Marshmello first gained recognition in early 2015 from publishing remixes online. His debut studio album, Joytime (2016), included Marshmello's debut commercial single, "Keep It Mello". 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).[a] In 2017, after releasing the singles "Chasing Colors", "Twinbow" and "Moving On", Marshmello 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 (2018), was supported by the singles "Tell Me" and "Check This Out". "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.[5] In 2020, he and American rapper Juice Wrld released "Come & Go", from the latter's posthumous album Legends Never Die; the song matched "Happier" on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2021, his fourth album, Shockwave earned him a Grammy nomination.
Marshmello 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 by Forbes to be Comstock in April 2017.[6]
Career
2015–2016: Early career and Joytime
Marshmello posted his first original song "Wavez" to his SoundCloud page in the early months of 2015.[b] 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" on SoundCloud.[7] In late 2015, he made performances at New York's Pier 94,[8] Pomona, California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, and in March 2016, he performed at Miami Music Week.[9]
On January 8, 2016, via his label Joytime Collective, Marshmello released his debut studio album Joytime, consisting of 10 songs.[10] One single was released from the album, titled "Keep It Mello", featuring Mexican rapper Omar Linx, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[c] 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.[a]
Marshmello debuted on Monstercat, a Canadian independent record label, with the release of "Alone", which appeared on the label's compilation album Monstercat 027 – Cataclysm.[c][d] 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.[a]
2016–2018: "Silence", "Wolves", "Friends", and Joytime II
Marshmello performing at VELD 2016
By May 2016, although his identity was unknown, Marshmello was frequently suggested to be Chris Comstock, an American DJ who was known as Dotcom at the time.[3]
On June 19, 2016, Marshmello performed at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. In a gimmick attempted by Marshmello and Dutch DJ Tiësto, the latter who wore the same clothes as the former on stage, took off his helmet presenting himself as Marshmello.[11][12] 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".[13][14]
He 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.[15][e] The tour was accompanied with his debut on dubstep musician Skrillex's Owsla label, with a single titled "Ritual", in which vocalist Wrabel was featured.[16] An official music video for the song was published to YouTube.[d] Soon after, Marshmello launched his own record label named Joytime Collective and recruited fellow DJ and producer Slushii as the first signee on its roster.[17]
Marshmello receiving an award in 2017 from producers Sean Hamilton and Eric Hertzog at the Remix Awards in Miami, Florida
Marshmello collaborated with Ookay to release the single "Chasing Colors", featuring vocals by American singer Noah Cyrus.[18] He later collaborated with Slushii to release the single "Twinbow", a song previously only known to the public as a snippet.[19] During the mid-year, his third single of the year titled "Moving On" was released, having debuted two years before receiving the official release.[20] A music video for the song was also published, having received 169 million views as of December 2018.[21][d] Months later, Marshmello announced upcoming collaborations with American hip hop recording artist Blackbear[22] and Demi Lovato.[23] The collaborations, however, were never released officially as of December 2018. Following that, Marshmello released "Love U" 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."[24]
His next single, announced on Twitter, was a collaboration with American R&B singer Khalid titled "Silence", which was released on August 11, 2017, via RCA Records.[25] The song appeared on the Top 200 in over 28 countries.[a] 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).[a]
Later in the year, he released his collaboration with American singer Selena Gomez, the single "Wolves" which became a commercial success,[26] having reached the top 10 in more than 20 countries.[a] 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 2.5million 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.[a]
Succeeding "Wolves", the single "You & Me" was released through Joytime Collective,[27] 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 42 million views as of December 2018.[28][d]
In November, Forbes published an article confirming Christopher Comstock as the individual behind the Marshmello project, 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.[29]
Marshmello performing at Airbeat One 2018
In January 2018, Marshmello released a posthumous collaboration with rapper Lil Peep, titled "Spotlight". 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.[30] A month later, Marshmello worked with frequent collaborator Slushii for the song "There ×2", which was released as a single.[31]
He released a collaboration with British singer Anne-Marie named "Friends", 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.[a]
Among the other singles released after the work with Anne-Marie were a song with rapper Logic titled "Everyday", which was released as the third single from his seventh mixtape, Bobby Tarantino II,[32] "Fly" and "You Can Cry", a collaborative single with rapper Juicy J and British soul singer James Arthur. On June 19, Marshmello announced on Twitter his second studio album titled Joytime II, which would be musically similar to its predecessor.[33] The album was released on June 22, 2018.[34]Rolling Stone described it as monotonous and Marshmello'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,[35] while Pitchfork gave the album a 4.2 out of 10 rating.[36] Two singles were released off the album in June, titled "Tell Me" and "Check This Out",[33][c] the latter of which receiving an official music video published several months later.[37]
2018–2023: "Happier", Joytime III and Shockwave
Marshmello performing live in June 2019 at Capital Pride Festival And Concert In Washington, D.C.
