Kygo

Biography

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (Norwegian pronunciation: [çʏrːə ˈɡøːrʋelː dɑːl]; born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (Norwegian: [ˈkỳːɡuː]), is a Singapore-born Norwegian DJ and record producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures that brought tropical house music to the commercial mainstream in the mid 2010s. He first received international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 2014 single "Firestone×Firestone2 December 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Firestone4:33" (featuring Conrad Sewell). In late 2015, he reached one billion streams on Spotify faster than any other artist, and by June 2016, he had reached two billion streams.
He also experienced commercial success with the singles "Stole the Show×Stole the Show23 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Stole the Show3:42" (2015), "Here for You×Here for You4 September 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Here for You4:04" (2015), "Stay" (2015), "It Ain't Me" featuring Selena 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×Cloud Nine13 May 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Intro2:092Stole the Show3:433Fiction4:044Raging3:445Firestone4:326Happy Birthday4:107I'm in Love3:328Oasis3:589Not Alone3:2510Serious3:5411Stay3:5912Nothing Left3:5713Fragile3:5014Carry Me3:5315For What It's Worth3:03, was released on 13 May 2016.
Kygo became the first house music producer to perform at an Olympics closing ceremony in August 2016 at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In March 2018, Billboard ranked Kygo third on its 2018 ranking of dance musicians titled Billboard Dance 100. The same year, he was ranked 32 on DJ Mag's top 100 DJs of the world, and in October 2019, he was ranked 42.
Kygo's stage name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of his first and last names (replacing ø with o). Kyrre got the idea for his stage name through a username he received in high school for the learning management system platform itslearning.

Early life

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll was born on 11 September 1991 in Singapore to Norwegian parents and raised in Bergen, Norway. He is the son of Kjersti Gjerde, a dentist in Norway, and Lars Gørvell-Dahll, who was working abroad in the maritime industry. He has an older stepbrother Mads, two older sisters Johanne and Jenny, and a younger half-brother Sondre. During his childhood, he lived and travelled with his family in Brazil, Japan, Kenya and Egypt.
Kygo started taking piano lessons at the age of six and considers himself more of a pianist than a disc jockey. He stopped when he was 15 or 16 and started producing music with Logic Studio and a MIDI keyboard while watching several tutorials on YouTube. When he decided to pursue music full-time, he was halfway through a degree in business and finance at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has cited Avicii as his main inspiration.

2013–2015: Breakthrough

On 15 May 2013, Kygo released his first single called "Epsilon×Epsilon15 May 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Epsilon6:04" on the Romanian record label Ensis Records. On 1 December 2014, he released the single "Firestone×Firestone2 December 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Firestone4:33", featuring vocals from Conrad 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 by Avicii and by Chris Martin of Coldplay to create a remix of the song "Midnight". He also supported Avicii at Findings Festival in Oslo, Norway, in 2014. On 19 September 2014, it was confirmed that Kygo was to replace Avicii at mainstage in Tomorrowland, due to Avicii's health concerns.
He was also featured in an interview for Billboard magazine, where he talked to writer Matt Medved about his remixes for musicians Diplo and Coldplay, and talked about his upcoming tour in North America. In July 2014, Kygo entered into a partnership with EDM lifestyle brand Electric Family to produce a collaboration bracelet for which one hundred per cent of the proceeds are donated to Médecins Sans Frontières. In the same month, he signed a record label deal with Sony International and Ultra Music.

2015–2017: Cloud Nine and Kygo Life

In February 2015, Kygo's song "ID" was featured in the official trailer for Ultra Music Festival. The same track is also featured on FIFA 16, a popular association football video game by EA Sports. On 21 March 2015, he released his second single, titled "Stole the Show×Stole the Show23 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Stole the Show3:42", featuring Parson James, which as of 2 January 2019, had 326 million views on YouTube and 1 billion streams on Spotify. On 31 July 2015, he released his third single, "Nothing Left×Nothing Left31 July 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nothing Left3:56", featuring Will Heard. "Nothing Left" reached number one on the Norwegian Singles Chart. In August 2015, Kygo was a featured headliner at Lollapalooza in Chicago, one of the biggest music festivals in the world. On 4 September 2015, he released his fourth single, titled "Here for You×Here for You4 September 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Here for You4:04", featuring Ella Henderson.
Three months later, his fifth single, "Stay", produced with fellow Norwegian record producer William Larsen and featuring vocals by Maty Noyes, was released on 4 December 2015. In December 2015, Kygo became the fastest artist in history to reach one billion streams on Spotify.
On 12 February 2016, Kygo released a single with Dillon Francis and James Hersey called "Coming Over".
Kygo then announced that he was embarking on a worldwide tour to promote his album.
In the beginning of March 2016, Kygo announced that his debut studio album was going to be released on 13 May 2016, under the title Cloud Nine×Cloud Nine13 May 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Intro2:092Stole the Show3:433Fiction4:044Raging3:445Firestone4:326Happy Birthday4:107I'm in Love3:328Oasis3:589Not Alone3:2510Serious3:5411Stay3:5912Nothing Left3:5713Fragile3:5014Carry Me3:5315For What It's Worth3:03. 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×Fragile18 March 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Fragile3:51", which features vocals and was collaborated with Labrinth. The second single came out on 1 April 2016 and was called "Raging×Raging1 April 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Raging3:44", which features vocals from the Irish band Kodaline and was also co-written by James 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.
Kygo launched a new lifestyle brand called Kygo 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.
He performed "Carry Me×Carry Me2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Carry Me3:53" with American singer and songwriter Julia Michaels at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics on 21 August at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, as part of a segment that promoted the new Olympic Channel service launching after the Games. His performance in the Olympics helped grow his popularity.

