Tiesto Facts
1) Popularly known as DJ Tiesto, Tijs Michiel Verwest was born on 17th January 1969 in the Netherlands.
In his early years, Tiesto was hired as a DJ at a local pub called The Spock.
It was here that he polished his skills at mixing and twisting different types of notes to turn them into award winning labels.
2) For Tiesto, the journey to the top has been full of surprises.
Up until 1994, Tiesto’s music was mostly hardcore and raw; everything he produced was on his own.
However, soon he was discovered by a Rotterdam based label that recognized the immense talent that this young DJ promised.
3) In 1994, Tiesto was hired by a number of record labels and he produced albums and music according to their requirements.
However, in the fall of 1997, Tiesto decided to open his own record label company by the name of Black Hole Recordings, which then became the focal point of his career as a DJ.
4) Before Tiesto went on to release his own solo albums, he worked with some prominent names such as Arny Bink from Basic Beat, the renowned produced Dennis Waakop Reijers, Ferry Corsten and Sarah McLachlan.
During these years, Tiesto was recognized as a skilled musician who played music because it meant something to him.
These famous collaborations also gave him a lot of exposure in mainstream media.
5) By 2001, Tiesto had worked with enough prominent people to finally mix music as part of his own album.
He released his album ‘In My Memory’ in 2001 which turned out to be a big hit and put Tiesto No.1 in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 Poll and that too consecutively from 2001 to 2004.
6) Tiesto’s music has always represented a genre that is unlike that of other DJs.
His trance and electronic musical styling is very distinctive and make his albums stand out immensely.
In 2004 he released his second studio album by the name ‘Just Be’.
Following its success, his third album ‘Elements of Life’ was launched in 2007 which not only hit the top of the Dutch Music Charts, it was highly ranked in the US Billboard Top Electronic Albums as well.
7) After receiving a Grammy nomination in 2008 for his amazing work in the ‘Elements of Life’, there was nothing stopping Tiesto from launching his fourth album in 2009.
“Kaleidoscope” is known as the most dynamic album Tiesto has ever compiled.
Because he moved away from trance music in this album this album showed diversity that his previous efforts had not.
8) Kaleidoscope marked a new turn in life for Tiesto.
He established a new record label by the name Musical Freedom because he felt his shift from trance necessitated a new beginning.
Rightly so; in just the first week, this album made it to the top 10 charts on iTunes.
9) Tiesto and his music have set world records as well.
In 2004, Tiesto was invited to perform at the Summer Olympics in Greece, which made him the first DJ ever to perform an Olympics’ Opening Ceremony.
Later, all his custom-made tracks for the Olympics were published in the form of an album called Parade of the Athletes.
10) In 2006, a life-turning event made Tiesto affiliated with the Dance4Life support group.
He was admitted to a hospital after complaining about chest pains and it turned out that he was suffering from pericarditis.
Since then he has been helping the organization spread awareness among teens regarding HIV.
11) As part of his philanthropic efforts, Tiesto also composed the Dance4Life soundtrack that was a big hit and stayed on No.3 on top chart for weeks in Belgium, UK, Finland and Germany.
12) The best ever collection of Tiesto’s life and music has been in the form of the Radio show ‘Tiesto’s Club Life’ which is a particular favorite among the Dutch audience.
For his international fans, Tiesto even has a podcast that runs in English.
13) 2011 onwards, a number of albums and single hits were released with Tiesto’s characteristic music that include; Club Life: Volume One Las Vegas, Kiss From The Past, Work Hard- Play Hard, Club Life: Volume Two Miami.
14) Watching Tiesto perform his heartfelt music always puts the audience in a trance, resulting in an immense cult-like fan following.
When the series, The Booth was launched on his YouTube Channel, Tiesto’s fans could not have been happier.
Unlike other shows, this series highlighted the DJ’s life behind the scenes, giving the audience a chance to know their star better.
15) Tiesto’s presence in fashion is yet another sensation for his fans.
After his hit album ‘Elements of Life’, the acclaimed designer Giorgio Armani paired up with Tiesto to put his face on special edition T-shirts that were made available at all Armani stores together with his hit single’ Sweet Things.’
16) More recently, he is known to be in collaboration with GUESS for endorsements as well as for his own clothing line called ‘Club Life’, which is very famous among the youth of his home country.
17) When it comes to personal life, Tiesto has always placed his work and tours over and above it.
He had been engaged to supermodel Monique Spronk until 2006 after which he proposed to Stacey Blokzijl in 2007.
However, because of his busy schedule the wedding was postponed a number of times before being called off.
18) As mentioned before, Tiesto’s music has hit high charts world wide apart from being No.1 on various lists in the Netherlands.
Similarly, with the power of his music he has managed to work with international names such as Katy Perry, U2, Cold Play and Kanye West.
19) Because Tiesto has contributed to music in a way that was unthought-of previously, the fame and popularity for his skills is definitely deserved.
He is the only DJ to date who has his own wax statue in Madame Tussuad’s Wax Museum!
20) Throughout his career, Tiesto has played for fun, for fan following and for charitable purposes.
His longest set on a concert has been a 12 hours nonstop concert in Amsterdam.
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