Marshmello

Biography

Christopher Comstock (born May 19, 1992), known professionally as Marshmello and formerly as Dotcom, is an American DJ and record producer. His songs "Silence×Silence10 August 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Silence3:00" (featuring Khalid), "Wolves" (with Selena Gomez), "Friends×FRIENDS9 February 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1FRIENDS3:23" (with Anne-Marie), "Happier×Happier17 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Happier3:34" (with Bastille), and "Alone×Alone13 May 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1Alone4:33" have each received multi-platinum certifications in several countries, and peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. His musical style includes groove-oriented, synth and bass-heavy electronic dance music.
Comstock first gained a following on SoundCloud as Dotcom in 2010 initially posting mashups, remixes, and singles and gained a following in his first few years. He gained recognition as Marshmello in early 2015 from publishing remixes online. His debut studio album, Joytime×Joytime8 January 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Know Me3:262Summer3:533Find Me3:004Take It Back3:535Bounce3:336Blocks3:307Show You2:578Want U 23:039Home3:4810Keep It Mello4:03 (2016), included his debut commercial single, "Keep It Mello×Keep It Mello24 October 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Keep It Mello4:07". Released in May of that year by indie label Monstercat, his single "Alone", peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2017, after releasing the singles "Chasing Colors×Chasing Colors24 February 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Chasing Colors3:15", "Twinbow×Twinbow17 March 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Twinbow2:46" and "Moving On×Moving On5 May 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Moving On2:59", Comstock collaborated with R&B singer Khalid to release the single "Silence", which received platinum or multi-platinum certifications in eight countries. Later that year, he saw similar success with his collaborative single with singer Selena Gomez, "Wolves".
In 2018, he released "Friends", a collaboration with British singer Anne-Marie. Months later, his second studio album, Joytime II×Joytime II22 June 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Stars4:062Together4:063Rooftops2:574Check This Out3:395Flashbacks2:456Tell Me2:387Paralyzed3:398Power3:429Imagine3:51 (2018), was supported by the singles "Tell Me×Tell Me8 June 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tell Me2:38" and "Check This Out×Check This Out15 June 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Check This Out3:40". "Happier", a collaboration with British band Bastille, was released that August and became his highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two. In 2019, he earned US$40 million, ranking second on the list of highest paid DJs compiled by Forbes. In 2020, he and American rapper Juice Wrld released "Come & Go×Come & Go9 July 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Come & Go3:25", from the latter's posthumous album Legends Never Die, matched "Happier" as his highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2021, his fourth album, Shockwave×Shockwave11 June 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fairytale2:352Supernovacane2:593Jiggle It2:504Back It Up2:405Vibr82:596Bad Bitches2:327Back In Time2:408Hitta2:509House Party3:2510Candy Kid2:0911Pushin Stacks3:3412Shockwave3:01 earned him a Grammy nomination.
Comstock wears a custom white helmet, resembling a marshmallow, for public appearances and in his music videos. His identity was initially unknown to the general public, but was confirmed to be Comstock by Forbes in April 2017. Aside from his work as Marshmello, Comstock founded the pop-punk band Underbrook, for whom he is lead vocalist.

2010–2015: Early beginnings on SoundCloud as Dotcom

Comstock started his music career in 2010 as Dotcom, when he created his SoundCloud account. For the first three years, he garnered a following by initially posting mashups as well as producing and self-releasing dubstep remixes and singles. Comstock then transitioned into producing trap with his most notable work being his remix of "Hate Bein' Sober" by Chief Keef reaching over 4 million plays on SoundCloud by July 2014. That same month and year, Comstock signed with Borgore's Los Angeles-based label, Buygore Records.
Comstock was also notable for producing "festival trap", a subgenre of trap combining sounds from Hardstyle and Big room house. His most notable festival trap tracks included "Michael Myers" and "Take A Picture", a collaboration with Kayzo.

