Tiësto

Biography

Tijs Michiel Verwest (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛis miˈxil vərˈʋɛst]; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( tee-EST-oh, Dutch: [ˈtɕɛstoː]), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by Mix magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was voted by DJ Mag readers as the "best DJ of the last 20 years". He is also regarded as the "Godfather of EDM" by many sources.
In 1997, Tiësto founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series. Tiësto met producer Dennis Waakop Reijers in 1998; the two have worked together extensively since then.
From 1998 to 2000, Tiësto collaborated with Ferry Corsten under the name Gouryella. His 2000 remix of Delerium's "Silence" featuring Sarah McLachlan exposed him to more mainstream audiences. In 2001, he released his first solo album, In My Memory×In My Memory6 April 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 4 discsDisc 1A1Magik Journey (album)11:03A2Magik Journey (alternative)9:58Disc 2B1Dallas 4 PM6:44B2In My Memory6:06Disc 3C1Obsession9:06C2Flight 6439:03Disc 4D1Lethal Industry6:47D2Suburban Train10:22, which gave him several major hits that launched his career. He was voted World No.‍1 DJ by DJ Magazine in its annual Top 100 DJs poll consecutively for three years from 2002 to 2004.
Just after releasing his second studio album, Just Be×Just Be20 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Forever Today11:592Love Comes Again3:153Traffic2:564Sweet Misery7:335Nyana6:446UR5:597Walking on Clouds7:278A Tear in the Open9:229Just Be8:4410Adagio for Strings7:25, he performed live at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympics. In April 2007, Tiësto launched his radio show Tiësto's Club Life on Radio 538 in the Netherlands and released his third studio album, Elements of Life×Elements of Life6 April 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Ten Seconds Before Sunrise7:312Everything7:013Do You Feel Me6:034Carpe Noctum7:035Driving to Heaven4:426Sweet Things5:427Bright Morningstar8:198Break My Fall7:149In the Dark4:3610Dance4Life5:2111Elements of Life8:2512He's a Pirate (Tiësto remix)7:00Disc 21Everything (acoustic version)3:352Dance4Life (Fonzerelli remix)7:483Lethal Industry (Richard Durand remix)8:42. The album reached number one on the Belgian album chart as well on Billboard Top Electronic Albums in the U.S. and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008. Tiësto released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope×Kaleidoscope2 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Kaleidoscope7:362Escape Me4:183You Are My Diamond4:114I Will Be Here3:265I Am Strong5:396Here on Earth4:567Always Near1:348It's Not the Things You Say3:159Fresh Fruit5:2410Century4:4211Feel It in My Bones4:5212Who Wants to Be Alone4:3613LA Ride4:1314Bend It Like You Don't Care3:2415Knock You Out5:0716Louder Than Boom4:1017Surrounded by Light2:40 in October 2009, followed by A Town Called Paradise×A Town Called Paradise13 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Red Lights4:232Footprints4:173Light Years Away3:434A Town Called Paradise4:095Written in Reverse4:286Echoes4:597Last Train4:488Wasted3:109Let's Go3:2210The Feeling4:4511Shimmer3:3212Rocky4:2013Close to Me4:2414Set Yourself Free4:39 in June 2014. He won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remixed version of John Legend's hit "All of Me" at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.

Early life

Tijs Michiel Verwest was born in Breda, North Brabant, on 17 January 1969. He discovered his passion for music at the age of 12. He used to listen to radioshows like the Ferry Maat Soulshow and In The Mix from Ben Liebrand. At age fourteen, he intensified his commitment to the art, and began DJing professionally at school parties. Between 1985 and 1994, Tiësto began a residency at several clubs in the Netherlands at the behest of his manager. At the Spock, a small club in Breda, he fine-tuned his own live style by performing from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on weekends. In the beginning of his career as a DJ he mostly played new beat and acid house.

