Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.
This article is about the musician. For the footballer, see Calvin Harris (footballer).
Calvin Harris
Love Regenerator[1]
- DJ
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
2002–present
- Piano
- keyboards
- synthesiser
- guitar
- bass guitar
- sampler
- sequencer
- vocals
In 2012, Harris rose to international prominence with the release of his third studio album, 18 Months, which topped the UK Albums Chart and became his first album to chart on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 19. All eight of the album's singles reached the top 10 in the UK, breaking the record for the most top 10 songs from one studio album on the UK Singles Chart with eight entries, surpassing Michael Jackson's record. In 2014, he released his fourth studio album, Motion, which debuted at number two in the UK and number five in the US. In 2017, he released his fifth studio album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, which reached the top two in the UK and the US and became his third consecutive number one album on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart. His sixth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 (2022) serves as a sequel to his previous release and peaked at number five in the UK.
In October 2014, Harris became the first artist to place three songs simultaneously on the top 10 of Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[6] He also became the first UK solo artist to reach more than one billion streams on Spotify.[7] Harris has received 23 Brit Award nominations–winning British Producer of the Year and British Single of the Year in 2019,[8] as well as five Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Music Video in 2013.[9] In 2013 he also received a Ivor Novello Award, and was named the Top Dance/Electronic Artist at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. He appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the United Kingdom.[10] He topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid DJs for six consecutive years from 2013 to 2018 until being dethroned by the Chainsmokers in 2019.
Early life and beginnings[edit]
Adam Richard Wiles was born on 17 January 1984 in Dumfries,[11] to English parents, a biochemist father, and housewife mother, who married in their native Oxford before moving to Dumfries.[12] He has an elder sister and brother.[12][13] Wiles attended Calside Primary School then Dumfries High School, and, after leaving school, he stocked shelves in supermarkets and worked in a local fish processing factory to buy DJ gear.[14]
He was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and began recording bedroom demos in 1999.[15] When Harris was 18, he released two songs, "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days". Both were released as 12-inch club singles and CD-EPs by the label Prima Facie in early 2002 under the name "Stouffer".[16] With these singles to his credit, Harris moved from Scotland to London, hoping to learn from the local music scene.[14][16][17] Only one of his songs, "Let Me Know" with vocalist Ayah Marar on the Unabombers' 2004 live-mix CD Electric Soul, Vol. 2, was released during his time in London.[16] With the lack of job opportunities and money, he returned home to Dumfries and began posting homemade solo recordings to his Myspace page.[16][18] His popularity on the social media website prompted Mark Gillespie, a talent booker for the dance-festival firm Global Gathering who had recently founded his own management firm,[19][20] to make Harris the company's first signee. Gillespie continues to represent Harris today.[21] Regarding his choice of his stage name, Harris stated that, "My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous. I thought people might not know if I was black or not. After that, I was stuck with it."[22]
Musical style[edit]
Following his professed disinterest in the genre of EDM in late 2016,[128] Harris transitioned to funk on his fifth studio album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 the following year, which he continued with his sixth album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 in 2022.[129][130]
In 2016, Harris stated that Jamiroquai and Fatboy Slim had inspired him to make music.[131]
Endorsements[edit]
In 2008, the artwork of Harris's debut album I Created Disco was featured as part of a multicoloured iPod nano campaign on TV and in print in the US.[41] In 2009, Harris teamed up with Coca-Cola for their 'Open Happiness' advertising campaign in the UK.[132] Harris wrote and produced an exclusive track for the brand called 'Yeah Yeah Yeah, La La La' which was featured on TV, digital, outdoor and on-pack promotional activity and was offered on 'Coke Zone' website for free download.[132][133] The same year, Harris's song "Colours" was featured in Kia Motors's hamster television advertisement for the Kia Soul EV.[134]
