Zedd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zedd
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Zedd in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anton Zaslavski |
| Born | 2 September 1989 Saratov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (present-day Russia) |
| Origin | Kaiserslautern, Germany |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
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Anton Zaslavski (born September 2, 1989), known professionally as Zedd, is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, comes from the English pronunciation of the first letter of his last name. He grew up in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Zedd became very famous with his 2012 song "Clarity", which featured the singer Foxes. This song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. "Clarity" was the third song from his first album, also called Clarity (2012). A special version of this album included the song "Stay the Night" with Hayley Williams, which was also a top 20 hit in the US.
Zedd's second album, True Colors (2015), featured the song "I Want You to Know" with Selena Gomez. This song also made it into the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 song, "Stay" with Alessia Cara, reached number seven on the chart. In 2018, his song "The Middle" with Maren Morris and Grey peaked at number five. Zedd also appeared on Ariana Grande's 2014 song "Break Free", which reached number four. Zedd released his third album, Telos, on August 30, 2024.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Anton Zaslavski was born on September 2, 1989, in Saratov, Russia. His family moved to Dansenberg, Kaiserslautern, Germany, when he was three years old. Anton comes from a family of musicians. His father, Igor Zaslavski, is a guitarist and teacher, and his mother teaches piano.
Anton started playing the piano when he was four years old and the drums at twelve. In 2002, he began playing for a German band called Dioramic. He became interested in making electronic music after hearing the album Cross by the French electronic group Justice.
Music Career
2010–2011: Starting Out
After leaving Dioramic in 2010, Zedd won two remix contests. His first original song, "The Anthem", quickly became a top 20 hit on the Beatport Electro house chart.
He also created a remix of Skrillex's song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites". Since then, Zedd has remixed songs for many famous artists. These include Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, the Black-Eyed Peas, Enhypen, Twice, Blackpink, and others. Zedd uses special computer programs and tools like Cubase to create his music.
Zedd's remix of Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" was included on a special edition of her album Born This Way in 2011. In the same year, his song "Shave It Up" was released on the record label Owsla. Zedd later released "Slam the Door" and "Shotgun" with OWSLA before moving on to release his first album.
2012–2014: Clarity Album Success
In 2012, Zedd signed with Interscope Records. He released his first song with them, "Spectrum", which featured vocals by Matthew Koma. This song quickly reached the top of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. He also produced the song "I Don't Like You" for Eva Simons. Zedd also helped produce and write "Beauty and a Beat" for Justin Bieber's album Believe.
On October 12, 2012, Zedd released his first studio album, Clarity. The song "Clarity", featuring British singer Foxes, was released as a single on February 1, 2013. It became a huge hit, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song sold over 2.2 million copies and was certified platinum, making it Zedd's most successful song at that time. It was also the most played song on American radio on September 10, 2013. Zedd finished 2013 with his first world tour, selling out shows across five continents.
Zedd worked with Japanese singer Namie Amuro and produced her song "Heaven" for her album Feel.
"Stay the Night", featuring Hayley Williams, was released on September 10, 2013. This song was part of the special version of Zedd's album. It also did very well, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming platinum certified. In 2013, Zedd produced several songs for Lady Gaga's album Artpop. On January 26, 2014, he released "Find You" with Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant. This song was included on the soundtrack for the movie Divergent.
On July 3, 2014, Ariana Grande released "Break Free" with Zedd. This song reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The song was nominated for a "Break-Up Song" award at the Teen Choice Awards. On December 18, 2014, a documentary called Moment of Clarity was released on Zedd's YouTube channel. It was about Zedd and his 2013 world tour.
2015–2016: True Colors Album
After a six-month break, Zedd announced his second studio album, True Colors. On February 23, 2015, Zedd released "I Want You to Know", a song with Selena Gomez. Zedd helped write and produce this song. It reached number 1 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified platinum in the US.
Zedd released his second song from the album, "Beautiful Now" featuring Jon Bellion, on May 13, 2015. The album True Colors was released two days later. It reached number 1 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The third song from the album, "Papercut", featuring Troye Sivan, was released on July 17, 2015. Zedd performed at the Counter Point Music and Arts Festival and the Spring Awakening Festival in 2015.