1994–2000: Early projects and success

In 1994, he began releasing material on Noculan Records' sub-labels Chemo and Coolman. During these years, he produced hardcore and gabber tracks under such aliases as Da Joker and DJ Limited. Tiësto was later discovered by the general manager of Rotterdam-based Basic Beat Recordings.

In late 1994, Tiësto signed to Basic Beat where he met Arny Bink, Tiësto released records on the sub-label Trashcan, founded by Arny, and later created the Guardian Angel sub-label with Arny in which they introduced the popular Forbidden Paradise series. From 1995 to 1996 he released four extended plays on Bonzai Jumps and XTC, sub-labels of Lightning Records. In 1997, he joined his friend Yves Vandichel on his sub-label, DJ Yves, a division of the now defunct Human Resource label XSV Music. In the fall of 1997, Bink and Tiësto decided to leave Basic Beat and create their own parent label, Black Hole Recordings, Trashcan was discontinued and Guardian Angel continued releasing music until 2002. Through Black Hole, Tiësto released the Magik series and also created two major sub-labels; SongBird and In Trance We Trust. From 1998 to 1999, he released music on Planetary Consciousness where he met A&R Hardy Heller and invited him to release some records on Black Hole.
In 1998, Tiësto joined forces with fellow Dutch deejay Ferry Corsten to create the trance-based duo of Gouryella. The first Gouryella track, also called "Gouryella", was released in May 1999 and became a huge hit, scoring various chart positions around the world, including a top-15 position in the UK Singles Chart. Tiësto showcased this track in Magik Three: Far from Earth as well as in his set at the first ID&T Innercity party (Live at Innercity: Amsterdam RAI), his first major breakthrough. The next single, entitled "Walhalla", also made it on the charts worldwide, peaking at No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart. Released via Ferry's Tsunami label, both singles went on to be certified Gold on record sales. During these years, Tiësto also collaborated with Benno de Goeij of Rank 1 under the name Kamaya Painters. In November 1999, he released the first installment of the In Search of Sunrise series. Since then, he performed monthly as a resident at Gatecrasher in Sheffield, and played a 12-hour set, his longest, in Amsterdam. On 31 December 1999, he performed at Trance Energy 2000, a special party held by ID&T for the turn of the millennium.
Together with Armin van Buuren, Tiësto created two projects in 2000; Alibi – "Eternity", which was released on Armind, and Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?", on Black Hole. After the release of "Tenshi" in September 2000, Tiësto decided to concentrate on his solo work and left Ferry Corsten to take on the Gouryella project solely as his own. Through his first compilations and the "In Trance We Trust" series, he ended up introducing Armin van Buuren and Johan Gielen to the mainstream. Summerbreeze marked Tiësto's U.S. debut, a mix album that showcased his remix of Delerium's "Silence", which spent four weeks in the UK's Top Ten chart and reached number three in the Billboard dance chart. In Search of Sunrise 2 was released in November 2000.

2001–2003: In My Memory

In 2001, Tiësto created a new sub-label, Magik Muzik, and released his first solo album, In My Memory×In My Memory6 April 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 4 discsDisc 1A1Magik Journey (album)11:03A2Magik Journey (alternative)9:58Disc 2B1Dallas 4 PM6:44B2In My Memory6:06Disc 3C1Obsession9:06C2Flight 6439:03Disc 4D1Lethal Industry6:47D2Suburban Train10:22, which contained 5 major hits; "Lethal Industry×Lethal Industry29 March 2002 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Lethal Industry (live edit)2:532Lethal Industry (radio edit)2:453Lethal Industry (original)6:484Lethal Industry (Mauro Picotto remix)7:495Lethal Industry (Svenson & Gielen remix)7:066Lethal Industry (Fred Numf vs. Etienne Overdijk remix)7:39", which was actually produced in 1999 and had only 3 copies released at that time, the track was officially released in 2001 which was remixed by Richard Durand in 2006 along with "Flight 643×Flight 64330 April 2001 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAFlight 643 (original)9:06BFlight 643 (Oliver Klein remix)9:28" which was another leading single that was later adapted with vocals by Suzanne Palmer and released as "643 (Love's on Fire)". Other tracks were "Obsession×Obsession18 November 2002 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Obsession (original mix)6:592Obsession (Filterheadz remix)6:403Obsession (Frank Biazzi remix)6:02" in which Tiësto worked alongside Junkie XL, the instrumental tracks "Dallas 4PM" and "Suburban Train" with "Urban Train×Urban Train17 September 2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Urban Train (vocal edit)3:012Suburban Train (original mix)9:163Suburban Train (Way Out West remix)7:40" as its vocal version. The last singles to be released were "In My Memory" which is the title track for the album as it only received high ratings in the United States and the opening track "Magik Journey" which opened Tiësto in Concert (2003). On 2 February 2002, Tiësto played nine consecutive hours during the second edition of the Dutch Dimension festival.

