Zedd

Grammy-winning electronic producer Zedd is known for dynamic, electro-house tracks and a glitchy, pulsing production style. He first broke through in 2010 with a remix of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” before parlaying that buzz into mainstream success with his 2012 album debut, Clarity. Buoyed by the single “Stay the Night” with Hayley Williams, Clarity reached the U.S. Top Ten and earned him a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. His sophomore album, True Colors, spawned the hit “I Want You to Know” with Selena Gomez and topped the Dance Albums chart. Along with his own work, he has remained an in-demand producer, collaborating on tracks with a bevy of pop luminaries including Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Ariana Grande. In 2018, he joined Grammy-winning country singer Maren Morris and L.A. electronic duo Grey for the Top 40 hit “The Middle.” Over the next few years, his collaborations included 2019′s “365″ with Katy Perry, and 2022′s “Follow” with Martin Garrix and heralded he arrival of his third album, 2024′s Telos, with the single “Out of Time” with Bea Miller. Born Anton Zaslavski in 1989 in Saratov, Russia, Zedd grew up in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he started out on piano at four years old. Classically trained, he eventually moved on to drums and by the early 2000s was playing in the German deathcore outfit Dioramic. Along the way, he discovered electronic music and in 2009 began experimenting with producing his own tracks. It was around this time that he adopted the stage name Zedd (inspired by the non-American pronunciation of the letter z), and quickly built his reputation by posting tracks to Beatport and remixing songs by well-known artists, including tracks like Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” Armand Van Helden’s “Witch Doktor,” and others. Zedd also began releasing his own singles and EPs, and in late 2012, delivered his first full-length, the club-worthy Clarity. Included on the album was the song “Spectrum” which shot to the top of the U.S. dance chart. One of the follow-ups, “Stay the Night” featuring Hayley Williams, also garnered attention, reaching number two on the British pop charts and cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The title track, featuring British pop singer Foxes, won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2014. That same year, Zedd scored another hit with Ariana Grande’s track “Break Free.” In 2015, he released his sophomore LP, True Colors, which presented more stylistic diversity, dipping into rock and hip-hop influences. The collection featured Selena Gomez, Troye Sivan, and Logic among its guests, and topped the Billboard dance/electronic chart. An international tour in support of the album followed. In 2017, Zedd issued the single “Stay,” featuring Canadian singer Alessia Cara on vocals. The following year, he collaborated with country sensation Maren Morris and electro duo Grey for the single “The Middle,” which topped Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts and landed three Grammy nominations. 2019 saw Zedd team up with Katy Perry for the single “365” and later with Kehlani for “Good Thing.” The song “Funny” featuring Jasmine Thompson arrived in July 2020. Zedd remained relatively quiet over the next year, returning in 2022 with collaborative singles like “You’ve Got to Let Go If You Want to Be Free” with Disclosure and “Follow” with Martin Garrix. “Out of Time,” featuring Bea Miller, arrived in 2024 as the first single off the producer’s third full-length, Telos. ~ Matt Collar