Tag: r3hab

Top EQUAL Artist INNA Reflects On a Standout Year

November 29, 2023

Today we kicked off 2023 Spotify Wrapped, our annual campaign that celebrates fans and creators worldwide. And as the good vibes keep coming, we look back on a successful year of EQUAL, which included speaking events, festivals, and both local and global playlists featuring a large roster of talented EQUAL ambassadors. We’re thrilled to announce that Romanian superstar INNA is the most-streamed artist within the EQUAL Global playlist in 2023.

In 2020, Spotify created EQUAL, a global initiative that aims to eliminate the existing gender gap in the music industry so that women artists, composers, and producers have the representation and visibility they deserve. Since then, week after week, we’ve been raising the volume on women artists locally and internationally.

Along with being named an EQUAL Global ambassador back in April, INNA had quite a landmark 2023. Her Dhurata Dora and Stefflon Don collaborations for the track “Yummy” pleased fans—as did the release of a 10-song EP of remixes for her revival of the 1997 Sash! hit “Rock My Body.” The house music star also released a two-part studio album, Just Dance #DQH1 and Just Dance #DQH2, which showcases an ambitious new direction in the artist’s career, combining elements of other genres and sounds as part of the Dance Queen’s House project.

For the Record caught up with INNA to talk about being the top EQUAL artist, her Wrapped for Artists insights, and her plans for 2024.

What was your reaction to finding out that you’re this year’s top EQUAL artist?

It was a huge surprise! I want to thank everyone who listens to my music and supports me. It’s an absolute honor to have so many people who are there for me. As an artist, this is the love I need to feel! I’m so happy about this!

How has dance music changed since your debut single, “Hot,” topped the charts in 2009?

There are more and more dance artists in the world now, and a lot of DJs doing dance and EDM songs. It’s an expanding genre that has seen and will continue to see a lot of growth.

I’ve also changed quite a lot. In that time I made it a point to experience different collaborations, genres, and sounds in my music.

What were some of your 2023 highlights?

2023 was such a great year. My collaboration with R3HAB for “Rock My Body” conquered the charts and became a hit. I released a new album, Just Dance, featuring the music I worked on for the Dance Queen’s House project. And, of course, so many concerts. I couldn’t be more grateful for all that’s happened in 2023. Bring it on, 2024! I’m ready for you!

Tell us about Just Dance, which you’ve previously described as a refresh from your past and an important step in your evolution as an artist.

When we started, we were brainstorming, thinking how this album should sound. And overall we felt that we needed a different vibe and a whole new approach, so we changed the dynamic. I’m honestly super excited about how it all came together. The album complements my 2023 tour on the stages of the biggest electro dance festivals in the world.

What insights have you been able to take away from previous years of Artist Wrapped?

My team and I always pay attention to everything to improve our work. We work hard to make the most out of the Artist Wrapped insights to create more and more music that resonates with more people.

Which women artists do you currently have in your On Repeat playlist?

I always have P!nk on repeat, she is fabulous, one of my favorite artists ever. Some other women artists are ROSALÍA, FKA Twigs, Billie Eilish, Dhurata Dora, and SZA.

Going into the New Year, what advice do you have for other artists?

Consistency, focus, creativity, inspiration, and a lot of work are important. Surround yourself with people who share the same vibe as you. And most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!

What do you have planned for 2024?

There will be a lot of new music coming in 2024. I’ll be releasing a new album written entirely in Spanish. It’s one of the releases I can’t wait for, because it’s an important part of my work and soul and I’ve been working on it for several years. And of course, I’ll be kicking off a tour in the USA in addition to performing concerts in Mexico and Europe.

Listen to the best of the best from the dance queen herself in our This Is INNA playlist.

Spotify and Gamers8 Combine Forces for an Unforgettable Esport Event

July 21, 2022

a man stands in the middle of a room with a lot of screens and a water fountain right in front of him

Esports fans, prepare to take your gaming up a notch thanks to a new partnership between Spotify and Gamers8, a global gaming and esports festival that kicked off July 14. During this eight-week event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, virtual and physical worlds collide in a series of tournaments, activities, and attractions. And with the prize pool at $15 million, the stakes for Gamers8 participants are sky-high.

Connecting the players through music

Through our partnership, gamers can prepare for matches and take their audio experience to a new level with content created specially for Gamers8. Fans can also access these curated music playlists, which were a collaboration between Spotify’s music team and Gamers8 gaming professionals, and enjoy playlist takeovers by some of the biggest names in gaming.

Also a part of the partnership, multiplatinum DJ and producer R3HAB released the highly anticipated Gamers8 anthem, “Challenge تحدي للأخير .” The track, which features Sultan Al Murshed and rapper Big Bo, is a tribute to local creators, Saudi Arabia’s gaming community, and the international viewers tuning into the events. The Arabic EDM song debuted at the tournament’s opening event.

For the Record got the chance to ask R3HAB a few questions about his gaming experience and what it was like creating the Gamers8 anthem.