2017–2018: Stargazing and Kids in Love

On 9 February 2017, Kygo posted a snippet of his collaboration with American singer Selena Gomez. They confirmed the single titled "It Ain't Me", via their social media accounts on 13 February. It was released on 16 February. The song is the lead single from Kygo's first EP, Stargazing×Stargazing21 September 2017 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Stargazing3:572It Ain't Me3:413First Time3:144This Town3:22. 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 singer Ellie Goulding. This track was certified gold in UK on 20 February 2020 selling over 400,000 copies.
On 19 October 2017, Kygo announced via Facebook that his second studio album is called Kids in Love×Kids in Love3 November 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Never Let You Go3:532Sunrise3:353Riding Shotgun3:184Stranger Things3:415With You3:316Kids in Love4:237Permanent3:488I See You3:499Stargazing3:5710It Ain’t Me3:4011First Time3:1412This Town3:23, which was released on 3 November. On 20 October, he released the lead single and title track "Kids in Love", which features The 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 singer Miguel, 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 band OneRepublic. "Stranger Things" received a remix from Alan Walker.

2018–2021: Golden Hour

In June 2018, Kygo announced a collaboration with Imagine Dragons titled "Born to Be Yours". The single was released on 11 June. On 21 September, Kygo debuted "Happy Now×Happy Now26 October 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Happy Now3:31", a collaboration with Sandro Cavazza, during his set at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, held at the T-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. 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.
"Think About You×Think About You14 February 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Think About You3:28" featuring American singer Valerie Broussard was released as a single on 14 February 2019 and considered timed for Valentine's Day. "Carry On×Carry On19 April 2019 · Single · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Carry On3:35", a song with English singer Rita Ora, was released as a standalone single for the 2019 film Detective Pikachu. The song was released on 19 April 2019 through RCA Records. It has been streamed more than 174 million times on Spotify.
On 23 May 2019, Kygo released "Not OK×Not Ok23 May 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Not Ok3:31" with Chelsea Cutler. On 14 June 2019, Kygo released his first Norwegian-language song, with Bergen rappers Store P and Lars Vaular called "Kem kan eg ringe×Kem kan eg ringe14 June 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Kem kan eg ringe3:18". On 28 June, having been asked to by Whitney Houston's estate, he remixed Houston's cover version of Steve Winwood's song "Higher Love". On 21 August, "Higher Love" reached the No. 1 position on Billboard 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 on Spotify as of April 2024. On 6 December, Kygo collaborated with The Chainsmokers on a track, named "Family".
After his fellow and frequent collaborator, Sandro Cavazza, sent him an unreleased Avicii 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 titled Golden Hour×Golden Hour29 May 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks1The Truth3:142Lose Somebody3:203Feels Like Forever3:374Freedom3:195Beautiful3:386To Die For3:507Broken Glass3:248How Would I Know3:019Could You Love Me3:2210Higher Love3:4811I’ll Wait3:3512Don’t Give Up on Love3:1013Say You Will3:2814Follow2:5515Like It Is3:0316Someday3:4417Hurting3:0618Only Us3:22. He released the single "Like It Is", with Zara Larsson and Tyga, on 27 March 2020. On 2 April 2020, Kygo released "I'll Wait" with vocals by Sasha Sloan. The next day, a music video was released starring real-life American couple Rob Gronkowski and Camille Kostek containing personal footage of their life together. On 16 April 2020, Kygo collaborated with Moroccan-English singer Zak Abel on a track titled "Freedom×Freedom17 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Freedom3:19".
On 11 May 2020, Kygo announced the track list for the Golden Hour album. On 15 May 2020, he released "Lose Somebody", with OneRepublic. 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. Golden Hour was released on 29 May 2020. Kygo also collaborates with Jay 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 singer Kim Petras, and 6 days later, Kygo released a remix of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It".
On 18 September 2020, Kygo released a remix of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff".

