TuneAttic: find music, know music
TuneAttic: find music, know music
TuneAttic: find music, know music
TuneAttic: find music, know music
TuneAttic: find music, know music
TuneAttic: find music, know music
David Guetta

David Guetta is a multi platinum selling French house DJ and producer who has released numerous successful collaborations with mainstream pop artists susch as Kelly Rowland, Rhianna, and Fergie. Guetta won a Grammy award in 2010.

David Guetta scales of success
David Guetta timeline
''Just For One Day (Heroes)'
(Virgin Music (France) 2003)
'Guetta Blaster'
(Virgin Music (France) 2004)
Red Light
2005

Early Years: 1990 to 2006

David Guetta’s first release was ‘Nation Rap’ in 1990, a hip-hop collaboration with French rapper Sidney Duteil. Within a couple of years Guetta was DJing house music on the Paris club circuit and in 1994 released his first solo single ‘Up and Away’, a vocal house track featuring US vocalist Robert Owens. 

Guetta’s first real success was his 2001 electro vocal house track ‘Just A Little More Love’ featuring Chris Willis on vocals.  His first studio album a year later took the same name and went platinum in his native France. Guetta’s early success continued his remake-cum-remix of David Bowies ‘Heroes’.  Entitled ‘Just For One Day (Heroes)’ (Virgin Music (France) 2003) Guetta takes all of the instrumentation and vocals of the original track but loops them repeatedly on top of a sparse but pounding house beat.  In 2003 Guetta released his second studio album ‘Guetta Blaster’ (Virgin Music (France)) which followed the success of his first by going platinum in France.

'Gettin' Over You'
(Virgin Music (France) 2009)
'One Love'
(Virgin Music (France) 2009)
Tomorrowland
2010

Later Years: 2007 to present

By the late 2000’s Guetta had started to hit upon the sound which would soon bring him global success and his breakthrough came with ‘Love Is Gone’ (Virgin 2007) featuring long term vocal partner Chris Willis. ‘Love Is Gone’ has the blueprint that future Guetta hits would follow. A big vocal melody with electro piano riff builds and then suddenly  drops into a dirty electro bass riff and thumping kick. This winning combination of dancefloor and music TV propelled Guetta into the mainstream after years of club land success. 

Guetta showcased his new sound on his third, and platinum selling, studio album ‘PopLife’ (Virgin 2007).  Featuring other vocal electro-pop-house cross overs such as ‘Delerious’ and ‘Tomorrow Can Wait’ the album’s title almost reads like a statement of intent.

Guetta’s new mainstream success brought him to the attention of a growing number of big pop acts including Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland.  After coming to see Guetta DJ and hearing him play an instrumental of one his tracks Rowland was so impressed by it that asked to write vocals for it.  The result was the hugely successful ‘When Love Takes Over’ (Virgin Music (France) 2009) which helped get Rowland’s career out of a lull and further propelled Guetta into the mainstream.  Crucially for him, having an big name American urban singer helped him breakthrough to the American market. 

Other collaborations with urban acts followed, including Estelle (‘One Love’), Kid Cudi (‘Memories) and Flo Rida (‘Club Can't Handle Me’).  These tracks featured on Guetta’s fourth studio album ‘One Love’ (Virgin Music (France) 2009) which was to be his most successful to date, selling 1.4 million copies globally.

His new American profile also resulted in him producing two tracks for the Black Eyed Peas, including ‘Rock That Body’ and the 2009 global pop hit ‘I Gotta Feeling’ (Interscope) which was number 1 in 17 countries.  Guetta teamed up with the Black Eyed Pea’s singer Fergie again for his 2010 hit ‘Getting Over You’ (Virgin France) which also featured Chris Willis on vocals and Los Angeles electro-hop act LMFAO. ‘Getting Over You’ used a few of the similar production tricks of ‘I Gotta Feeling’ including the electro piano chord hits. Though the overall feel of the track is more club Guetta once again also manages to work as a sing along pop song. The net result was one of Guetta’s biggest hits to date.

Since breaking through to the mainstream Guetta has had to change his approach to DJing, with so many of his crowds expecting him to play his big cross over hits.  In 2009 he was voted #3 in the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs poll and received 5 Grammy nominations, winning one for ‘Love Takes Over’.

David Guetta has developed a hugely successful formula that crosses over from dance music to mainstream pop. Benefiting from the rise in popularity of electro-dance-pop artists like Kei$ha, Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas, Guetta’s blend of electro dance and pop melodies fits mainstream music TV as well as it does dance music festivals. 

David Guetta’s is married to Cathy Guetta and has two children, Tim Elvis Eric  and Angie.