In August 2018, he collaborated with British band Bastille to release a single titled "Happier" 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.[38] 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.[a] His subsequent singles, collaborations with Egyptian singer-songwriter Amr Diab titled "Bayen Habeit" and American rapper and producer Roddy Ricch titled "Project Dreams", were released in December.[39]
In January 2019, Marshmello collaborated with the free-to-play video game Fortnite Battle Royale to throw an in-game 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.[40][41] 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".[42] The second was with Scottish band Chvrches, called "Here with Me".[43] Finally, in April, he released Roll the Dice, an extended play with California rappers SOB X RBE. It contains three songs: "Roll the Dice", "Don't Save Me" and "First Place".[44]
On June 11, 2021, Marshmello released his fourth studio album, Shockwave. It was independently released by the producer's own Joytime Collective label.[50] On November 23, 2021, the album was announced as a nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, earning Marshmello his first Grammy nomination.[51]
In 2022, Marshmello 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."[52][53][54]
2023-present: Sugar Papi, Mellodeath, and upcoming projects
On November 3, 2023, Marshmello released his fifth album and debut Latin album Sugar Papi, featuring the singles "Tempo", "Esta Vida", "El Merengue", "Como Yo:(", and "Alcohol".
Artistry
Deadmau5 (top) and Daft Punk (bottom) inspired Marshmello's appearance and style.
Marshmello wears a custom white helmet, resembling a marshmallow, for public appearances and in his music videos. His identity was initially a secret, but was confirmed by Forbes to be Chris Comstock in April 2017, citing events such as Skrillex's referring of Marshmello as "Chris" in an interview, the managerial connection of Shalizi, and the similar tattoos and birthday.[29] On July 2, 2019, Marshmello released a documentary with More Than Music (Artist Spotlight Series) on YouTube.[55] In the documentary, Shalizi describes the process and effort into creating the Marshmello brand.[56]
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.[57] Acknowledgement of Deadmau5's contribution to Marshmello's persona is evident in the music video for "Alone".[58]
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.[59] 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.[60]
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,[61] half of which was donated to KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), an organization providing legal counsel to refugees and immigrant children.[62] With the single "Happier" 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.[63]
Controversy
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. Comstock paid himself more than any other musician who received grant money.[64]
↑ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featured prominent British acts like The Future Sound of London, Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers. In recent years, its roster has expanded to include acts like Halsey, Marshmello, Porter Robinson, Illenium, Zhu and numerous others. In 2018, Astralwerks' headquarters were moved from its original home of New York City to Los Angeles.
The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with their 2014 song "#Selfie", which became a top-twenty single in several countries. They have won a Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and nine iHeartRadio Music Awards. According to Forbes' 2019 list of highest-paid celebrities, the Chainsmokers were the highest-paid DJs, dethroning Calvin Harris after six years.
Steven Zhu, known mononymously as Zhu, is an American electronic music producer and singer who has been active since the beginning of 2014, signed to Mind of a Genius Records. Until mid-2014, Zhu remained anonymous, asking to be judged by his music alone. His debut album, Generationwhy, was released on July 29, 2016 and first premiered at Coachella during his closing set in the Sahara Tent. Zhu's Coachella performance was praised, with a writer for the New York Observer suggesting that he could be "the next Daft Punk".
The discography of American electronic musician Dillon Francis consists of three studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), thirty-five singles and five other appearances.
Julian Michael Scanlan, known professionally as Slushii, is an American musician, DJ, songwriter, and music producer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for working with various artists managed by Moe Shalizi, such as Marshmello, Ookay and Jauz, and for gaining support from notable musician and Owsla-record label founder Skrillex.
