Norwegian electronic producer
Kygo broke into the mainstream in the 2010s with a tropical house sound that he utilized on remixes of
Seinabo Sey's "Younger,"
Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," and
Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire." Building a steady following with singles and live performances, he issued his debut,
Cloud Nine, in 2016, topping charts in Europe and the U.S. and going multi-platinum in his native Norway on the strength of the single "Firestone" with
Conrad Sewell. Subsequent hit singles included "It Ain't Me" with
Selena Gomez, "First Time" with
Ellie Goulding, and "Born to Be Yours" with
Imagine Dragons.
Kygo has remained at the top of the charts in Norway with albums like 2017's Kids in Love and 2020's
Golden Hour, the latter of which reached number 18 on the Billboard 200.
Born Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll in Singapore and raised across multiple continents, the
Avicii-inspired producer and DJ started playing piano as a child, discovering electronic music as a teen. After dropping out of college, he decided to pursue music full-time. Signed to an international deal with Sony that placed him on RCA in the U.S. and Syco in the U.K.,
Kygo released his first proper single, "Firestone," in 2014. Featuring lead vocals from
Conrad Sewell, the song not only went to number one in Norway but reached the Top Ten in several other territories. The following year, the
Parson James collaboration "Stole the Show" was
Kygo's second consecutive solo number one hit in Norway. Later that year, "Nothing Left" featuring
Will Heard became his third Norwegian chart-topper.
These hits, along with additional singles that featured
Labrinth,
Kodaline, and
James Vincent McMorrow, preceded his debut full-length LP,
Cloud Nine, which was released in May 2016 and quickly went to number one in Norway. That month, two tracks he produced with
Stargate appeared on
Fifth Harmony's
7/27. In February 2017,
Kygo released "It Ain't Me," a collaboration with American singer
Selena Gomez that reached number ten on the Billboard pop chart. "First Time," another collaboration, this time with British singer
Ellie Goulding, quickly followed. Both tracks went on to appear on 2017's Stargazing EP. The release also featured a remix of the
U2 song "You're the Best Thing About Me."
Later that year,
Kygo issued his sophomore follow-up LP, Kids in Love. The album featured guests like
John Newman ("Never Let You Go"),
OneRepublic ("Stranger Things"), and
Wrabel ("With You"). Released in 2018, the Kids in Love (Remixes) LP offered alternate mixes and recut versions of tracks from his 2017 album and also included the new song "This Town," featuring
Gucci Mane and
Sasha Sloan. He closed out the year with an
Imagine Dragons collaboration, "Born to Be Yours," before kicking off his next album cycle.
Following the 2019 release of "Think About You" featuring
Valerie Broussard,
Kygo scored an unexpected international crossover hit with a remix of
Whitney Houston's "Higher Love." Landing close to the top of the U.K. singles chart, it also placed across Europe, Asia, and Australia. More high-profile collaborations followed, leading up to the release of his third LP, 2020's
Golden Hour. In addition to "Higher Love," the set also featured work with artists from across the genre spectrum, including
Zara Larsson,
Tyga,
OneRepublic,
Kim Petras,
Zac Brown, and many more.
Golden Hour reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top Electronic Albums chart. More non-album tracks appeared, such as a remix of
Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It" and the song "Gone Are the Days" with James Gillespie. 2021 brought additional singles like "Love Me Now" featuring
Zoe Wees and "Undeniable" featuring
X Ambassadors. ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung