Enigmatic masked DJ/producer Marshmello makes groove-oriented, synth- and bass-heavy electronic dance music which regularly achieves mainstream crossover success. In the spirit of similarly cloaked dance figures like Deadmau5 and Daft Punk, Marshmello performs wearing a full-head-covering, in his case a marshmallow mask. Despite his early anonymity, Marshmello's career blew up in 2015 when he began releasing tracks online. From there came shows at New York's Pier 94, Pomona, California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, and Miami Music Week. He also scored a number five Billboard electronic/dance album with his full-length debut, Joytime, before landing two consecutive number one dance albums, Joytime II and Joytime III. Collaborative hits followed with artists including Selena Gomez ("Wolves"), Khalid ("Silence"), and Bastille (the platinum hit "Happier"). He again hit a solo peak in 2019 with his revolutionary in-game concert Fortnite Extended Set, and returned to the Top Ten of the dance charts with 2021's Shockwave. In 2023, he collaborated with Brazil's Tropkillaz on Mellokillaz and again topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart with his first Latin crossover set Sugar Papi. His 2024 Kane Brown collaboration, "Miles on It," also topped the dance charts.

Marshmello's career began in 2015 when he posted his music on SoundCloud, including remixes of Zedd's "Beautiful Now," Jack Ü's "Where Are U Now," and others. Soon he was drawing fans and gaining vocal support from peers like Skrillex, who reposted Marshmello's track "Find Me." High-profile live DJ appearances followed, with shows at Ultra Music Festival and California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, among others. In 2016, Marshmello released a compilation of his previously released tracks, Joytime, which reached number five on the Billboard electronic/dance albums chart and number one on a digital top electronic albums chart. Included on the album was the single "Keep It Mello" featuring rapper Omar LinX.

Also in 2016, after a set at Electric Daisy Carnival, Dutch DJ Tiësto jokingly emerged from under Marshmello's mask, fallaciously proclaiming he was the mysterious DJ. The real Marshmello continued to perform and release singles throughout the year, later starting his own Joytime Collective record label. More collaborations followed in 2017, including "Silence" with Khalid and "Wolves" featuring Selena Gomez. Both tracks became Top 30 hits and were certified platinum around the world.

In 2018, Marshmello added another hit collaboration to his roster, pairing with British vocalist Anne-Marie for their multi-platinum hit single "Friends." After delivering his second full-length album, Joytime II, he released the non-album single "Happier," which featured Bastille's Dan Smith on vocals. The song quickly became a high-charting track, rising into the Top Three in the U.S., U.K., and Australasia. As the popularity of "Happier" continued to rise, Marshmello scored a charting effort with the revolutionary Fortnite Extended Set, a 30-minute mix taken from his 2019 in-game concert that attracted millions of video gamers. By the time summer rolled around, "Happier" had topped the Billboard electronic chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, a collaboration with Chvrches, "Here with Me," began its steady rise up the charts, giving the indie outfit their highest-charting single to date. Marshmello also added additional cross-genre collaborations to his singles list, including "Light It Up" with Tyga and Chris Brown, "One Thing Right" with country singer Kane Brown, and "Rescue Me" with pop-punkers A Day to Remember. The latter track appeared on Joytime III, which arrived in July 2019 and featured guests Slushii, Flux Pavilion, Elohim, and Wiwek. It hit number 50 on the Billboard 200 and topped the dance chart.