2015–2016: As Marshmello and Joytime

Comstock posted his first original song as Marshmello, "Wavez×WaVeZSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)", to his SoundCloud page in the early months of 2015. In June 2015, he released remixes of songs by American DJ duo Jack Ü and Russian-German DJ Zedd. As he released more songs, he began to receive support from musicians such as Skrillex, who reposted his song "Find Me×Find Me12 March 2015 · Single · DemoSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1FinD Me3:00" on SoundCloud. In late 2015, he made performances at New York's Pier 94, Pomona, California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, and in March 2016, he performed at Miami Music Week.
On January 8, 2016, via his label Joytime Collective, Comstock released his debut studio album Joytime×Joytime8 January 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Know Me3:262Summer3:533Find Me3:004Take It Back3:535Bounce3:336Blocks3:307Show You2:578Want U 23:039Home3:4810Keep It Mello4:03, consisting of 10 songs. One single was released from the album, titled "Keep It Mello×Keep It Mello24 October 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Keep It Mello4:07", featuring Mexican rapper Omar Linx, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album peaked at number five on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart, number fourteen on the US Heatseeker Albums chart and forty-one on the Independent Albums chart.
Comstock debuted on Monstercat, a Canadian independent record label, with the release of "Alone×Alone13 May 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1Alone4:33", which appeared on the label's compilation album Monstercat 027 – Cataclysm. The song became his first to debut on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 60th and charting on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart at ninth and the Canadian Hot 100 at 56th, which was also his first in Canada. It was also certified platinum in both Canada by Music Canada and the United States by RIAA.

2016–2018: "Silence", "Wolves", "Friends", and Joytime II

By May 2016, although his identity was unknown, Marshmello was frequently suggested to be Comstock. On June 19, 2016, Comstock performed at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. In a gimmick attempted by Comstock and Dutch DJ Tiësto, the latter wore the same clothes as the former on stage and took off his helmet presenting himself as Marshmello. It was later regarded as a publicity stunt by fans and the media due to their conflicting tour dates and a photo of "the two helmeted DJs hanging out together pre-show".
Comstock announced the Ritual Tour on Twitter, in which he performed in several countries including the United States, China, South Korea, India and Paraguay from late September until early January of the following year. The tour was accompanied with his debut on dubstep musician Skrillex's Owsla label, with a single titled "Ritual×Ritual27 October 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Ritual3:57", in which vocalist Wrabel was featured. An official music video for the song was published to YouTube. Soon after, Comstock launched his own record label named Joytime Collective and recruited fellow DJ and producer Slushii as the first signee on its roster.

Comstock collaborated with Ookay to release the single "Chasing Colors×Chasing Colors24 February 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Chasing Colors3:15", featuring vocals by American singer Noah Cyrus. He later collaborated with Slushii to release the single "Twinbow×Twinbow17 March 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Twinbow2:46", a song previously only known to the public as a snippet. During the mid-year, his third single of the year titled "Moving On×Moving On5 May 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Moving On2:59" was released, having debuted two years before receiving the official release. A music video for the song was also published, having received 302 million views as of March 2026. Months later, Comstock announced upcoming collaborations with American hip hop recording artist Blackbear and Demi Lovato. The collaborations, however, were never released officially as of December 2018. Following that, Comstock released "Love U×Love U4 August 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love U3:28" as a single for free as appreciation to his fans. The song was described by Billboard as a "gritty dance-pop single with a pounding bass line and helium-breathed vocals."
His next single, announced on Twitter, was a collaboration with American R&B singer Khalid titled "Silence×Silence10 August 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Silence3:00", which was released on August 11, 2017, via RCA Records. The song appeared on the Top 200 in over 28 countries. It topped the Dance charts in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and charted in the Top 10 of more than fifteen countries such as Germany, Sweden and Norway. It also appeared on the year-end charts of Hungary, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Additionally, it was certified multi-platinum in many countries. Among them were platinum by BPI (United Kingdom) and BM (Germany), double platinum by BEA (Belgium), RMNZ (New Zealand) and RIAA (United States), triple platinum by MC (Canada), a quadruple platinum by SRIA (Sweden) and a quintuple platinum by ARIA (Australia).
Later in the year, he released his collaboration with American singer Selena Gomez, the single "Wolves" which became a commercial success, having reached the top 10 in more than 20 countries. It topped the charts in Latvia, Poland and Hungary, and the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. It was also his highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 song in 2017, having peaked in the Top 50 of over 50 countries and sold over 2.5 million copies of certified units. The song was certified gold in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Denmark, and multiple-platinum in Brazil, Sweden, Canada, and Australia while receiving single-platinum certification in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and New Zealand.
Succeeding "Wolves", the single "You & Me×You & Me20 October 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You & Me3:10" was released through Joytime Collective, accompanied by an animated music video which was produced and directed by Toon53. The video was published three weeks after the song's release on his YouTube channel, receiving over 131 million views as of March 2026.
In November, Forbes published an article confirming Comstock to be Marshmello, with regards to existing proofs such as his real name being revealed in music royalty manager BMI's database and that Marshmello's company was registered in August 2015 under Comstock in Delaware. Furthermore, it was also disclosed to Forbes by industry insiders that the two are the same person. Previously known pieces of evidence such as the ASCAP credit, their physical and musical similarities, and Skrillex addressing Marshmello as "Chris" were taken into account of confirming Marshmello's identity.

