Hated, Loved, Guetta

He has brought electronic music into the mainstream

Guetta has been active for over 14 years. In 2002, he achieved his first Swiss chart position with his debut album "Just A Little More Love". Interesting fact: his song "Love Don't Let Me Go", one of the first singles from the album, made it to number 13 in the Swiss charts. Four years later, the song was again in the charts in a remix with "The Egg". In 2007, the album "Pop Life" foreshadowed the career that David Guetta would one day have. Who doesn't have fond memories of "Love Is Gone" or "Baby When The Light"?

After working primarily with American singer Chris Willis and French producer Joachim Garraud on his first three albums, he was joined by other artists for his fourth album. "Suddenly Kelly Rowland was on the phone and told me that she was looking for a new song," the Frenchman revealed in an interview with SonntagsBlick magazine in 2009. "Later, I played her my ideas and the song 'When Love Takes Over'. In the end, I looked at Kelly - and she cried."

Musicians want hits from David Guetta

The song became a Europe-wide success and helped Guetta to put down his first roots in the USA. Since then, stars have been clamoring for songs with the Frenchman. The following album "One Love" included songs with the Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Estelle and Ne-Yo. Rihanna, Madonna, Fergie, Sia, Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Usher, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Hudson, Sam Martin, Emeli Sandé, John Legend, The Script and Jessie J are just some of the names that have appeared on his albums to date. Guetta has also produced hits for other stars such as Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. But why is the Frenchman still so despised and scorned by some?

One reason for the controversy surrounding Guetta is the rumor that he only presses "play" during his performances behind the DJ booth and has already pre-mixed the songs at the concert. He himself vehemently denies this. "It's about combining different records, different soundtracks. For example, when I combine the vocals from one record with the music from another record, I create something unique," he justified himself in an interview with the FAZ in 2015. "What I play can't be heard on the radio or in a club. Because every song I play, I've edited or rearranged. I also don't like it when a rock band plays their songs the way they are played on the radio."

The time zones make him ready

Today, David Guetta is a permanent fixture in the electronic music business. His engagements are spread all over the world, he has two fixed parties in Ibiza and a fixed engagement at XS Nightclub in Las Vegas. But he no longer wants to constantly commute back and forth between time zones. "Traveling and the time differences get me down. Jet lag is the only thing I don't like about my job."

No matter where he is, people flock to his concerts in droves, dancing and cheering him on. He doesn't find this strange: "If you cheer for someone who sings a song that they neither wrote nor produced themselves - why shouldn't you cheer for someone who wrote and produced the song?"

Guetta's last major project was as musical ambassador and producer of the theme song for the 2016 European Football Championship in his home country of France. He was joined by the young, up-and-coming Zara Larsson (18), who provided the vocals for the song. Great cinema: the two not only played an opening concert in front of the Eiffel Tower, but also at the actual opening ceremony and before the big European Championship final.