In February 2020, Marshmello joined Svdden Death for the track "Crusade," and later Halsey for the ebullient "Be Kind." The following year saw Marshmello deliver collaborations with Aussie singer/songwriter Vance Joy ("You"), Kentucky rapper 2KBABY ("Like This"), and Iranian singer/producer Arash ("Lavandia"). The DJ's fourth full-length, Shockwave, arrived in June 2021 and featured appearances by Juicy J, Megan Thee Stallion, Subtronics, and more. It hit number three on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and earned Marshmello his first Grammy Award nomination. A handful of non-album tracks kept the DJ busy in 2022, including "Numb" with Khalid, "Sah Sah" with Nancy Ajram, and the punk-influenced "American Psycho" with Mae Muller (and featuring Trippie Redd). "Bye Bye," a 2019 collaboration with the late Juice Wrld, appeared in 2022, followed in 2023 by the Jamie Brown-assisted "Party Jumpin'." Other 2023 singles included collaborations with Polo G, Farruko, and Brent Faiyaz; he additionally released Mellokillaz with Tropkillaz. That same year, he also teamed with Sony Latin and a full roster of guests who included Farruko, Anuel AA, Nicky Jam, and more on the Latin-dance crossover album Sugar Papi, which topped the Electronic Albums chart. "Miles on It," the DJ's second collaboration with country singer Kane Brown, arrived in March 2024, topping the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and reaching number 29 on the Mainstream Top 40. ~ Matt Collar

Blending hip-hop-influenced R&B with confessional pop, Kane Brown has defied country conventions since he hit with a string of Billboard Country Airplay number one hits in the late 2010s. On his singles, Brown alternated between romantic slow jams and party numbers ripe for remixes and collaborations by the likes of Khalid and Marshmello -- a fluid mix suited for a variety of genres or moods. Brown's versatility disguised a candidly emotional and autobiographical streak that surfaced on his albums, an element that added dimension to his music even when it wound up as an accent on a collection of savvy modern pop as it did on Different Man, the 2022 album that confirmed his status as one of the more distinctive country stars of his era.

Kane Allen Brown was born in 1993 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a white mother and Black father. He spent much of his youth living with his mother in Redbank, Tennessee, where he first became interested in music while in high school. Initially attracted to R&B, Brown decided to focus on country after winning an 11th grade talent contest with his rendition of Chris Young's "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)." Buoyed by that success, Brown began posting videos online of covers of songs by Brantley Gilbert, Alan Jackson, and others. He quickly developed a loyal following, a fan base that helped his own single, "Don't Go City on Me," go viral upon its release in 2014. In 2015, Brown released his debut EP, Closer, which reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Country Albums chart. Following Closer, he also released the stand-alone single "Used to Love You Sober."

In early 2016, Brown signed a recording contract with RCA/Sony Music Nashville. That December, he returned with his eponymous full-length debut, Kane Brown, featuring the singles "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" and "Thunder in the Rain." The album debuted at number one on the country charts and peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200. Two more singles, "What Ifs," featuring Lauren Alaina, and "Heaven" appeared in 2017.

"Lose It," the first single from Kane Brown's second album, appeared in June 2018. It climbed to number one on Billboard's Country Airplay chart prior to Experiment's release in November. Experiment debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 and spawned two more number one Country Airplay singles with "Good as You" and "Homesick" arriving in January and August of 2019, respectively. Also in 2019, he joined DJ Marshmello for the single "One Right Thing" and cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Country chart with his song "For My Daughter."

As Experiment wound down its album cycle in 2020, Brown released Mixtape, Vol. 1 in August of that year. The EP was highlighted by the hit single "Cool Again." Following the Chris Young collaboration "Famous Friends," Brown teamed up with Blackbear for 2021's "Memory." The number one Billboard Country Airplay solo single "One Mississippi" arrived later that year, opening up a series of singles released in advance of his 2022 album Different Man. Prior to the September appearance of Different Man, "Like I Love Country Music" topped the Billboard Country Airplay Charts, with the promo singles "Whiskey Sour" and "Leave You Alone" helping build anticipation for the record's release. Largely produced by Dann Huff, Different Man was an exercise in genre-fluid country, finding Brown attempting everything from R&B to stripped-down balladeering. He co-wrote all but one of the album's 17 songs, collaborating with such professional songwriters as Josh Hoge, Devin Dawson, and Matt McGinn. It hit number two on the country chart and five on the Billboard 200. At the end of that year, Brown landed yet another charting hit with his rendition of "Blue Christmas." ~ Matt Collar