Jonas Blue

British DJ, producer, and songwriter Guy James Robin (aka Jonas Blue) is known for his electronic dance and tropical house tracks infused with a hooky pop sensibility. He first broke through with his 2015 cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” featuring Dakota, an international hit that topped both the U.K. and Billboard dance charts. More Top 20 U.K. singles followed, including “Perfect Strangers” with JP Cooper, “Rise” featuring Jack & Jack, and “Mama” featuring William Singe, all of which paved the way for his 2018 full-length debut, Blue. He has remained a chart regular, collaborating on tracks like “Younger” with HRVY, “Mistakes” with Paloma Faith, and “Don’t Wake Me Up” with Why Don't We.
Blue was born in 1989 in Chelmsford, Essex, England. He started playing music around age seven, learning the flute and saxophone. By his teens, he had discovered electronic dance music and began exploring DJing, production, and remixing. He first caught the attention of the industry with his reimagining of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit “Fast Car.” Adding a tropical house tint to the plaintive, bittersweet acoustic original, Blue enlisted the talents of young British singer Dakota, whose sultry vocals helped carry the song to the top of 17 international charts, including number one slots in Australia, Scotland, and both the U.K. and U.S. dance charts. In 2016, Blue released “Perfect Strangers,” the follow-up to his global smash, featuring JP Cooper on vocals. The single landed in the Top Ten internationally and was followed by “By Your Side” with Raye. The following year, he issued “Mama,” his collaboration with Australian pop vocalist William Singe. That track would appear on Electronic Nature: The Mix 2017, a compilation of favorites from the DJ’s own live sets. In addition to his own hit singles, the collection included his spins on songs by Galantis, Zedd, Ellie Goulding, Disclosure, and more.
In 2018, Blue released the feel-good house-pop tune “Rise,” which saw him collaborating with Nebraskan Vine stars/pop duo Jack & Jack. That song and most of his previous singles were compiled into the full-length album Blue in November of that year. The non-album single “What I Like About You” featuring Theresa Rex was released in early 2019. He continued to issue stand-alone singles for the rest of the year, including “Ritual,” a collaboration with Tiesto and Rita Ora, and “Younger” with HRVY.
The following year, he teamed up with Paloma Faith for “Mistakes” and MAX for “Naked,” and later issued the compilation, Est. 1989. 2021 marked the arrival of another EP, Cyan, which featured collaborations with EDX, Alex Mills, and Mark Villa, among others. In 2022, he returned to the Top 30 of the U.K. and Billboard dance charts with “Wake Me Up,” a collaboration with Why Don't We. He also released “Perfect Melody” with Julian Perretta and “Always Be There” with Louisa Johnson that year. ~ Matt Collar & Neil Z. Yeung