In January 2018, Comstock released a posthumous collaboration with rapper Lil Peep, titled "Spotlight×Spotlight12 January 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Spotlight2:58". He decided to release the single only after speaking to Peep's mother, who had requested her son's unpublished musical work to be released as much as possible. A month later, Comstock worked with frequent collaborator Slushii for the song "There ×2", which was released as a single.
He released a collaboration with British singer Anne-Marie named "Friends×FRIENDS9 February 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1FRIENDS3:23", as the fifth single from Anne-Marie's debut studio album, Speak Your Mind. The song became his highest-charting song on the Hot 100 until October 2018, peaking at number eleven. It also received a single-platinum certification in Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States alongside receiving an Australian double-platinum and a Canadian triple-platinum certification.
Among other singles released after his work with Anne-Marie were a song with rapper Logic titled "Everyday×Everyday2 March 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Everyday3:25", which was released as the third single from his seventh mixtape, Bobby Tarantino II, "Fly" and "You Can Cry×You Can Cry4 May 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You Can Cry3:15", a collaborative single with rapper Juicy J and British soul singer James Arthur. On June 19, Comstock announced on Twitter his second studio album titled Joytime II×Joytime II22 June 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Stars4:062Together4:063Rooftops2:574Check This Out3:395Flashbacks2:456Tell Me2:387Paralyzed3:398Power3:429Imagine3:51, which would be musically similar to its predecessor. The album was released on June 22, 2018. Rolling Stone described it as monotonous and Comstock's decision to not feature guests as disappointing, stating "every song sounds like it has already been pre-leased for use by energy-drink companies or extreme-sports squads." The album was given a 'one-and-a-half star' rating by the magazine, while Pitchfork gave the album a 4.2 out of 10 rating. Two singles were released from the album in June, titled "Tell Me×Tell Me8 June 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tell Me2:38" and "Check This Out×Check This Out15 June 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Check This Out3:40", the latter of which receiving an official music video published several months later.

2018–2023: "Happier", Joytime III and Shockwave

In August 2018, Comstock collaborated with British band Bastille to release a single titled "Happier×Happier17 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Happier3:34" in August. It became his highest-charting song in Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while becoming his third number-one song on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart, where it spent a record 69 weeks at the top. The song was certified gold in Belgium, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, platinum in New Zealand and the United States, and double-platinum in Australia and Canada. His subsequent singles, collaborations with Egyptian singer-songwriter Amr Diab titled "Bayen Habeit×Bayen Habeit28 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Bayen Habeit2:19" and American rapper and producer Roddy Ricch titled "Project Dreams×Project Dreams7 December 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Project Dreams2:47", were released in December.
In January 2019, Comstock collaborated with the free-to-play massively multiplayer online game Fortnite Battle Royale to hold an in-game virtual concert, along with releasing merchandise based on the game. On February 2 and 3, the concert was held online, amassing over 10 million players on the first day. During the first quarter of 2019 he released various collaboration. The first, in February, was a collaboration with dubstep producer Svdden Death titled "Sell Out×Sell Out8 February 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1Sell Out3:12". The second was with Scottish band Chvrches, called "Here with Me×Here With Me8 March 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Here With Me2:36". Finally, in April, he released Roll the Dice, an extended play with California rappers SOB X RBE. It contains three songs: "Roll the Dice×Roll The Dice12 April 2019 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Roll the Dice2:272Don't Save Me3:073First Place3:03", "Don't Save Me" and "First Place".
In June 2019, he released "Rescue Me×Rescue Me14 June 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Rescue Me3:57", a collaboration with American rock band A Day to Remember as the first single from his third album, Joytime III×Joytime III3 July 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Down2:332Run It Up2:233Put Yo Hands Up3:164Let’s Get Down2:435Sad Songs3:156Set Me Free3:037Room to Fall3:018Angklung Life3:099Earthquake2:2810Falling to Pieces2:4611Here We Go Again3:0612Rescue Me3:5713Proud3:11. On November 13, Comstock collaborated with Blackbear and Yungblud to release "Tongue Tied×Tongue Tied13 November 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tongue Tied3:06".
On May 1, 2020, Comstock then collaborated with Halsey to release "Be Kind". In July 2020, Comstock appeared on rapper Juice WRLD's posthumous album Legends Never Die, on the tracks "Come & Go×Come & Go9 July 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Come & Go3:25" and "Hate the Other Side", which reached numbers two and ten on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, with the former matching "Happier" as his highest-charting song.

