Calvin Harris
Biography
Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, producer, singer and songwriter, born on 17 January 1984 in Dumfries.
His career began with the release of his debut studio album, I Created Disco, in June 2007; the singles Acceptable in the 80s and The Girls both reached the UK top 10.
His second album, Ready for the Weekend (2009), debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; the lead single, I'm Not Alone, became his first song to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2012 he gained international fame with his third album, 18 Months, which marked a shift toward a more EDM-oriented sound and featured various vocalists; the album topped the UK Albums Chart and entered the US Billboard 200. Eight singles from the album reached the UK top 10, breaking the previous record held by Michael Jackson, and it included the 2011 global hit with Rihanna, We Found Love.
In 2014 his fourth studio album, Motion, debuted at number two in the UK and number five in the United States; that year he also became the first artist to place three songs simultaneously in the top 10 of Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
His fifth album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (2017), reached the top two in both the UK and the US, becoming his third consecutive number-one on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Calvin Harris was the first British solo artist to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. His career includes numerous nominations and awards: 18 Brit Award nominations, winning British Producer of the Year and British Single of the Year in 2019; five Grammy nominations with a win for Best Music Video in 2013; an Ivor Novello Award in 2013; and the Top Dance/Electronic Artist title at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.
His influence and commercial success are considerable: he topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid DJs worldwide for six consecutive years, from 2013 to 2018, and appeared on Debrett’s 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.