A lot has happened in the life of Scottish DJ/producer/singer Calvin Harris since his debut album ‘I Created Disco’ went gold in 2007.
And it’d be more than fair to say that Harris, who recently-released ‘Blame’, featuring John Newman — the second single from his forthcoming fourth studio album ‘Motion’ — is doing well. Last month, he apparently spent a whopping $15m on a Beverly Hills mansion with 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
And just a few months after his very public, acrimonious split with singer Rita Ora, he’s recently been spotted hitting the toon with lingerie model Aarika Wolf, who was a dancer in the ‘Blame’ vid.
Not bad going for the boy from Dumfries formerly known as Adam Wiles, who just turned 30 earlier this year.
If all that’s not enough, Harris has just topped (for the second year running) Forbes magazine’s ‘Electronic Cash Kings’ poll. According to the poll, Harris has earned an estimated $66million in the past year (during which time, he has reportedly played over 125 gigs, including a regular slot for his residency at Hakkasan in Las Vegas), making him the world’s “highest paid DJ”.
"The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years," Harris told Forbes magazine. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Being in the right place at the right time has meant that, in the past few years, the award-winning producer has worked with a gaggle of top pop laydeez — including Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and Kylie — and he’s also collaborated with rapper Dizzee Rascal and indie queen Florence Welch.
After releasing his third studio album ‘18 Months’ (the follow-up to the 2009-released ‘Ready for the Weekend’ LP), in 2012, his ascent to the top echelons of pop-crossover territory has been unstoppable. These poptastic ditties might have left fans of his earlier works — such as the 2007-released electropop hits ‘Acceptable in the 80s’ and ‘The Girls’ — feeling short-changed, but when it comes to a DJ/producer success story, Calvin Harris is the UK’s (only just, after the referendum) biggest superstar success story, and then some.
