"He has this knack for determining what's going to be a hit": How David Guetta managed to stay on top after more than 20 years in the business

This is a unique case. At 57, David Guetta , one of the most renowned DJs in the world, continues to make young and old dance in the biggest stadiums and festivals, after more than twenty years of career. He will perform on the evening of Saturday, July 19 at the Lollapalooza festival, at the Longchamp racecourse, in Paris. How can we explain this longevity on the electro scene when a new generation is taking over? "He has the Magic Touch, " explains with humor Antoine Gouiffes-Yan, director of the Parlophone France label (Warner).

His secret is quite simple. The French DJ has a great ability to appeal to all audiences, at all ages: "He has this gift of determining what will become a hit or not." But above all, David Guetta can be both "listened to by house and electro purists with more cutting-edge and niche tracks, but at the same time release mainstream music that becomes hits." This talent gives him " absolute credibility because he is able to juggle between different registers, he is a jack of all trades. I think that is the key to success," adds Antoine Gouiffes-Yan.

Since his glory days in the 2000s and 2010s with his global hits Sexy Bitch (2009), Memories (2010) and Titanium (2011) , he has always enjoyed success with his tracks: "He's an artist who has never had a downtime. He's never found himself at a low ebb. He's always been able to create a tempo, a meeting place," says the label director. According to him, today the electro star "is even enjoying greater success than he was ten years ago."

The numbers bear witness to this. Crazy What Love Can Do , released in 2022, was a platinum single (30 million streams), I'm Good (2023) a diamond disc (50 million streams), I Don't Wanna Wait (2024) also a diamond single, and the new single Together , released a few weeks ago, is already a gold single (15 million streams). " David Guetta, at the moment, it's more than 45 billion streams, worldwide. It is between 150 millions and 200 millions of streams per week worldwide, it is part of the Top 5 of the world's top Spotify artists. These are spectacular numbers , " says Antoine Gouiffes-Yan.

These figures are even more spectacular when you consider that it is rather rare for an artist who has already had a lot of success before to continue to have a hit. "In general, when you manage to make your biggest hits, afterwards, you continue to have a very good career, but it is very difficult to continue to produce global hits that remain so for several years." For example, the song I'm Good is regularly in the top 200 of the most listened to tracks online, two years after its release.

His connection to each era gives him a great advantage. "He collaborates with young talent, with the artists of the moment. Back then, it was Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, or Rihanna; now, it's more Zara Larsson or Ava Max." He also takes advantage of trends like covers of cult songs from the 1980s that are very successful today. The track " Together," released on July 4, is a remake of Bonnie Tyler's legendary song: Total Eclipse of the Heart. "He has this ability to reinvent songs that are often 'guilty pleasures' and make them to audiences who have never heard the original title,” explains Antoine Gouiffes-Yan.

David Guetta also puts on spectacular shows on the biggest stages in the world. The DJ isn't just there to mix and get the audience dancing, but also to deliver a truly immersive and unifying show: "The big concert he did at the Vélodrome in Marseille on June 21st was truly impressive, the introduction was absolutely crazy, everyone was talking about it on social media," says the label director.

"He was able to turn an electro set into an extremely powerful show in terms of image and emotion. The critics are unanimous on what he managed to bring in terms of visual and immersive promise." For those who would like to dance to the rhythm of his biggest hits, meet us Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on the Main West stage at the Lollapalooza festival .