In 2012, Harris was featured in the Pepsi Max commercial for their football campaign.[135] Titled "crowd surfing", the advert showed Harris on the DJ deck playing his single "Let's Go" to the crowd of partygoers alongside star footballers Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Sergio Agüero and Jack Wilshere.[135] In 2013, Harris teamed up with Sol Republic to create their first studio-tuned, professional-calibre headphones.[136] The partnership involved designing a customised look for the headphones and redesigning its drivers to Harris's specifications.[137]
On 17 December 2014, Harris was announced as the new face of Emporio Armani for its men's underwear line for the Spring/Summer 2015 season. He was also named the worldwide testimonial of the Emporio Armani eyewear and watch collection.[138] The black and white campaign was shot in Los Angeles by photographer Boo George.[139] Harris returned as the face of the brand underwear line, eyewear and watch line for their Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2015/2016 campaign. The images, shot by Lachlan Bailey, were released in July 2015.[140]
Philanthropy[edit]
In September 2007, Harris performed in the charity event "Wasted Youth" in aid of the Campaign Against Living Miserably at KOKO nightclub in Camden Town, London.[154] The event aimed to draw attention to the issue of youth suicide among men in the UK and to raise awareness and money for the charity.[154] In 2008, he supported Shelter's campaign "Hometime Scotland" which pledges to end homelessness and bad housing in Scotland.[155][156] In 2010, Harris performed live in The War Child's post-Brit Awards show (alongside La Roux and Kasabian) which took place at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London.[157] The event raised funds and public awareness on children affected by violence in war zones.[157][158]
In February 2012, Harris teamed up with several other artists (including Rihanna and Coldplay) to perform at a charity concert with all proceeds from the show going to the Children's Orthopaedic Center at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.[159] In November 2012, Harris contributed several songs to Tiësto's compilation album Dance (RED) Save Lives in collaboration with anti-AIDS charity Product Red which was aimed at creating awareness on the fight for an AIDS Free Generation.[160][161] Harris participated in a global live stream of the Stereosonic music festival in Melbourne, Australia which took place on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2012.[160] The proceeds from both the album and the event were donated for the cause.[160]
Following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Harris revealed on his Instagram that he donated his fees from his show at Omnia Nightclub to the Las Vegas Victims fund.[162] Later that year, Harris donated $20,000 to DJ Snake charity campaign to benefit the Rohingyas, people living in Myanmar that have consistently been attacked by the Myanmar government and are being pushed out of their home with nowhere to go. The situation in Myanmar has been deemed "beyond critical" by Amnesty International.[163] In July 2020, Harris donated £20,000 for the Save Our Sub campaign to benefit Glasgow's Sub Club which was at risk of permanent closure after temporarily closing doors on March due to the coronavirus pandemic.[164]
Income[edit]
Calvin Harris is one of the highest paid disc jockeys/producers. Forbes began reporting on Harris's earnings in 2013, calculating that he earned $46 million between May 2012 and May 2013, for his music, tour and his residency in Las Vegas which placed him as the highest-paid DJ of the year.[165] In 2014, Harris came in at number one on the list again for the second consecutive year with a total of $66 million in annual earnings.[166] In 2015, Harris topped the highest-paid DJs list for a third consecutive year, having earned $66 million over the previous 12 months.[167] On The Sunday Times Rich List published in April 2015, Harris was ranked the 30th richest British millionaire in music, with a personal fortune of £70 million ($105 million).[168][169] In 2018, he made $48.5 million.[170]
Personal life[edit]
Harris dated British singer Rita Ora from 2013 to June 2014.[171][172] He started dating American model Aarika Wolf in 2014, after Wolf appeared in the music video for his song "Blame". They broke up in 2015.[173] From March 2015 to June 2016, Harris dated American singer Taylor Swift.[174][175][176] He and Wolf got back together in 2017, and broke up in 2022.[177][178] In January 2022, Harris started dating British television presenter Vick Hope. They married on 9 September 2023.[179]
Harris stopped drinking alcohol in 2008, stating, "I wasn't an alcoholic or anything like that, but it was clearly affecting what I do."[180][181] He is a supporter of his hometown football team Queen of the South and Liverpool.[182]
Harris considered writing a song to celebrate the former reaching the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, but the idea was scrapped due to the time constraints of recording his 2009 album Ready for the Weekend.[183]