- [Alex] Electronic dance music
made its debut in the 1980s and it's only gotten more
and more popular as the years go on.
Believe it or not, there was a time almost two decades ago
when you'd never hear a DJ's music on the radio.
The producers were relegated to the background
and the singers were the stars.
Today, however, it's all we hear and we love it.
One artist that's been on my favorites list
for a long time is David Guetta.
Pierre David Guetta is a Parisian DJ,
songwriter, record producer, and remixer.
His passion for EDM sparked in 1988
when the genre was still pretty new in the music industry.
Let's talk about his billboard hits.
David Guetta's one of the few stars
who's managed to keep both ends of the bargain
performing super hard in clubs
and making a bunch of money touring
while also creating art that ranks on The Billboard Charts.
Some of the songs that he did
include a collaboration with Akon.
It's a hit song.
(laughs) It's called Sexy Bitch which became
a number one hit in the United Kingdom
and a top five hit in the U.S.
He also collaborated with The Black Eyed Peas
on the memorable hit, I Gotta Feeling
which became a number one hit for 14 weeks straight.
He's also collaborated with Usher on Without You,
the very memorable Titanium with the iconic Sia,
one of the first performances as a named artist.
And other great artists like Rihanna, Ludacris, and Fergie.
How he became the highest paid DJ.
Guetta is one of the highest paid DJs in the world.
Currently, he's at number seven after having earned
$25 million in the past year
and his income is mainly from live shows
at major festivals like Ultra and Tomorrowland.
And performing in those exclusive clubs like Pacha.
Internationally over the last year,
he's tallied over a hundred performances across
all of Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
He's headlined residencies in Ibiza and Las Vegas
and you'll find him performing
at both of those spots most of the year.
His career is partly managed by Scooter Braun.
That's the same manager responsible for turning
Justin Bieber and Arianna Grande
into the stars they are today.
Guetta's also managed by
his long-time manager, Jean Charles Carre.
I wonder if I should have a real French person
read French names on the channel.
(keyboard clicking)
- [French Translator] Jean Charles Carre.
- [Alex] Dance music for as long as we've known it
has always brought a strong vibe.
It's fun to dance to, it's fun to listen to,
and EDM prides itself on being the kind of music
you can dance and jump to from the start.
It's got the highs and lows.
You're into it.
EDM music is interesting because it's not so much
about the melody or the songwriting composition
as much as it is about the feel of the music.
Versus something like classical music which is more
about how it sounds and how the song is composed.
Let's talk a little bit about
David Guetta's creation process.
How he makes his songs.
Here's a video that breaks down
what David Guetta does in music.
- EQ a kick that has a lot of attack.
If you want to do, like, normal level production,
what I would suggested is at the beginning at least,
use always the same kick.
When you have a kick bass that works,
I would say stick to it.
- [Alex] For today's music, he recommends
that you use a very short sidechain.
You can do this by using something shorter like a trigger
instead of using your kick that has a tail.
I'm reverting to the experts on this
because I don't know enough about music right now
to do an accurate judgment.
Then, the last thing he says is
before taking your verses to master--
- What I do is that I have a pre-master.
So all those verses, instead of going to the master,
they're going to a pre-master.
So, why am I doing this?
Because I have a few records that I think sounds amazing.
So, I want to be able to compare.
Because your ears are getting used to whatever you're doing
and you're always going to feel it sounds great
but if you take your reference, it's always better.
- [Alex] In Forbes interviews, Guetta said
that he's constantly touring and performing
his shows as well as producing music.
He tests his beats out at clubs while he's Djing
and then tweaks those beats back
when he's at his hotel room.
At that point, the beats are halfway done.
And then the final step to creating a hit
is perfecting it in a music studio.
Another way that Guetta keeps his music fresh and catchy
is listening to other DJs.
He's pointed out that he loves Afrojack,
Nicky Romero, and the late Avicii.
He frequently performs in Las Vegas and Ibiza,
tagging the island the mecca of dance music in Europe
since the really early days of house.
In 2010, David Guetta received a Grammy Award
for his collaboration with Kelly Rowland
for the song, When Love Takes Over,
and another with Madonna on the song Revolver.
And in 2012, he was nominated
for two Grammy Awards and one Brit Award.
In a 2014 interview with Billboard,
Guetta said that "Of course, what you go through
in your life influences the music you make.
That's normal."
I want to talk more in depth about how he produces music.
So, I wanna throw it over to Bobby Owsinski
who wrote this article all about Guetta's 2012 song
called Turn Me On which featured singer Nicki Minaj.
♪ Make me come alive ♪
♪ Come on and turn me on ♪
Owsinski said this song is a very basic song for him
with one twist in the pre-chorus.
A form looks like this.
Intro, verse, B section, interlude, chorus,
verse, B section, interlude, chorus, bridge, chorus.
Each section is eight bars long except for the interlude.
The Oh part before the chorus
which only four bars.
And that's the only thing that changes
the song up a bit form-wise.
Guetta went with a rhyme element made up
of a huge kick drum and bass sound
rather than a drum kit and bass.
Owsinski said, "What's very interesting in 'Turn Me On'
is the way the claps and high hat
are used to develop the song.
Usually, songs developed
by adding additional arrangement elements
or additional instrument or vocal layers.
On this song, percussion is used
to accomplish the same thing."
♪ You got that kind of medicine that keep me comin' ♪
♪ My body needs a hero ♪
♪ Come and save me ♪
Here's what Owsinski said about the production of the song.
"I think the big reason why this song is a hit
is its excellent dynamics.
The song goes from a whisper to a roar and back again
several times during the song which keeps your attention
on a rather uninteresting song form.
Listen how the song starts off quiet.
♪ Docta Docta ♪
Gets a bit bigger during the first verse.
♪ Docta Docta, where you at? ♪
A bit more during the B section.
♪ You know how to save me ♪
Then comes down to just a vocal during the interlude.
Then smacks you over the head on the chorus.
♪ Make me come alive ♪
The tension and release is why it remains interesting."
This Owsinski guy's pretty interesting.
Again, I put a link down to this article in the description.
When he was asked what keeps him
at the top of The Billboard Charts,
he said, "You never know if it's gonna work or not
but at the same time, if you don't follow your heart,
you're always going to be frustrated."
Here are references to the articles that we went through.
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I'm Alex Berman.
Thanks!