Calvin Harris’s Full Name
What is his full name?
Though he’s known professionally by his stage name ‘Calvin Harris’ the singer’s real name is actually Adam Richard Wiles. He has said that he chose the name because his first single release was a soul track and he wanted to choose something that sounded more ‘ambigious’ so that people wouldn’t know if he ‘black or not’. His reason for choosing his stage name has been criticised in the media for being racially insensitive.
Calvin Harris’s Age
What is his age?
The singer was born on the 17th of January 1984 in Dumfries, Scotland. He is currently 36 years of age.
Calvin Harris’s Family
Who is his family?
The DJ is the son of David Wiles, a biochemist and Pamela Wiles, a homemaker, who were married in Oxford before moving to Dumfries. He has two siblings, an older sister, Sophie, and an older brother Edward.
Calvin Harris’s Education
Where did he go to school?
The DJ went to Calside Primary School before attending Dumfries High School, after he left school he began working at a supermarket to stock shelves before taking a job at fish processing factory to help buy DJ equipment. The DJ first began to take an interest in electronic music when he was in his teens and started recording demos in his bedroom in 1999. He released two songs at the age of 18 titled ‘Da Bongos’ and ‘Brighter Days’. Both singles were released as 12 inch singles under the label Prima Facie in early 200, under the pseudonym ‘Stouffer’. He moved to London trying to break into the music scene but only released one song during that time before returning home to Dumfries where he bgan posting music on Myspace where he was discovered by Mark Gillespie.
Calvin Harris’s home
Where does he live?
Until recently Calvin Harris lived in a large contemporary home in Hollywood Hills West. The home was recently sold for $7 million. It is a 1950s two-story home with a 10-car garage, set across thousands of square metres.
Calvin Harris’s height and weight
What is his height and weight?
The singer is very tall, at approximately 197 cm’s. He weighs approximately 91 kg’s and is quite slim.
Calvin Harris’s fame
What is he famous for?
Calvin Harris is most famous for being a Scottish DJ, he is also a record producer, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his hit singles, ‘We Found Love’, ‘This Is What You Came For’, ‘Summer’, ‘Feel So Close’, ‘Feels and ‘One Kiss’. His first number one single was his collaboration with Rihanna, ‘We Found Love’ which became an international success. The DJ rose to prominence with her third studio album ’18 Months’ which peaked at the top of the UK charts and charted in the UK. His fourth album debuted at number two in the UK and number five in the US. In 2014 the DJ broke records by becoming the first artist to place three songs on the top ten of the Billbaord’s Dance/Electronic charts. He has earned twelve Brit Award nomination including British Producer of the Year in 2019, he has also earned four Grammy nominations, winning the award for Best Music Video in 2013. Between 2013 and 2018 he topped the list of the world’s highest paid DJs.
Calvin Harris’s early career
How did his career start?
In 2006 Calvin Harris was discovered on MySpace and signed a contract with Three Siz Zero Group. His debut album ‘I Created Disco’ was released in 2007. All the songs o the album were written, produced and performed solely by Harris. He embarked on a tour through the UK with Faithless and Groove Armada to promote the album.
The album contained uptempo electroclash songs which drew influenced from the 1980s. The song ‘Acceptable in the 80s’ reached number ten on the UK singles chart. In the same year the DJ got the attention of Kylie Minogue which led to him producing two songs with here, ‘Heart BEAT Rock’ and ‘In My Arms’ for her 2007 album ‘X’. He contributed the song ‘Off&On’ to Rosin Murphy’s album ‘Overpowered’ but later gave it to Sophie Ellis-Bexter after it was cut from Murphy’s album. In 2008 he worked with Dizzee Rascal on the single ‘Dance wiv Me’ which went to number one in the UK and sold 600,000 copies. His second album ‘Ready for the Weekend’ was released in 2009 and debuted at number one in the UK, his single ‘I’m Not Alone’ debuted at number one, whilst ‘Ready for the Weekend’ peaked at number three. In 2010 the single ‘You Used to Hold Me’ was released, it was the last time he would regularly sing on his own tracks, instead he chose to focus on music production. After completing his ‘Ready for the Weekend’ tour he decided to stop doing live shows. He produced and mixed a number of other songs including Dizzee Rascal’s single ‘Holiday’ which went to number one and the Ting Tins’ single ‘Hands’. In 2010 the singer claimed that his song ‘I’m Not Alone’ was plagiarised by Chris Browns ‘Yeah 3x’ and was added to the songwriting credits of the albums.
Calvin Harris’s career breakthrough
What was his career breakthrough?
In 2011 the DJ appeared as a support act for Rihanna’s Loud tour and played the 2011 Sydney Mardi Gras party. He also made an appearance on LMFAO’s album ‘Sorry for Party Rocking’ on the track ‘Reminds Me of You’. The singer released the single ‘Bounce’ in 2011, it debuted at number two in the UK. The second single ‘Feels so Close’ reached number two in the UK and peaked at number twelve in the US. He produced Rihanna’s songs ‘We Found Love’ ad ‘Where Have You Been’. ‘We Found Love’ topped the charts in 27 countries around the world and became his third UK number one. He helped to write and produce the song ‘One Life’ for Mary J. Blige and worked with the Scissor Sisters on ‘Only the Horses’, he also wrote Cheryl Cole’s song ‘Cll My Name’.
Calvin Harris’s continued career success
What has he done since his career breakthrough?
His third album ’18 Months’ was released in 2012, the albums received a nomination for the Best British Male Solo Artist at the 2013 Brit Awards. The singer was the house DJ for the 2012 MTV video music awards which was held in Los Angeles, he also won the Best Electronic Video for ‘Feels So Close’. In 2014 he released the single ‘Summer’ which debuted at number one in the UK. In April 2014 he gave a performance on the main stage of Coachella Festival where he attracted the second biggest crowd in the history of the festival, just behind Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. His fourth album ‘Motion’ was released in 2014, he received nominations for Best British Single and British Artist Video of the Year at the 2015 Brit Awards. In 2015 he released ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ which peaked at number two on the UK singles chart.
In 2016 he released the single ‘This Is What You Came For’ with Rihanna, it peaked at number three in the US. In 2018 he collaborated with PartyNextDoor, Dua Lipa and Sam Smith. In 2020 he released two EPs, ‘Love Regenerator 1’ and ‘Love Regenerator 2’ and in March released ‘Love Generator 3’.
Calvin Harris’s net worth
What is his net worth?
Calvin Harris has an estimated net worth of approximately $240 million thanks to his successful career as a record producer and DJ.
Calvin Harris’s personal life
Who has he dated?
The DJ had been linked to British singer Rita Ora between 2013 and 2014 and dated Taylor Swift between 2015 and 2016.