The American music producer and DJ Marshmello has released six studio albums, four extended plays, forty-five singles, nine other charted songs, sixteen remixes, forty-three music videos and seven production-credited songs. Marshmello's debut studio album Joytime was released through his Joytime Collective record label on January 8, 2016. Despite failing to debut on the Billboard 200, the album peaked on three Billboard charts: Dance/Electronic Albums, Top Heatseekers and Independent Albums, at number five, fourteen and forty-one, respectively.
This is the discography of American electronic dance music producer and DJ Jauz.
Tyler Marenyi, better known by his stage name Nghtmre, is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer from Raleigh, North Carolina.
"Chasing Colors" is a song by American DJs Marshmello and Ookay featuring American singer Noah Cyrus. It was written and produced by the former two with additional writing credits going to Skyler Stonestreet and Chase Duddy and released on February 24, 2017 via Marshmello's label Joytime Collective.
Sajeeb Saha, known professionally as Jai Wolf, is a Bangladeshi producer. He is best known for his singles, "Indian Summer", "Like It's Over", and "Starlight". He is currently signed to Mom + Pop Music.
"Wolves" is a song by American singer Selena Gomez and music producer Marshmello. The song was written by Gomez, Ali Tamposi, Louis Bell, Brian Lee, and its producers Marshmello and Andrew Watt. The song was released by Interscope Records on October 25, 2017.
"Spotlight" is a song by American music producer Marshmello and American rapper Lil Peep. It was released on January 12, 2018, as a tribute to Peep following his death. Marshmello initially had no plans of releasing the song until Peep's mother made a request. The song is the rapper's first posthumous release.
"Friends" is a song by American DJ and producer Marshmello and British singer Anne-Marie. It was written by the artists, and Nat Dunn. The song was released via Joytime Collective and Asylum Records on February 9, 2018, as the fifth single from Anne-Marie's debut studio album, Speak Your Mind (2018). A lyric video was released on the same day. The song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Friends" was the ninth best-selling single of 2018 with sales of 9.6 million track-equivalent units according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
"You Can Cry" is a song by American music producer Marshmello and American rapper Juicy J featuring English singer James Arthur. Written by the lead artists alongside Charlie Puth and Christian Rich, the latter co-producing, it was released by Joytime Collective and Columbia Records on May 4, 2018.
Joytime II is the second studio album by American DJ and record producer Marshmello. It was released on June 22, 2018.
"Happier" is a song by American DJ Marshmello featuring British indie pop band Bastille. Written by Marshmello, Smith, and Steve Mac, and produced by the former, it was released by Astralwerks on August 16, 2018. It reached number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 and is the highest-charting single for Marshmello in both the UK and the US. It is also Bastille's highest-charting single as well on both charts surpassing their 2013 single "Pompeii"'s number five peak on the Hot 100 and tying at its number two peak on the UK chart. It also logged 27 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. The song also currently holds the record for most weeks spent at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with 69 weeks as of January 2020. The song was ranked number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart of the 2010s, becoming the highest-ranking song to not top the Billboard Hot 100 weekly chart.
"Sell Out" is a song by American electronic music producer and DJ Marshmello and Los Angeles–based riddim producer Svdden Death. It was released on February 8, 2019 by Marshmello-owned American record label Joytime Collective/Geffen Records.
Daniel James "Danny" Howland, better known by his alias Svdden Death, is a Los Angeles DJ and producer from San Jose, California. He is known for his song "Sell Out", a collaboration with American multi-platinum artist Marshmello that peaked on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs at the No. 36 position in early 2019. Howland makes high-energy music that falls into the genre of dubstep and riddim. Howland tours regularly in North America, and can be found on festival lineups all throughout festival season.
Riddim is a subgenre of dubstep known for its heavy use of repetitive and minimalist sub-bass and triplet percussion arrangements. It shares the same name as the Jamaican genre that influenced both it and dubstep, which originally derived from dub, reggae, and dancehall. Originating in the United Kingdom, specifically Croydon, in the early 2010s as a resurgence of the style used by early dubstep works, riddim started to gain mainstream presence in the electronic music scene around 2015.
"Tongue Tied" is a song by American musician Marshmello, English singer-songwriter Yungblud, and American musician blackbear. It was released on November 13, 2019, through Joytime Collective, Geffen and Interscope Records. A remix EP of the song consisting of remixes by Duke & Jones, PatrickReza, Gentlemen's Club, HiGuys and Near X Far was released on January 15, 2020. This is Marshmello's second single with Interscope Records after "Wolves".
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