On 27 February, Tiësto was awarded a Zilveren ('Silver') Harp music award. The same year he also received a Lucky Strike Dance Award in the category Best DJ Trance/Progressive. In August he became part of Moby's Area2 Tour. For eighteen days he travelled through the United States with artists such as Moby himself, but also David Bowie and Busta Rhymes. In January 2003, Tiësto received the annual Dutch Popprijs ('Pop Award') during the Noorderslag festival. After touring with Moby, Tiësto remixed two songs from him, "We Are All Made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" in the same year, having "We Are All Made of Stars" reach No. 13 in the Hot Dance Club Play. In 2002 he released his first In Search of Sunrise mix to feature a place on its name, In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama. On 28 March 2003; Tiësto, Dieselboy, Bad Boy Bill, and Noel Sanger joined the PlayStation 2 Dual Play tour. Tiësto and Noel's appearance began on 13 April and ended on 6 June.
His fame continued to increase for then known he has in the early 2000s, following his six-hour "Tiësto Solo" sets which he performed without other DJs or opening acts. This idea, of one DJ playing alone to a large crowd was new. Tiësto was the first DJ to hold a solo concert in a stadium; on 10 May 2003, he performed for 25,000 people in Arnhem's GelreDome, later called Tiësto in Concert. He repeated the same type of concert the following year during two consecutive nights in late October. In addition to holding these two concerts for 35,000 of his fans, he held another concert for a crowd of 20,000 in Hasselt, Belgium the following week. DVDs of both his 10 May 2003 and 30 October 2004 concerts have been released, having the other DVD titled Tiësto in Concert 2. The DVDs show the journey from the first idea to the main event, featuring live performances by Andain, Dinand Woesthoff, and Jan Johnston. The event includes live music and dancers performing at different times throughout the set.

2004–2006: Just Be and appointment to the Order of Orange-Nassau

In 2004, he released his second artist album Just Be×Just Be20 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Forever Today11:592Love Comes Again3:153Traffic2:564Sweet Misery7:335Nyana6:446UR5:597Walking on Clouds7:278A Tear in the Open9:229Just Be8:4410Adagio for Strings7:25, which featured his first single "Traffic×Traffic22 September 2003 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Traffic (radio edit)2:572Traffic (original mix)6:593Traffic (Max Walder remix)7:33" which is the first non-vocal track to reach number one spot in the Dutch national charts for 23 years.
The track "Sweet Misery" was originally written for Evanescence but it did not meet the deadline for the release of their album. In support to his Just Be album, he played at Breda, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Amsterdam; these stops were later named Just Be: Train Tour. On 20 May 2004, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) asked Tiësto to perform at the Olympic Games, making him the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, where he played for 90 minutes.

