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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 upon 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.
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 on Syco in the U.K., he 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. In 2018, Kygo teamed with Imagine Dragons for "Born to Be Yours." ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung