Adam Richard Wiles was born on the 17th of January 1984. Of course, we know Adam better as the global superstar DJ Calvin Harris, who’s been writing, producing and performing some of our most loved tracks since 2007.
Calvin burst onto the music scene in March 2007 with the track ‘Acceptable in the 80’s’ – little did he know that the song would go on to kick start his career and change his life. Since then, he has released four studio albums, 24 singles (including 9 from 18 Months, making it the first album in history to spawn nine top-10 singles!), toured across the globe including a Las Vegas residency, been the face of Giorgio Armani and launched his own label, Fly Eye Records. The Sunday Times Rich List 2015 reported that the Scottish singer was ranked the 30th richest British millionaire in music, with a personal fortune of £70 million! Not bad, eh?!
To celebrate Calvin’s 32nd birthday today, we take a look at ten of the best songs that he’s given us over the years.
1. Acceptable in the 80’s
‘Acceptable in the 80’s’ was released in March 2007 and was Calvin’s debut release – it reached number 10 in the UK charts. The video features all things stereotypically 80’s and you might actually struggle to recognise Calvin, he’s changed A LOT since his first video!
2. I’m Not Alone
‘I’m Not Alone’ was Calvin’s fourth single, and the lead track from his second album Ready For The Weekend. It also reached number one in the UK!
3. Bounce
Up until ‘Bounce’, Calvin had sung on all of his single releases. However for this track, ‘Milkshake’ singer Kelis was a guest vocalist and the song went Gold in the UK. Calvin had said in 2010 that he would no longer be singing on his tracks, and ‘Bounce’ was the first example of this, however, he continued to grace us with his vocals on later tracks.
4. Let’s Go
‘Let’s Go’ features vocals from Ne-Yo and is certified gold in the UK. The song reached number two in the charts but was held off from the top spot by Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’.
5. Sweet Nothing
‘Sweet Nothing’ was released in 2012 and featured vocals from Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine). It gave Calvin his second number one with Florence in the UK, after his remix of ‘Spectrum (Say My Name)’ also reached number one. The song was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the Grammy’s.
6. I Need Your Love
This single featured vocals from Ellie Goulding and the video sees Ellie and Calvin as a romantic couple. The single and video were nominated for a ton of awards and reached number four in the UK charts and number one on the Billboard Dance Club chart.
7. Under Control
‘Under Control’ was another number one hit for Calvin and was a collaboration with Swedish DJ Alesso featuring vocals from duo Hurts. Despite being a number one hit for Calvin, we think it’s one of his more underrated songs.
8. Summer
After releasing several songs featuring guest vocalists, Calvin returned to his roots for ‘Summer’ by singing himself. It was a massive number one hit in the UK and other countries, and is his most viewed video on YouTube with over 668 million views. It has also gone platinum in the UK and 3x platinum in the US!
9. Blame
How do you follow up such a successful single as ‘Summer’? You join forces with one of the UK’s most talented singers of course! ‘Blame’ was another smash hit for Calvin and featured vocals from the fantastic John Newman. It also gave Calvin another platinum selling single in the UK.
10. How Deep Is Your Love
Now we’re up-to-date with Calvin’s most recent single, ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ featuring Disciples. The platinum selling single reached number two in the UK charts back in July 2015 but it’s still riding high in the top 40 six months later! The video features the beautiful Gigi Hadid.
Happy 32nd Birthday Calvin Harris, with love from CelebMix!
What’s your favourite Calvin Harris song? Tweet us your thoughts @CelebMix or leave a comment below.