Zedd caught up with Billboard's Rania Aniftos at the Billboard No 1s Party 2024.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00We're here with the one and only Zedd. Welcome to the Billboard number one's party.
00:05Thank you for having me.
00:06One thing about you, he's no stranger to a number one.
00:09What is the key to making a hit song, especially with all your collaborators?
00:13You would think that I would know the answer after having at least attempted many of them.
00:18I think I always follow my gut. And my gut isn't always what the world is asking for.
00:24But I think when you genuinely feel something, like a good indicator is if you have goosebumps when you make something.
00:29Like that's your body's natural reaction of telling you that something is special or different or good in some shape or form.
00:35And there's a chance you're not the only human that will feel this way.
00:38So I think instead of trying to nail a direction that somebody gives you or even that you give yourself,
00:43I would follow your instinct as a musician on what feels good.
00:47Yeah. And also probably just as a fan, like how the way you would want to feel listening to someone else's music.
00:52That's true. And I've always been guided by artists that take risks, that do things differently than I would have done them.
00:58And that makes me think, oh, wow, like you could do things this way. You can approach things this way.
01:03So I think following your intuition and being an artist, that sounds silly to say, but you're not a product.
01:09You're an artist. So follow your guide, follow your art.
01:12I love that. I mean, speaking of your art, standing the test of time.
01:15I don't know if you've seen this, but Stay the Night has made a resurgence on TikTok.
01:19I have not. Please. You didn't know that? No.
01:21Because I've been seeing people are like, I wish I was in the clubs when this came out.
01:25It must have been euphoric. And as someone who was in going out age when that came out, I can confirm it was euphoric.
01:32That's awesome. Thank you for letting me know. I actually did not know this.
01:36I mean, yeah. Here you go. You heard it here first.
01:38I appreciate you mentioning it. I mean, working with Hayley Williams on that.
01:41What's it like working with a powerhouse like her?
01:44I love her. So I grew up a huge Paramore fan and I was in my parents' basement listening to her music
01:52and just like imagining what it would one day feel like to have her in a song.
01:56I never thought this was going to happen. But yeah, we got to do the song together.
02:00We got to perform it live. She's amazing. I mean, there's not a single bad thing I can say about her.
02:05She has such a powerful voice for being such a small human.
02:08Right? She just belts. It's insane.
02:10She's super talented. She's super real. She's like, she's a genuine artist.
02:14Like you love them, you know, so yeah, big shout out.
02:18I love that. And lastly, who has been your number one artist this year?
02:22Oh my God. I wish I came prepared for this question.
02:25I actually really like listening to Willow.
02:28She has an amazing album. Let's see. Who else?
02:31Let's see. Let's see. I mean, the crazy thing is that I've collaborated with a lot of the artists that I've been obsessed with.
02:36The Olympics. Yeah, truly. Yeah.
02:39The Olympics is a really underrated band that is amazing.
02:44I love Lizzy. Yeah. Lizzy McAlpine is an artist I've listened to a bunch.
02:49And if I had my laptop, I could probably name a lot more.
02:52But I've honestly, sadly have listened to very little music because I was working on my album for so long that I,
02:57anytime I wasn't in the studio, the last thing I wanted to do is hear music.
03:00So no disrespect.
03:03Yes, but he loves you all. He loves you all.
03:05I love you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
03:07Thank you so much. I hope you have a good night.
03:09Thank you very much. Very nice to meet you as well.