Tiësto flew to Athens in January 2004 to have a meeting with the ATHOC. His Tiësto in Concert DVD caught their attention, after which he was asked to write more tracks based on his opening tune "Adagio for Strings×Adagio for Strings2 November 2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Adagio for Strings (radio edit)3:262Adagio for Strings (original mix)9:363Adagio for Strings (Fred Baker remix)7:114Adagio for Strings (Danjo & Styles remix)11:325Adagio for Strings (Phynn remix)8:26" which would fit in with the Olympic spirit and combine the classical with the modern age. The first rehearsal was on 7 August, for an empty stadium; the second rehearsal was on 8 August, with 35,000 volunteers. The last rehearsal included almost 60,000 people in the stadium which was on 10 August.
During the course of his performance at the Olympics, the Dutch athletes started dancing in front of the DJ booth and had to be moved on by officials. The performance included new tracks produced especially for the Opening Ceremony and songs that were created to complement the spirit and theme of the ceremony. A condensed studio-recorded album of the songs played on the Olympic set was later released, including new songs specially composed for the occasion, entitled Parade of the Athletes in October 2004. In the liner notes, he noted the IOC requested that the music not contain any lyrics as they could be inadvertently misinterpreted. In late 2004, he began his touring across Latin America, with his release of In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama in which he gained influence from the sun and sand in summer 2002. The tour continued in 2005, and Tiësto performed live in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia. Following the tours, In Search of Sunrise 4: Latin America was released in 2005, featuring a second CD for the first time in the In Search of Sunrise series.
In 2005, his Perfect Remixes Vol. 3 compilation was released through Warlock Records, containing ten tracks which were created during the beginning of his career, between those is Junkie XL, Mauro Picotto and The Roc Project. On 20 August 2005, Verwest took Tiësto in Concert to the US when he played to 16,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena with Cirque du Soleil dancers.
For the second year in a row he performed live at a New Year's Eve/New Year's concert in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena to a sell-out crowd. His four-city U.S. tour was postponed due to the hurricane damage in New Orleans and Miami. BPM magazine has an annual poll in the US which is unveiled in the WMC, in 2005 Tiësto took the No. 1 spot. The influences of Los Angeles remained with him and would later influence his In Search of Sunrise compilation.
A wax sculpture of Tiësto was placed behind a turntable at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam where visitors can mix Tiësto's music together. Stops were made in Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Poland and South Africa. The United States tour that was part of Tiësto in Concert was dwarfed by his appearance at Sensation White in 2006 where he performed to over 45,000 people in Amsterdam. The compilation was launched in the Winter Music Conference in Miami Beach to support his release, Tiësto went on his In Search of Sunrise 5 Asia Tour for more than three weeks. In September 2006, Tiësto was admitted to hospital after experiencing pain in his chest. He was diagnosed with pericarditis and subsequently had to cancel a number of shows. With the diagnosis, he was invited to support Dance4Life to help teens who are not aware of the risks of HIV/AIDS.

2007–2008: Elements of Life

On 6 April 2007, Tiësto began presenting a new weekly two-hour radio show called Tiësto's Club Life on Dutch radio station Radio 538. Ten days later, Tiësto released his third studio album Elements of Life×Elements of Life6 April 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Ten Seconds Before Sunrise7:312Everything7:013Do You Feel Me6:034Carpe Noctum7:035Driving to Heaven4:426Sweet Things5:427Bright Morningstar8:198Break My Fall7:149In the Dark4:3610Dance4Life5:2111Elements of Life8:2512He's a Pirate (Tiësto remix)7:00Disc 21Everything (acoustic version)3:352Dance4Life (Fonzerelli remix)7:483Lethal Industry (Richard Durand remix)8:42. The album moved 73,000 units in its April release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
During the production of the album Tiësto in several cases sent a demo with the music to certain artists, and they replied back with the lyrics and vocals and other duration times. In the case of Christian Burns from BBMak, Tiësto met him through MySpace and contacted him and the production of the single "In the Dark×In the DarkMarch 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1In the Dark (radio edit)3:542In the Dark (Tiësto’s Trance mix)8:253In the Dark (Dirty South remix)7:484In the Dark (Carl B. remix)8:05". The album consists of rock, trance and experimental music, which shows the style Tiësto has grown throughout the years since his previous albums which contained lyrics, In My Memory×In My Memory6 April 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 4 discsDisc 1A1Magik Journey (album)11:03A2Magik Journey (alternative)9:58Disc 2B1Dallas 4 PM6:44B2In My Memory6:06Disc 3C1Obsession9:06C2Flight 6439:03Disc 4D1Lethal Industry6:47D2Suburban Train10:22 and Just Be×Just Be20 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Forever Today11:592Love Comes Again3:153Traffic2:564Sweet Misery7:335Nyana6:446UR5:597Walking on Clouds7:278A Tear in the Open9:229Just Be8:4410Adagio for Strings7:25. Producer Brian Transeau collaborated with Tiësto in three tracks, he composed "Bright Morningstar" and "Sweet Things×Sweet Things10 December 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Sweet Things (original mix)5:432Sweet Things (Tom Cloud remix)8:25", and performed the vocals in the single "Break My Fall×Break My FallJuly 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Break My Fall (radio edit)3:252Break My Fall (Jerry Ropero vs. NBG Afterhours mix)8:373Break My Fall (Richard Durand remix)7:394Break My Fall (Airbase remix)8:255Break My Fall (Adam Kay, Pettigrew & Soha remix)7:54". Together, they produced more tracks which were not released in the album, Tiësto has mentioned they would work again during the coming summer.

