Photo of Tiësto
Photo: Brandon Lim · CC BY-SA 2.0

Solo Artist · The Godfather of EDM

Tiësto

Active1994-present
OriginBreda, Netherlands
Albums7
Tracks86

Most frequent collaborator: DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij  ·  27 tracks

Electronic Dance MusicTranceHouse
97%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 83 of 86 tracks

Does Tiësto write his own music?

Yes, as a producer. Tiësto composes and produces his own tracks, credited under his legal name Tijs Verwest, and works with co-producers and guest vocalists who write and sing the toplines. His instrumental trance work like 'Adagio for Strings' is his own, while vocal hits such as 'The Business' and 'Jackie Chan' are collaborations.

By the Numbers

7
Studio Albums
86
Tracks Credited
97%
Self-Written
32
Years Active
231
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 83 / 86 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 86 tracks: how many Tiësto wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Tiësto has a writing credit97%
6%
91%
3%
Sole author5tracks6%
Co-written78tracks91%
Outside writers3tracks3%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Tiësto's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 86 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)0%
Composer (music)97%
Producer100%
Performer35%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Tiësto's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 97%
100%
90%
92%
100%
100%
100%
92%
2001In My Memory
2004Just Be
2007Elements of Life
2009Kaleidoscope
2014A Town Called Paradise
2020The London Sessions
2023Drive
Early · 94% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 92% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

96%
2000s
In My Memory, Just Be +2 more
100%
2010s
A Town Called Paradise
96%
2020s
The London Sessions, Drive

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Tiësto sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Tiësto
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Whitney Houston5%
Backstreet Boys25%
NSYNC41%
Boyz II Men51%
TLC59%
David Guetta74%
Pink85%
97%Tiësto
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Love Comes Again
Just Be
Written by BT, Tijs Michiel Verwest
Co-wrote
Just Be
Just Be
Written by Judie Tzuke, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Tijs Michiel Verwest, James Wiltshire
Co-wrote
Escape Me
Kaleidoscope
Written by C.C. Sheffield, Tijs Michiel Verwest, DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij, Nico Chiotellis
Co-wrote
I Will Be Here
Kaleidoscope
Written by Connie Mitchell, Tijs Michiel Verwest, DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij, Angus McDonald
Co-wrote
Red Lights
A Town Called Paradise
Written by Michel Zitron, Wayne Hector, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Måns Wredenberg
Co-wrote
Wasted
A Town Called Paradise
Written by Matthew Koma, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Nick Audino, Lewis Hughes
Co-wrote
Jackie Chan
The London Sessions
Written by Austin Post, Louis Bell, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Julian Dzeko, Luis Raposo Torres, Raynford Humphrey
Co-wrote
Ritual
The London Sessions
Written by Grace Barker, Wayne Hector, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Guy James Robin, Michael Stonebank, Fraser Thornycroft-Smith
Co-wrote
The Business
Drive
Written by Julia Karlsson, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Anton Rundberg, James Bell
Co-wrote
The Motto
Drive
Written by Pablo Bowman, Claudia Valentina, Amanda Koçi, Tijs Michiel Verwest, Peter Rycroft, Sarah Blanchard
Co-wrote

Discography 7 albums

Covers all seven Tiësto studio albums with published credits: In My Memory (2001), Just Be (2004), Elements of Life (2007), Kaleidoscope (2009), A Town Called Paradise (2014), The London Sessions (2020), and Drive (2023). His CLUBLIFE / Club Life series and the In Search of Sunrise series are DJ-mix compilation albums, not original studio albums, and are excluded. Live albums (Parade of the Athletes, Copenhagen) and remix albums are also excluded.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Tiësto86 tracks
DW27 GH4 B4 MK4 KH3 SE3

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. DW DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij · GH Geert Huinink · B BT · MK Matthew Koma · KH Kirsty Hawkshaw · SE Stefan Engblom

The Writers & Producers Behind Tiësto 6 key collaborators

DW
DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij
Producer & Songwriter
Elements of Life / Kaleidoscope27 tracks
GH
Geert Huinink
Songwriter
In My Memory / Just Be / Elements of Life4 tracks
B
BT
Songwriter & Producer
Just Be / Elements of Life4 tracks
MK
Matthew Koma
Songwriter
A Town Called Paradise4 tracks
KH
Kirsty Hawkshaw
Songwriter
In My Memory / Just Be3 tracks
SE
Stefan Engblom
Songwriter & Producer
Kaleidoscope3 tracks

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

Tiësto sits at the producer end of the authorship scale: his name, under the legal credit Tijs Michiel Verwest, is on the music of nearly every track he releases, but the lyric authorship moves around. On his instrumental trance records the writing is almost entirely his own work with DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij, and there are no separate lyricists because there are no lyrics. As his career turned toward vocal dance-pop, the words came from the featured singers and outside topline writers, so the lyricist column fills with guest names while Verwest stays in the composer and producer credits. The result is a catalog where Tiësto is the through-line on the music and the vocalists are the authors of the words.