In May 2021, Comstock headlined the opening ceremony of the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final.
On June 11, 2021, Comstock released his fourth studio album, Shockwave×Shockwave11 June 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fairytale2:352Supernovacane2:593Jiggle It2:504Back It Up2:405Vibr82:596Bad Bitches2:327Back In Time2:408Hitta2:509House Party3:2510Candy Kid2:0911Pushin Stacks3:3412Shockwave3:01. It was independently released by the producer's own Joytime Collective label. On November 23, 2021, the album was announced as a nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, earning Comstock his first Grammy nomination.
In 2022, Comstock collaborated with Coca-Cola to create a limited edition flavour under their Coca-Cola Creations brand; the strawberry and watermelon-flavoured drink was packaged in cans paying homage to "Marshmello's signature aesthetic."

2023–present: Sugar Papi, Underbrook, and upcoming projects

On November 3, 2023, Comstock released his fifth album and debut Latin album Sugar Papi×Sugar Papi3 November 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Tempo1:482Tusi2:393El merengue3:104Como yo :(2:225Alcohol2:526Esta vida3:297Super High2:308Say Woah!2:189Dónde están que no los veo3:3410Sou musa do verão3:0711HARLEY QUINN2:23, featuring the singles "Tempo×Tempo17 August 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tempo1:48", "Esta Vida×Esta vida13 April 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Esta vida3:29", "El Merengue×El merengue3 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1El merengue3:09", "Como Yo :(×Como Yo :(22 June 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Como Yo :(2:22", and "Alcohol×Alcohol1 November 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Alcohol2:52".
On January 7, 2025, Comstock announced the launch of a band named Underbrook, with whom he performs under his real name. Underbrook is a pop-punk band with Comstock as its lead vocalist.
On January 17, 2025 Republic Records released the single "Slow Motion×Slow Motion17 January 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Slow Motion2:32", the second collaboration between Comstock and the Jonas Brothers. Subsequently, it was announced in March that Comstock would be joining the Jonas Brothers as a support act for 10 shows of their upcoming JONAS20 - Living the Dream tour.
On August 8, 2025, Comstock released the single "Holy Water×Holy Water8 August 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Holy Water2:30" featuring Jelly Roll.

Artistry

Comstock cites Dillon Francis and Skrillex as his two biggest influences in his music career. Dotcom is a derivative of his last name "Comstock" and Comstock chose it, as his first stage name, because "kids in school and throughout [his] life would [jokingly call him] Chris Dotcomstock or Chris Dotcom".
Marshmello wears a custom white helmet, resembling a marshmallow, for public appearances and in his music videos. His identity was initially unknown, but was confirmed by Forbes to be Comstock in April 2017 using royalty databases. Fans also noted events such as Skrillex's referring of Marshmello as "Chris" in an interview, the managerial connection of Shalizi, and the similar tattoos and birthday. On July 2, 2019, Marshmello released a documentary with More Than Music (Artist Spotlight Series) on YouTube. In the documentary, Shalizi describes the process and effort into creating the Marshmello brand.
His stage name, an alternative spelling of "marshmallow", and his marshmallow mascot head were both inspired by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, who also uses an alternate spelling for his stage name and performs wearing a "dead mouse" mascot head. Acknowledgement of Deadmau5's contribution to Marshmello's persona is evident in the music video for "Alone×Alone13 May 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1Alone4:33".
As a YouTuber, Marshmello has published gaming and cooking videos for his series "Gaming with Marshmello" and "Cooking with Marshmello". In an episode of the latter, American singer Paula Abdul was featured as a guest. In the cooking series, Marshmello was shown presenting his methods of cooking, for foods such as meals, snacks and desserts. Appearing as a non-speaker, he would use body language to express himself in the videos.

Philanthropy

Marshmello, together with Fortnite player Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, have won prize money of $1 million from Epic Games's E3 Celebrity Pro Am charity tournament, half of which was donated to KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), an organization providing legal counsel to refugees and immigrant children. With the single "Happier×Happier17 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Happier3:34" and its pet-dog-themed video, he supported the #FindYourFido campaign by American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in October 2018, also recognized as "Adopt a Shelter Dog" month.
According to accounting documents viewed by Business Insider, Comstock, among several other musicians, was found to have allegedly misused funds from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), a COVID-19 relief fund "for struggling independent venues and arts groups during the pandemic." Comstock received a $9.9 million grant which was entirely pocketed, citing his previous tour earnings from 2019. Comstock paid himself more than any other musician who received grant money.