In December 2007 it was announced that the album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category "Best Electronic/Dance Album." The album also received gold certifications in Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, and Romania. In support of the album, he embarked on the worldwide Elements of Life World Tour, and released the Copenhagen: Elements of Life World Tour DVD in 2008.
Tiësto announced his residence at Privilege. He played sets in Ibiza every Monday, from 7 July to 22 September in the style of his In Search of Sunrise series. In 2007, he had released In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza which was inspired by the island.
On 28 April, he released Elements of Life: Remixed, a recompilation of the Elements of Life album with all remixed versions. In mid-2008, Tiësto announced his In Search of Sunrise: Summer Tour 2008, which was presented by Armani Exchange in May in support of his In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia compilation and the previously released In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza×In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza7 September 2007 · Album · Compilation,DJ-mixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11La Hacienda2:272Contact3:283Don't Belong5:264Vice (Sydenham dub)6:115Madras4:566Summerfish (Scandall Sunset on Ibiza mix)5:407Tell Me4:278Searching for Truth5:409The Sun'll Shine (Sunrise mix)6:5410See the Difference Inside (Inside mix)5:2611Somewhere Inside of Me8:0012High Glow7:0113Lonely5:0314Hide and Seek (Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise remix)7:27Disc 21A New Dawn2:372What You Need (NC's In Love With Prog mix)5:563Trozitos De Navidad (Primavera remix)4:584Don't Speak3:385Arguru5:206Falling7:457Fall to Pieces6:328Imagination (Tiësto remix)6:179Mercury Room7:0910Chase My Rabbit6:1711Reflect6:3112Different Day, Different Light4:1313Dancing Water7:5714Breathing1:37.