How is the new anthem designed to enhance the gaming experience?

I love gaming myself and love studying different styles and genres. As a DJ/producer, you tend to listen more carefully to sounds, whether it’s a game or a movie. My goal for this record was to find a perfect balance between an uplifting and vibrant mood to inspire action while bringing in moments to reflect on the game plan.

How was it working on a track with regional artists like Sultan and Big Bo?

It was an extremely inspirational and exciting journey. They both have different backgrounds and signature sounds. However, we realized pretty early in the creation process that our musical visions for this project were aligned. I’ve learned a lot from Sultan and Big Bo and am really proud of what we’ve created.

What is it like producing a track for the gaming community, and how does it compare to creating a track purely for the dance scene?

Dance music is designed to pull people out of their inner world and let loose. Gaming music is designed to help gamers focus on the task at hand. While the goals are different, you can use the same tools to achieve both.

Do you have any plans to create more music in the gaming space?

I’ve had a blast working alongside industry revolutionaries like Gamers8. Though the dance and gaming worlds have a symbiotic relationship and shared audience, it’s still a lot of work to make a great record. Being able to find the sweet spot between worlds is so rewarding. It’s a challenge I love to take on.

Elevating the game with a new podcast

Spotify and Gamers8, together with Rising Giants Network, will also launch a dedicated podcast called Outplay. The eight-episode series will be the go-to source for news on the festival’s top teams and players, with can’t-miss highlights and exclusive one-on-one interviews. For the Record talked to Faisal Bin Homran, Head of Esports, Saudi Esports Federation, to learn more about the podcast.

What aspects of the competition will the podcast be covering?

We’ll have content centered around teams, players, and creators, as well as influencers who are related to the different games. For example, we are going to have a couple of Rocket League influencers. We are also going to speak about content creation and how esports factors in, especially when it comes to esports players with large fan bases. We really want to deliver entertaining content. In five years, I want to go back to this content and know that we built something for the future.

Who should tune in? Those competing themselves, those looking to learn more from the sidelines, or both?

Be it the podcasts or other projects, we are always trying to involve more segmentations. The podcast is for those looking for industry insights, for gamers who want to dive deeper into esports, and for the fanatic. There truly is something for everyone.

Why do you think music and gaming go hand in hand? What sort of music do you like to listen to while gaming?

Music has always been part of the esports experience. It excites players and viewers and connects them. There is no specific type of music that I particularly like to listen to while gaming, but I’m in love with the publishers that put specific songs for their games or top championships. For example, League of Legends including Imagine Dragons—that’s one of my top ones. In the future, I think songs will become an even bigger part of esports and there will be songs for each title when it comes to the World Championships or World Cups.

What are you most excited about during this year’s competition?

I am excited about the players’ experience in Riyadh. We want to showcase and deliver a unique experience for the players—that blends between the physical and virtual. We want to give them a mix of the cultural experience and the esports experience. We are excited to meet all of them and talk about future projects and how we can be part of the international esports ecosystem.

Before you dive back into the game, one-up your competition by checking out the first episode of the Spotify and Gamers8 podcast, Outplay, below:

Spotify Users Have Spent Over 2.3 Billion Hours Streaming Discover Weekly Playlists Since 2015

July 9, 2020

Discover Weekly, your weekly mixtape of fresh music, is celebrating an anniversary—five years of discovery this July. But the beloved playlist has humble origins, initially starting as an idea at Spotify’s annual Hack Week. Since then, it’s become known as one of our flagship offerings, was parodied on April Fools (2019’s Disco Cover Weekly, anyone?), and has introduced our Spotify users to some of their new favorite artists.

In the five years since its launch, listeners have also streamed endless hours of the Discover Weekly playlist—over 2.3 billion hours between July 2015 and June 25, 2020 For the numerically inclined, that’s more than:

8.4 trillion seconds
140 billion minutes
2.3 billion hours
97.3 million days
13.9 million weeks
266.5 thousand years

For context: That’s longer than human civilization has been around!

Since the playlist updates every Monday with new music based on your personal listening habits, it leads users to find new artists, tracks, and hits to fall in love with. The Moroccan-Dutch DJ R3HAB is the most “discovered” artist in the most markets—16, to be exact—meaning users across those countries streamed him the most out of any other creator on their Discover Weekly playlist.

“I love how Spotify allows my music to connect with people across so many cultures,” R3HAB told For the Record. “I’ve always considered myself a world artist and it’s amazing to see my music truly traveling. Spotify has broken down the geographical boundaries of music discovery, allowing people from all over to discover my music as soon as it’s released. Thank you, Discover Weekly.”

Halsey takes the spot for most discovered female artist globally. Notably, she released her first album, Badlands, in 2015—the same year Discover Weekly was created! Now, she’s included on the list of Top Streamed Female Artists on Spotify.

U.S. listeners stream Discover Weekly the most, and have spent a lot of time “discovering” music from RAC and Khalid. In the U.K. listeners have found Detroit-born house producer MK, and German DJ Alle Farben racks up the streams in his home country. And they’re discovering artists across genres too—everything from EDM to grupera (a regional Mexican style), to indietronica and Lithuanian folk.

