Every year, DJmag.com releases its highly anticipated list of the most talented, sought after and highest grossing DJs in the world. For the sake of space and EDM snobs everywhere, I will review the Top 10 and explain why the ranking should have been different (and for a good reason).
DJ Mag’s 2013 Top 10 includes:
1. Hardwell
2. Armin Van Buuren
3. Avicii
4. Tiesto
5. David Guetta
6.Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
7.Nicky Romero
8. Steve Aoki
9. Afrojack
10. Dash Berlin
My Top 10 for 2013 are:
1. Hardwell
2. W&W
3. Showtek
4. Calvin Harris
5. Tiesto
6. Zedd
7. NERVO
8. Afrojack
9. Nicky Romero
10. Steve Aoki
Hardwell is still at the No. 1 spot on my list because he proved to be a heavy hitter this year.
Starting out collaborating with Tiesto on “Zero 76” to gaining a world wide tour and releasing his “Hardwell on air” podcast, he has proved exactly what he is made of and more. He reminds me of Tiesto in his early years,which says a whole lot in and of itself, and it is expected that he will only get better with age.
NERVO and Zedd were placed in my Top 10 unlike DJ Mag’s because they both have constantly provided beautiful, melodic tracks that really speak to listeners and have blown up the music charts in the last several weeks.
After doing some research, I found several listeners who claimed they have gained a new found love for EDM music just by listening to Zedd’s songs. If that’s not a good artist, I do not know what is.
NERVO is a powerful female duo that knows how to pair fiery beats with real, soulful lyrics. These girls have been underrated enough and deserve to be so much higher on DJ Mag’s list (originally placed at No. 16).
I’m happy to announce though that NERVO was the first female artist group ever to be voted on DJ Mag’s Top 100.
At No. 10, I placed Steve Aoki, who I believe has still yet to find his niche. His recent collab with Chris Lake, “Boneless,” is an incredible track that gets stuck in your head and will take you on a crazy musical trip. Independently, however, Aoki still has some work to do. He is talented, no doubt, as exemplified in his track “Pursuit of Happiness.”
As an individual, I am waiting to see Aoki create something incredibly smooth and universal on his own, but I have so much faith in him.