Zedd performed at the 2015 CMT Music Awards with Lady Antebellum. They performed a mix of their songs "Long Stretch of Love" and "Beautiful Now." His second world tour, the True Colors Tour, took place from August to November 2015. Zedd was also part of the Coachella lineup in 2016. On February 26, 2016, Zedd released the song "Candyman" with Aloe Blacc. On July 15, 2016, singer Hailee Steinfeld and the duo Grey released "Starving" featuring Zedd. This song reached number 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and the UK Singles Chart.
Zedd worked with Riot Games for the 2016 League of Legends eSports championship, Worlds. He released a song called "Ignite" on September 26, 2016. He later released a "Finals Remix" of the song. On December 15, 2016, Zedd released a remix of DJ Snake's song "Let Me Love You".
2017–2023: Many Collaborations
In 2017, Zedd organized a special concert to raise money for the American Civil Liberties Union. Many artists performed, including Daya, Halsey, and Skrillex. On February 23, 2017, Zedd released "Stay" with Alessia Cara. This song debuted at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. On July 6, 2017, Zedd released "Get Low" with Liam Payne.
On January 23, 2018, Zedd released "The Middle" with Maren Morris and Grey. This song became number 1 on the Billboard Pop Songs radio chart and reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2018, Billboard magazine ranked Zedd as number seven on their list of top dance musicians.
National Geographic asked Zedd to create a song inspired by their documentary series One Strange Rock. He released a video for the song, also called "One Strange Rock", on his YouTube channel on April 9, 2018. On July 17, 2018, Zedd released "Happy Now" with Elley Duhé. The music video for this song was released on August 23, 2018.
On September 27, 2018, Zedd released a remix of Shawn Mendes's song "Lost in Japan". This song quickly became popular on the Top 40 charts. They performed this song together at the 2018 American Music Awards and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. The music video was released on November 9, 2018.
On February 14, 2019, Zedd released "365" with Katy Perry, along with its music video.
Zedd performed at Coachella on April 21, 2019. He brought out Katy Perry, Alessia Cara, and Maren Morris to perform with him. On May 1, 2019, Zedd announced the Orbit Tour, which started in the fall of 2019. He toured with the duo NOTD and Jax Jones.
On May 31, 2019, Katy Perry released her song "Never Really Over", which Zedd helped produce and write. The song debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
On September 27, 2019, Zedd released the song "Good Thing" with Kehlani.
On July 16, 2020, Zedd released "Funny" with Jasmine Thompson, along with its music video.
On October 23, 2020, Zedd released "Inside Out" with Griff.
In April 2021, it was announced that Zedd would have a regular performance spot at the new Las Vegas club Zouk. On August 13, 2021, Zedd performed at Musikfest.
On September 7, 2021, Valorant announced that Zedd had worked with them to create special weapon skins for the game. These skins included unique sound effects and a custom tune.
On January 28, 2022, Zedd released "You've Got to Let Go If You Want to Be Free" with the English electronic duo Disclosure.
On May 20, 2022, Zedd performed at EDC Las Vegas, which was also streamed live online.
On August 12, 2022, Zedd started working with the computer company HyperX and became their "Global Brand Ambassador".
2024–Present: Telos and Dragon Ball Daima
Nine years after his album True Colors, Zedd announced his third album, Telos, which was released on August 30, 2024. Zedd also announced the Telos Tour to go along with the album. On June 21, 2024, Zedd released "Out of Time", featuring Bea Miller, as the first song from the album.
In September 2024, he performed "No Gravity" with Bava (musician) to a sold-out audience in Los Angeles.
Zedd worked with the Japanese vocal duo C & K to perform "Jaka Jaan", the opening theme song of the 2024 anime series Dragon Ball Daima. He was chosen for this job because he is a big fan of the Dragon Ball series. Zedd also performs the show's ending theme, "Nakama", with Japanese-American singer Ai.
Personal Life
Zedd briefly dated singer and actress Selena Gomez in 2015. He mentioned that he did not like all the media attention that came with it.
Zedd is a fan of the German football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Discography
- Clarity (2012)
- True Colors (2015)
- Telos (2024)
Awards and Nominations
American Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Zedd | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated |
| 2015 | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated | |
| "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Collaboration of the Year | Nominated |
APRA Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Dance Work of the Year | Won |
| Most Played Australian Work | Won |
Billboard Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Clarity" (ft. Foxes) | Top Dance/Electronic Song | Nominated |
| Clarity | Top Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated | |
| Zedd | Top Dance/Electronic Artist | Nominated | |
| 2015 | "Break Free" (ft. Ariana Grande) | Top Dance/Electronic Song | Nominated |
| 2016 | True Colors | Top Dance/Electronic Album | Won |
| Zedd | Top Dance/Electronic Artist | Nominated | |
| 2018 | "Stay" (ft. Alessia Cara) | Top Dance/Electronic Song | Nominated |
| 2019 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Top Radio Song | Nominated |
| Top Dance/Electronic Song | Won |
DJ Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Zedd | Best Electro DJ | Nominated |
Grammy Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Clarity" (ft. Foxes) | Best Dance Recording | Won |
| 2017 | "Stay" (ft. Alessia Cara) | Best Pop Duo/Group Performance | Nominated |
| 2018 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Record of the Year | Nominated |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Pop Duo/Group Performance | Nominated | ||
| 2025 | "Telos" | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated |
iHeartRadio Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Stay the Night" (ft. Hayley Williams) | EDM Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2016 | Zedd | Dance Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2018 | "Stay" (ft. Alessia Cara) | Dance Song of the Year | Won |
| Best Collaboration | Nominated | ||
| Zedd | Dance Artist of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2019 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Song of the Year | Won |
| Dance Song of the Year | Won | ||
| Best Collaboration | Nominated | ||
| Zedd | Dance Artist of the Year | Nominated |
iHeartRadio Titanium Awards
iHeartRadio Titanium Awards are given to artists when their song is played 1 Billion times on iHeartRadio Stations.
| Year | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Stay" (ft Alessia Cara) | 1 Billion Total Audience Spins on iHeartRadio Stations | Won |
| 2018 | "The Middle" (ft Maren Morris & Grey) | Won |
MTV Europe Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Zedd | Best Push Act | Nominated |
MTV Video Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Clarity" (ft. Foxes) | Artist To Watch | Nominated |
| 2014 | "Stay the Night" (ft. Hayley Williams) | MTV Clubland Award | Won |
| Best Editing | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | "Stay" (ft. Alessia Cara) | Best Dance | Won |
| 2019 | "Get Low" (ft. Liam Payne) | Nominated |
Much Music Video Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Best Collaboration | Nominated |
| Song of the Summer | Nominated | ||
| Zedd | Best EDM/Dance Artist or Group | Nominated |
Radio Disney Music Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Clarity" (ft. Foxes) | Best Musical Collaboration | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Starving" (ft. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey) | Best Crush Song | Nominated |
| 2018 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| Best Dance Track | Nominated | ||
| Best Collaboration | Nominated |
Teen Choice Awards
| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Zedd | Choice Music – Electronic Dance Music Artist | Nominated |
| "Break Free" (ft. Ariana Grande) | Choice Music: Break-Up Song | Nominated | |
| 2015 | "I Want You to Know" (ft. Selena Gomez) | Choice Music: Party Song | Nominated |
| Choice Theme Song | Won | ||
| 2017 | "Stay" (ft. Alessia Cara) | Choice Music Collaboration | Nominated |
| Choice Pop Song | Nominated | ||
| Choice Summer Song | Nominated | ||
| Zedd | Choice Electronic/Dance Artist | Nominated | |
| Choice Summer Male Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | "The Middle" (ft. Maren Morris & Grey) | Choice Music Collaboration | Nominated |
| Choice Electronic/Dance Song | Nominated | ||
| Zedd | Choice Electronic/Dance Artist | Nominated | |
| 2019 | "365" (ft. Katy Perry) | Choice Electronic/Dance Song | Nominated |
Tours and Concerts
Headlining Tours
- Moment of Clarity Tour (2013)
- True Colors Tour (2015)
- Echo Tour (2017–2018)
- Orbit Tour (2019)
- Palm Tree Festival Hawaii (2024)
- Telos Tour (2024)
Regular Performances
- Hakkasan Nightclub in Las Vegas (2017–2021)
- OMNIA Nightclub in Las Vegas (2017–2021)
- Wet Republic in Las Vegas (2017–2021)
- Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas (2021–present)
Supporting Other Artists
- Meowingtons Hax Tour (Deadmau5, 2011)
- Born This Way Ball (Lady Gaga, 2012, Asia Leg)
- Witness: The Tour (Katy Perry, 2018, Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland)
Guest Appearances
- Linkin Park and Friends – Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington (2017) – played drums on "Crawling"
See also
In Spanish: Zedd para niños