2021–2024: Thrill of the Chase

On 15 April 2021, Kygo released the track "Gone Are The Days×Gone Are the Days16 April 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Gone Are the Days3:17" with singer James Gillespie.
On 13 August 2021, Kygo released a music video for the track "Love Me Now×Love Me Now13 August 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Me Now3:15" featuring German singer Zoe Wees.
On 15 October 2021, Kygo released the single "Undeniable×Undeniable15 October 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Undeniable3:01" featuring American pop-rock band X Ambassadors.
On 25 February 2022, Kygo released a song with DNCE called "Dancing Feet×Dancing Feet25 February 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Dancing Feet3:35".
On 6 May 2022, Kygo released a single called "Freeze×Freeze6 May 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Freeze8:07".
On 1 July 2022, Kygo released a single with Dean Lewis called "Never Really Loved Me×Never Really Loved Me1 July 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Never Really Loved Me3:22".
On 8 July 2022, Kygo released another single with Dean Lewis called "Lost Without You×Lost Without You8 July 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Lost Without You3:242Never Really Loved Me3:22".
On 9 September 2022, Kygo released a single with Gryffin and Calum Scott called "Woke Up In Love×Woke Up in Love9 September 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Woke Up in Love3:37".
On 11 November 2022, Kygo released his fourth album, Thrill of the Chase×Thrill of the Chase11 November 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Gone Are the Days3:172Love Me Now3:163Lonely Together2:584Undeniable3:015Thrill of the Chase3:196Dancing Feet3:357Fever3:138Woke Up in Love3:379How Many Tears2:5410Never Really Loved Me3:2211The Way We Were4:0912Lost Without You3:2413All for Love5:0314Freeze8:07 as a surprise album.
On 31 March 2023, Kygo released a remix of the song "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.

2024–2026: Kygo

On 19 January 2024, Kygo released a song with Ava Max called "Whatever" which interpolates "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira.
On 19 April, he released "For Life" with Zak Abel and Nile Rodgers, which interpolates "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" by Modjo. After this release, Kygo announced his Kygo World Tour on social media, which is scheduled for late 2024.
On 30 May 2024, he announced a new album, simply called Kygo, which was released on 21 June 2024 as he commemorated 10 years of his career. A day later, he released "Without You×Without You31 May 2024 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Without You4:24", in collaboration with singer-songwriter Hayla. On 14 June 2024, Kygo released "Me Before You×Me Before You14 June 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Me Before You3:36" with singer-songwriter Plested, as the fourth single from Kygo. The song was already played by him in some shows before its release.
On 21 June 2024, Kygo released KYGO, 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 27 September, during his KYGO World Tour, he released "Stars Will Align" with Imagine Dragons.
On 15 November, he released the song "Hold On Me×Hold on Me15 November 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hold on Me2:52" with Sandro Cavazza.
On 24 January 2025, he released "Chasing Paradise" with OneRepublic.
On 2 May, he released "Can't Get Enough" with Victoria Nadine.

2026–present: TBD

On 20 February, he released "Save My Love" with Khalid and Gryffin, whilst previously completely wiping his Instagram page.
On 10 April, he released "That's When You Know×That's When You Know10 April 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1That's When You Know3:14" with Carter Faith.
On 22 May, he released "Heaven On Your Mind×Heaven On Your Mind22 May 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Heaven On Your Mind3:45" with Dan Tyminski.
In July 2026, after the Norway national football team, led by star Erling Haaland, advanced to the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Kygo remixed "Kygo Jo", a rap song made in 2016 by Haaland (as "Lyng") with his then Norway under-17 international football teammates Erik Botheim and Erik Tobias Sandberg, under the name "Flow Kingz", and named as a reference to Kygo. Kygo's remix reached the top of the Spotify charts in Norway just a few days later.

Personal life

As of May 2025, Kygo was dating Victoria Nadine, a Norwegian musician. Kygo is a supporter of British football club Manchester United, and his favourite player was Juan Mata. He also supports his local team, SK Brann. He is also a fan of Formula One and performed a concert at the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix. He also performed at the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix and the inaugural 2022 Miami Grand Prix.

Philanthropy

In June 2016, NRK reported that Kygo is "giving 50 000 USD [...] of the profits [of his sold-out festival on 20 August]" to Ugandan LGBT advocate Frank 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".

Tour

Endless Summer Tour (2014)
Cloud Nine Tour (2016)
Kids in Love Tour (2018)
KYGO World Tour (2024)