2009–2012: Kaleidoscope and Kiss from the Past

On 6 October 2009, he released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope×Kaleidoscope2 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Kaleidoscope7:362Escape Me4:183You Are My Diamond4:114I Will Be Here3:265I Am Strong5:396Here on Earth4:567Always Near1:348It's Not the Things You Say3:159Fresh Fruit5:2410Century4:4211Feel It in My Bones4:5212Who Wants to Be Alone4:3613LA Ride4:1314Bend It Like You Don't Care3:2415Knock You Out5:0716Louder Than Boom4:1017Surrounded by Light2:40, which featured artists such as Priscilla Ahn, Calvin Harris, Tegan & Sara and Nelly Furtado. Unlike his earlier albums, which were all mostly trance, Kaleidoscope explores other electronic genres, and is considered Tiesto's most experimental album. The first single "I Will Be Here×I Will Be Here21 July 2009 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1I Will Be Here (radio edit)3:252I Will Be Here (Tiësto remix)7:123I Will Be Here (Benassi remix)6:024I Will Be Here (Tiësto Wolfgang Gartner remix edit)3:58" featuring Sneaky Sound System being released in July 2009. It reached number three on the much acclaimed Driscoll 5, and lasted there for 24 weeks in the beginning of 2012. In its first week, the album reached the Top 10 chart on iTunes. To release the album he set up a new record label called Musical Freedom after parting ways with Black Hole Recordings. Tiësto felt that his music was evolving in a new direction and his focus as an artist was moving away from what Black Hole was set up to support. His new tour, sharing the name of his new album, called Kaleidoscope World Tour commenced in late September.
On 16 March 2010, he released a greatest hits album, Magikal Journey: The Hits Collection 1998–2008, a two disc album focusing on his most famous songs and remixes of his songs. On 7 April, he announced that he would start a new compilation series called A New Dawn with his own label Musical Freedom. In his interview Tiësto furthermore confirmed that he would no longer have any more involvement with Black Hole Recordings. On 31 August, Kaleidoscope: Remixed was released, a remix album of his album Kaleidoscope.
Also in 2009 and 2010, Tiësto contributed songs to both the DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 video games and is a playable character in the second game. He also produced a trance-flavored song for Memphis rap duo Three 6 Mafia's album called "Feel It", which features Sean Kingston and Flo Rida.

On 4 April 2011, his mix compilation Club Life: Volume One Las Vegas was released. On 13 June, his final trance studio album, Kiss from the Past, was released under his alias Allure, and featured Christian Burns, JES, and Emma Hewitt.
In March 2012, satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM launched Tiësto's Club Life Radio, one of five dance/electronic stations on the platform. Programming was "curated by Tiësto himself". The station ran until 2017.

2013–2018: Club Life and A Town Called Paradise

Club Life: Volume Three Stockholm was released worldwide physically on 25 June 2013 and it hit No. 16 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. He followed up his third "Club Life" installment with the 2014 effort, A Town Called Paradise. The album featured an assortment of guest stars and was preceded by two singles, "Red Lights×Red Lights17 December 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Red Lights4:23" and "Wasted×Wasted22 April 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wasted3:08" – yielding his first two gold singles in the U.S. A medley from the album also soundtracks a presentation at the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas, a first for a dance music artist.
In a 2014 interview with DJ Magazine, Tiësto revealed why he left trance music. When asked whether his decision to leave the genre was influential to his popularity in the United States, the Dutch producer said: "Maybe, it's hard to say. I think I'd still be the 'Tiesto trance guy' but the difference is you're not really being relevant. Some of the old trance guys still have their following but it doesn't feel like anybody really cares – and that's the biggest difference. It's nice to be in touch with the new kids who are coming up – the 16 and 18-year olds who are producing house music see me as kind of a godfather, and it's really cool to be in touch with them. I think if I'd still been a trance DJ, they'd have been so disconnected with that sound that I wouldn't be much inspiration for them, and vice versa."
In 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, he won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remixed version of John Legend's hit "All of Me". The same year his fourth installment of the Club Life compilation series, titled Club Life: Volume Four New York City, was released through Musical Freedom. In April 2016, he launched a deep house label, AFTR:HRS, to promote deep house music. He appeared in the 2016 Grammy-nominated documentary film about American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, titled I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
On 14 January 2017, Tiësto was awarded the key to the city of Las Vegas. The day is now known as "Tiësto Day" in Clark County, Nevada. He was featured in the 2017 documentary starring Carl Cox and Martin Garrix, titled What We Started.
On 6 October 2017, the fifth installment of the Club Life series entitled Club Life, Vol. 5 – China was published. The compilation album features tracks by John Christian, SWACQ, Tiësto and Z.Tao, and collaborations between Tiësto and Aloe Blacc, John Christian, Dzeko, Diplo, KSHMR, Talay Riley, Sevenn, Stargate, SWACQ and Vassy.
In March 2018, Billboard named Tiësto as number eight on their 2018 ranking of dance musicians titled Billboard Dance 100.
On 30 March 2018, Tiësto released his debut EP titled I Like It Loud, featuring four songs that are collaborations with artists such as John Christian, Mesto, Matisse & Sadko and MOTi.