Quick Facts

  • Real nameTijs Michiel Verwest, Dutch DJ and producer
  • HonorVoted the Greatest DJ of All Time by Mixmag
  • GrammyBest Remixed Recording for his remix of John Legend's 'All of Me' (2015)
  • OlympicsFirst DJ to perform live at an Olympics, at the 2004 Athens opening ceremony
  • Later hits'The Business' and 'Jackie Chan' with Post Malone
  • Studio albumsSeven, from In My Memory (2001) to Drive (2023)

Creative Fingerprint

A producer-as-artist: Tiësto composes and produces his tracks, credited under his legal name Tijs Verwest, and brings in guest vocalists and co-producers to write and sing the toplines.

The Story

Tiësto is a Dutch DJ and record producer, born Tijs Michiel Verwest, and one of the most successful electronic artists in history. He rose to global fame in the early 2000s as a trance pioneer, voted the world's number one DJ for three straight years, before reinventing himself across electro house, progressive house, and chart-focused dance-pop. As a producer he is the constant author of his music: he builds the tracks and shares writing on the instrumentals with longtime studio partner DJ Waakop Reijers-Fraaij, while the words on his vocal songs come from the featured singers and topline writers he brings in. His early studio albums lean heavily instrumental, and his later ones move toward collaborative pop with guest vocalists, which shifts where the authorship sits from track to track. He has won a Grammy, performed at the Olympic Games, and remains a defining figure in dance music.

Awards & Recognition

Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, for his remix of John Legend's 'All of Me' (2015)
Voted the Greatest DJ of All Time by Mixmag
First DJ to perform live at an Olympic opening ceremony (Athens 2004)

Frequently Asked Questions Tiësto

Does Tiësto write his own music?
Yes, as a producer. Tiësto composes and produces his own tracks, credited under his legal name Tijs Verwest, and works with co-producers and guest vocalists who write and sing the toplines. His instrumental trance work like 'Adagio for Strings' is his own, while vocal hits such as 'The Business' and 'Jackie Chan' are collaborations.
Why is Tiësto called the Godfather of EDM?
Tiësto earned the title 'Godfather of EDM' for helping bring electronic dance music to arenas and the mainstream in the 2000s. He was also voted the Greatest DJ of All Time by Mixmag and was the first DJ to perform live at an Olympic opening ceremony.
Did Tiësto win a Grammy?
Yes. Tiësto won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, at the 2015 ceremony for his remix of John Legend's 'All of Me.' It was a landmark win for a dance producer.
Who sings on 'Jackie Chan'?
'Jackie Chan' is a 2018 collaboration produced by Tiësto and Dzeko featuring [Post Malone](/artist/post-malone/) and Preme on vocals. It appears on Tiësto's album The London Sessions and became one of his biggest later hits.
What is Tiësto's most famous song?
'Adagio for Strings,' his 2005 trance reworking of Samuel Barber's classical piece, is among his most iconic tracks, alongside later crossover hits like 'Red Lights,' 'The Business,' and 'Jackie Chan.' His style shifted from trance to pop-oriented dance over his career.
How many albums has Tiësto released?
Tiësto has released seven studio albums, from In My Memory (2001) through Drive (2023). His early albums were trance-focused, while later ones like A Town Called Paradise and Drive leaned into mainstream EDM and pop.
Was Tiësto really at the Olympics?
Yes. Tiësto performed live for about 90 minutes during the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, becoming the first DJ to play at an Olympics. It was a milestone moment for electronic music's mainstream acceptance.
Who wrote 'The Business'?
'The Business' was produced and co-written by Tiësto and released on his 2023 album Drive. The minimalist dance track became a global streaming hit and one of his biggest songs of the 2020s.

Sources

Wikipedia: Tiësto discography Wikipedia: Tiësto