, following being her support act on the Australian leg of her tour the DJ produced ‘We Found Love’ which topped the charts in 27 countries worldwide and broke numerous records. He then produced the smash hit ‘Where Have You Been’ and not forgetting ‘Let’s Go’ the 2012 banger with Ne-Yo. To date he has collaborated with everyone in the who´s who of the record industry including Kylie Minogue, Mary J Blige, Kelis, Shakira and Ellie Goulding – not bad for a once spotty teenager from the deepest darkest Scottish suburbs.
LOVE LIFE
It is no wonder that this megastar DJ – now the world´s highest paid DJ – attracts the most beautiful and talented leading ladies. In the early days of his career Calvin kept quiet about his relationships and not much attention was drawn towards who the lucky lady in his life was. But this all changed in 2013 when he began dating the stunning singer Rita Ora. The two famously collaborated on her single ‘I Will Never Let You Down’ but their relationship didn’t go the distance and they parted ways in June 2014 due to career commitments. In March 2015 Calvin started dating global star Taylor Swift and by June 2015 Forbes ranked the duo as the highest paid celebrity couple in music by Forbes with combined earnings of more than $146 million!
AWARDS
Calvin has won a huge 17 awards spanning from the iconic American Music Awards and the prestigious Grammy Awards! He is rewarded for his fantastic tracks from either sides of the globe and is a big contender for the Brit Awards year after year! It’s not only music that he gets awarded for its his charming stance, last year at the 2015 Glamour Awards in London he was named Glamour UKs man of the year!
ENDORSEMENTS
Harris’ music has been selected as the backing tracks on many big adverts such as Coca Cola and Pepsi Max in which the ads showed famous footballers including Fernando Torres partying and crowd surfing to the tune of ‘Let’s Go’. An endorsement which got everyone talking was in 2014 when Calvin was announced as the new face of Giorgio Armani for its men’s underwear line for spring/summer 2015, the sexy black and white campaign was shot in Los Angeles by photographer Boo George. The resounding success led him to return as the face of the brand for the underwear line, eyewear and watch line for their Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2015/16 campaign.
DID YOU KNOW…
Harris is a teetotaller, from the age of 24 he removed himself from drinking alcohol claiming: “I wasn’t an alcoholic or anything like that, but it was clearly affecting what I do.”
In a comical spark, Calvin famously invaded the stage in November 14th on the UK version of The X Factor during the performance by duo Jedward whilst holding a pineapple on his head, in which he later apologised for on Twitter.
He released eight singles from third album “18 Months”, all of which hit the top ten, breaking a record set by Michael Jackson.
FUTURE PLANS
Music wise Calvin is in the studio planning on releasing some more big hits and awaiting the 2016 Brit Awards as has received not one but three nominations. Love wise currently Calvin has just listed his Hollywood Hills home on the market for $10 million months after Taylor Swift brought a $25 million Beverly Hills mansion. Rumours are amidst that Calvin is set to propose to the songstress this year as they claim to be more in love than ever, watch this space for the wedding of the most highest paid celebrity couple in music!