2018–2020: The London Sessions

On 2 July 2018, Tiësto released with Dzeko, Post Malone and Preme a track titled "Jackie Chan".
On 31 May 2019, Tiësto released with Rita Ora and Jonas Blue a track called "Ritual×Ritual2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Ritual (club mix)4:112Ritual (Benny Benassi & BB Team remix radio edit)3:053Ritual (Benny Benassi & BB Team remix extended)4:104Ritual (David Puentez remix)2:595Ritual (David Puentez extended remix)3:546Ritual (Jonas Aden remix)2:507Ritual (Jonas Aden extended remix)3:528Ritual (MOSKA radio edit)3:019Ritual (MOSKA remix)4:4110Ritual (SWACQ remix radio edit)2:5211Ritual (SWACOQ remix)3:4012Ritual (TCTS radio edit)4:1313Ritual (TCTS main mix)5:29".
On 14 June 2019, Tiësto released his remix of Avicii's posthumous "Tough Love".
On 7 May 2020, Tiësto announced a new album, The London Sessions×The London Sessions15 May 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1God Is a Dancer2:482Nothing Really Matters2:373Ride3:234Ritual3:185Jackie Chan3:356Lifestyle2:417On My California3:068BLUE2:479Round & Round3:1610Lose You2:2811Over You2:2412What’s It Gonna Be2:4113Insomnia7:34, on Twitter; it was released on 15 May 2020. The album features the previously released singles "Jackie Chan", "Ritual", "God Is a Dancer×God Is a Dancer20 September 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1God Is a Dancer2:48", "Blue" and "Nothing Really Matters×Nothing Really Matters17 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nothing Really Matters2:37".

2020–present: Drive and Prismatic

On 25 September 2020, Tiësto released the song "The Business×The Business16 September 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Business2:44". On 21 January 2021, Tiësto released a remix version of the song titled "The Business, Pt. II×The Business, Pt. II21 January 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Business, Pt. II2:44" featuring American rapper Ty Dolla Sign.
On 28 May 2021, Tiësto released his remix of Ben Platt's "Imagine." Later that year, he released "Don't Be Shy" with Karol G on 12 August, "The Motto" with Ava Max on 4 November, Savage with Deorro and a remix of No Mienten and You got the Love by Becky Hill.
On 30 June 2022, Tiësto released "Hot In It" with English singer Charli XCX. The track was previously teased by Charli XCX and Tiësto multiple times on TikTok. On 7 October 2022, Tiësto released a remake of Black Eyed Peas song "Pump It" called "Pump It Louder". On 3 November 2022, Tiësto released "10:35" with Tate McRae.
On 6 January 2023, Tiësto released "Lay Low×Lay Low6 January 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1Lay Low2:33". On 9 March 2023, Tiësto officially announced his new studio album called Drive×Drive21 April 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1All Nighter2:152The Motto2:45310:352:524The Business2:445Chills (LA Hills)3:046Hot in It2:107Pump It Louder2:398Learn 2 Love2:139Don’t Be Shy2:2010I’d Bet3:2411Back Around2:5512Yesterday2:20, along with the release of his single "All Nighter×All Nighter9 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All Nighter2:14". The album was released on 21 April 2023.
On 11 February 2024, Tiësto was scheduled to perform at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas both before and during the game, which would have made him the first DJ to perform throughout the Super Bowl. However, he canceled his performance due to a family emergency and was replaced by Kaskade.
In January 2025, Tiësto released the extended play Prismatic: Pack One, which featured collaborations with Oaks, Jordan Shaw, and Alex Mills.
In March 2025, it was announced that Tiësto would premier a new "In Search of Sunrise×In Search of Sunrise19 July 1999 · Album · Compilation,DJ-mixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1The Reachers of Civilisation5:312Anomaly: Calling Your Name (Ferry Corsten remix)4:053Honey (Chicane club mix)6:434Time Gate (original mix)3:215Mercury and Solace (BT 12″ Mastermix)6:506Dark Blue5:497I Trance You (Pappa & Gilbey mix)5:078Going Up4:049Sun Is Shining (Mash Up Matt remix)5:2310Walhalla3:3111Far From Over3:4312I Believe (DJ Tandu remix)7:3913Remember (To the Millenium) (Lange remix)5:3514Sparkles (Magikal remake)4:20" set at EDC Las Vegas 2025. In April, the 2025 Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix promoted an entertainment lineup to include Tiësto, Pitbull, Kygo and Kaskade.
On 19 December 2025, Tiesto delivered a three and a half hour concert at the Giza Pyramid Complex, Egypt on a circular stage in the Pyramids Arena with his Prismatic show . The show featured 8 new IDs and many familiar pieces of the veteran DJ. DJ Tiesto uploaded the Pyramids set to his YouTube channel.
Tiesto also recently performed at Coachella 2025.
On 27 December 2025, he ended his radio show Club Life after 978 episodes. He later announced that a new radio show, Prismatic, that features music from his previous iteration that made him famous: trance and progressive. The new show was launched on 2 January 2026.
In late 2025, Tiësto signaled a broader return to his trance roots, a shift noted by electronic music publication DJ Mag. The transition included a revival of visual elements associated with his early career and a renewed focus on trance-oriented sounds.