With so much discovery in such a short span of time, (you know, compared to the entirety of human civilization), we can’t wait to see what the next five years will bring for this star playlist.

From Egyptian Pop to Indian Bollywood, R3HAB Tastes the World’s Many Sonic Flavors

April 7, 2020

These days, Dutch house producer R3HAB is looking past borders and across the seas for inspiration.

His songs usually fit along nicely with those of fellow Dutch DJs like Afrojack and Hardwell, delivering pulsing beats with a pop flourish. But recently he teamed up with a force from farther south—Egyptian superstar Amr Diab, whose warm, lively croon sails over sparkly synths and a syncopated Dutch thump on a remix of Diab’s 2019 hit “Youm Talat.”

Mixing music of different cultures is often easier said than done, but for R3HAB, this and other recent globe-trotting collaborations came about naturally. “I love the Middle East. I love Southeast Asia. I love India. I love the food, I love the culture, I love the people,” the 34-year-old DJ and producer tells For the Record. “I always listen to all types of music, so it doesn’t matter where it’s from. Spotify stimulates this with their playlists from music all around the world. I just turn those on, and I don’t try to put what I hear in a box.” R3HAB’s appetite for music from all around the world is on full display in his new track—a collaborative cover of the Radiohead song “Creep” featuring DJ/producer/remixer GATTÜSO. Their creative take on the rock classic is the first-ever “mint Singles,” a spin-off of the popular Spotify Singles series and companion to our flagship dance playlist, mint.

Born Fadil El Ghoul, R3HAB grew up in the southern Netherlands city of Breda, where Hardwell also grew up. Dutch house has long had an eclectic streak—Afrojack’s “Moombah” remix was the source code for the freaky fusions of moombahton, after all. And R3HAB takes his own free-flowing approach to dance music, borrowing and reinventing at will.

But he hit a whole new level of cultural engagement when he performed last year at MDL Beast, a massive music festival in Riyadh where R3HAB delivered show-stopping performances. Tens of thousands of fans sang along as he laid down remixes and pumping beats for the likes of Egyptian star Mohamed Hamaki and Saudi legend Rabeh Saqer.

Diab also appeared onstage at MDL Beast, where he and R3HAB unveiled the remix of “Youm Talat.” R3HAB loved the idea of working with the Egyptian great; his mom is a huge fan, and he’s made an indelible mark on pop music from Cairo to Times Square. Diab reached out to R3HAB before the Riyadh festival, sending him the studio recordings of the track and other songs so the younger artist could rebuild them as remixes.

The original “Youm Talat” bursts with Diab’s trademark Mediterranean rhythms and lovestruck lyrics sung in the Egyptian dialect. On the remix, R3HAB keeps Diab’s vocals—instantly recognizable to any fan of Arab pop—but swaps out the Andalusian accordion and Cairo party beat for a silky-smooth sound fit for the peak hours of a late-night dance party. “We made a totally new version with a totally different feel, and he loved it so much,” R3HAB says. “We’re actually working on more music now.”

In addition to reworking Diab’s music, R3HAB teamed up recently with Indian songwriter Qaran Mehta to record “Ki Kehna,” a nightclub ballad that combines Dutch house with swooning Bollywood pop. It’s projects like these that distinguish R3HAB as a global-minded innovator.

“R3HAB is a really talented DJ and producer, building his career very well over the last years,” says Wilbert Mutsaers, Spotify Head of Music Benelux. “He’s in our perspective one of the most hardworking, friendly, and motivated Dutch DJs we know, and also very actively involved in promoting his own music and collabs.”

Indeed, wherever R3HAB is, he’s always hungry for new sounds and collaborators. “It’s actually similar to my food,” he says. “I like to taste all kitchens all around the world.”

Hit play on Spotify’s flagship dance playlist, mint, to hear R3HAB’s and GATTÜSO’s new remix of the Radiohead classic “Creep.”

Spotify Stages Overnight Concert for Fans at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival

August 21, 2019

This past weekend, thousands of music lovers flocked to the 20th annual Summer Sonic music festival, which spanned three days and multistage venues in Tokyo and Osaka. The highlight was a special showcase, Spotify on Stage in MIDNIGHT SONIC, which featured seven artists representing multiple music scenes and countries. These groups—including R3HAB, MGMT, SEKAI NO OWARI, and NCT 127—performed from midnight into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Despite an initially gloomy forecast, the skies cleared for a weekend that featured homegrown talent and international acts alike. Among those who took to the six stages in Tokyo and four in Osaka were BLACKPINK, The 1975, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chainsmokers, and Rita Ora, to name just a few.

Check out the photo gallery below for some of the most exciting Summer Sonic moments across the three-day festival—one whose diverse line-up helped foster artist and genre discovery.

Stream On 2023

Time to Play Fair

Spotify Loud & Clear

Spotify x FC Barcelona