Zedd

About Zedd

Zedd is the stage name of Anton Zaslavski, a German-Russian DJ and producer who turned churning out massive EDM hits into something resembling a science. Born in 1989 in Russia, he moved to Germany as a kid and grew up in a musical household where classical training was just part of the deal. His parents were both musicians, so he learned piano and drums early, which probably explains why his productions have always had a bit more musicality than your average festival banger.

He started out making electro house tracks in the late 2000s, cutting his teeth on remixes that got attention from people who actually mattered in electronic music. His remix of Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" in 2011 was the kind of calling card that gets you noticed, and suddenly he was on Interscope Records with a real budget and actual pop stars returning his emails.

The breakthrough came with "Clarity" in 2012, featuring Foxes on vocals. It was everywhere, won him a Grammy, and established the Zedd formula: big melodic hooks, pristine production, vocals that sit perfectly in the mix, and drops designed for maximum hands-in-the-air moments. His debut album, also called Clarity, came out in 2013 and showed he could sustain that approach across a full project without it getting stale.

Then he went full pop. "Stay the Night" with Hayley Williams, "Break Free" with Ariana Grande, "I Want You to Know" with Selena Gomez. These weren't just EDM tracks with pop features bolted on, they were actual radio songs that happened to have his production stamp. His second album, True Colors in 2015, leaned even harder into that crossover sound, and it worked commercially even if some of the dance music purists started looking elsewhere.

"The Middle" happened in 2018 with Maren Morris and Grey, and it became one of those songs that just refused to leave the Hot 100. It spent weeks at number five, got certified diamond, and proved he could still create a moment years into his career. Around the same time, he worked with Katy Perry on "365" and kept the collaborations coming with artists like Shawn Mendes and Alessia Cara.

These days, Zedd still headlines festivals and releases singles with the kind of regularity that suggests he's got the whole system figured out. He's not reinventing anything, but he's also not really trying to. He found a lane where electronic production meets radio-friendly pop, and he's stayed in it with enough success that there's no reason to swerve. His social media presence skews toward gaming and tech stuff when he's not promoting music, which tracks for someone who approaches production like an engineering problem with a very expensive solution.

Zedd's sets are surprisingly controlled. He doesn't trash around or hype endlessly. The crowd comes to hear those clean production moments, and he delivers them. You get the sense he's actually DJing rather than just triggering a predetermined set. People stay attentive rather than losing it.

Known for Clarity, The Middle, Stay, Beautiful Now, Break Free

See Zedd Live