Income

Forbes estimated that Tiësto's annual income for 2017 was $39 million, with an average nightly gross of $250,000.

Philanthropy

On 6 January 2005, Tiësto performed in an outdoor fundraiser in De Dam, Amsterdam. The free event involved Dutch artists such as Tiësto, Dinand Woesthoff, BLØF, Acda & De Munnik, Di-rect, and Trijntje Oosterhuis and provided financial aid to the people who suffered from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in southern and southeastern Asia.
In April 2006, Tiësto was named the official worldwide ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS. As the foundation's ambassador he has helped the organisation with fundraising along with recording the track "Dance4life×Dance4Life18 August 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Dance4life (radio edit)3:352Dance4life (12" mix)7:423Dance4life (Slowmix)6:174Dance4life (Fonzerelli remix)7:465Dance4life (Global Experience remix)7:526Dance4life (Sander Van Doorn remix)7:39" that he recorded with Maxi Jazz from Faithless. The foundation consists on a better way of living with safe sex in exchange of entertainment to the young crowd. The song was a huge success, peaking for five weeks in number 3 and eleven consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the Dutch Singles Chart, it reached number 5 in Belgium, number 6 in Finland and also charting in the United Kingdom and Germany.
With the successful release of Elements of Life, Tiësto and fashion designer Giorgio Armani collaborated on a limited edition Tiësto T-shirt; Tiësto's single "Sweet Things×Sweet Things10 December 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Sweet Things (original mix)5:432Sweet Things (Tom Cloud remix)8:25" comes with the shirt and includes an exclusive "A|X Remix" by Tom Cloud. The charity raised over U.S. $300,000.
In November 2012, Tiësto released a compilation album Dance (RED) Save Lives in collaboration with Product Red, with the aim of donating any proceeds from the album to the fight against AIDS.
In June 2014, Tiësto headlined the first-ever Thank You Festival, presented by Global Citizen in partnership with World Childhood Foundation. As a part of the festival campaign, Tiësto took part in supporting ThankYou.org. For every song shared, the Carlson Family Foundation donated $5 to the World Childhood Foundation.
In September 2014, Tiësto headlined the free Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park.

Personal life

In September 2019, Tiësto married Annika Backes, a model, 27 years his junior, in Amangiri, Utah, after proposing to her in 2018. In November 2020, they had a daughter, and on 27 August 2022, they had their second child, a son. He is a fan of Italian football club Inter Milan, and has collaborated with them on numerous occasions.