Nick Rotteveel (; born 6 January 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from

Amerongen Amerongen () is a town in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Province of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, on the border of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. It lies ab ...

, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

Fedde le Grand Fedde Le Grand (, ; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch House music, house DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one on the UK Singles Chart and staye ...

Sander van Doorn Sander Ketelaars (; born 28 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sander van Doorn () or the initials SvD, is a Dutch electro house DJ and record producer from Eindhoven. Background Sander van Doorn began his recording career in 20 ...

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

, Armand van Helden,

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

and

Hardwell Robbert van de Corput (; born 7 January 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by ''DJ Mag'' in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in ...

. He currently ranks at number 20 on ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...

''s annual Top 100 DJs poll. He is known for his viral hit song "

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

Early life

Nick Rotteveel was born and raised in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He moved to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, Canada for a year, and later moved back to the Netherlands to continue his education where he did his final semesters in France.

Career

Romero signed to Once Records and released the tracks "Privilege" and "Qwerty". It was followed by the track "Funktion One" was released, which was mixed by Azucar (from Madskillz and Gregor Salto) and later added "Hear My Sound". In 2009 he remixed Tony Cha Cha's track "Get on the Floor" and a bootleg for

entitled "When Love Takes Over". Both tracks increased his profile and the Ministry of Sound contacted him to do some remixes on their label. He also made a remix for the Dirty South track "Alamo". Nicky Romero at Factory Cleanhoven

In 2010 Nicky Romero came up with a new track called "My Friend" (released on

Spinnin' Records Spinnin' Records is a Dutch electronic music record label founded in 1999 by Eelko van Kooten and Roger de Graaf. In September 2017, Warner Music Group acquired Spinnin' Records for over $100 million. Background Van Kooten is the son of former ...

) which features a sample from the well known

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles " At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of ...

track of the same name. "My Friend" has been played by DJs and record producers such as

Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello ...

Fedde Le Grand Fedde Le Grand (, ; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch House music, house DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one on the UK Singles Chart and staye ...

and many more. The track reached Number 4 at

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards disk jockey, DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that ...

worldwide overall chart, Number 1 at Dance-Tunes chart and several other famous DJ charts. 2011 saw Romero release plenty of remixes such as "Where Them Girls At" by David Guetta featuring

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, "What A Feeling" by Alex Gaudino featuring

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

, "Stronger" by Erick Morillo and Eddie Thoneick featuring Shawnee Taylor, "Where Is The Love" by Eddie Thoneick and "Rockin' High" by

Ben Liebrand Ben Liebrand (; born 27 September 1960) is a Dutch dance music disc jockey, DJ and remixer. He has record producer, produced for artists such as Forrest (singer), Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Alexander O ...

2012–2013: Mainstream success

In 2012, Romero achieved popularity with the recording "

", which became a mainstay on the Beatport Top Ten for a significant period of time. Recognizing his talent,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

named him an EDM artist to watch in 2012. His popularity has risen in recent years, and he has attained a joint residency with David Guetta at party hot spot

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

for the summer of 2012. In October 2012, Nicky Romero received the

'Highest New Entry' award on DJ Mag's top 100 DJs fan poll, and with spot number 17, he is one of the highest new entries ever, together with

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

and

Dash Berlin Dash Berlin is a Dutch electronic music group started in 2007 in The Hague by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn. Dash Berlin were voted the seventh most popular DJs in the world according to ''DJ Mag'' in 2012; Kalberg and Molijn were record ...

. In that same year, Romero collaborated with Swedish DJ/Producer,

, to produce the highly anticipated single " I Could Be the One" which became a massive success across Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, where the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 17 February 2013 ― for the week ending on 23 February 2013 ― becoming both Romero and Avicii's first chart-topper in the UK. On the UK Dance Chart, "I Could Be the One" debuted at number one ahead of

Baauer Harry Bauer Rodrigues (born April 30, 1989), known professionally as Baauer, is an American record producer and DJ, best known for his double platinum song "Harlem Shake (song), Harlem Shake". He has produced varied dance music from the age of 13 ...

's " Harlem Shake", which entered at number two. Following "I Could Be the One" in 2013, Romero released his long-awaited single, "Symphonica", that reached No. 1 on the overall

Top 100 chart. His next release, a collaboration with

Krewella Krewella is an American electronic dance music band from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Illinois, United States, that formed in 2007. Their musical style has been mainly described as EDM, dance-rock, and dance-pop. However, Krewella's style ...

, "Legacy" also saw Beatport chart success hitting the No. 1 spot. Romero then took on a collaboration with Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, "S.O.T.U.", that he released on

Steve Angello Steven Patrik Josefsson Fragogiannis (; born 22 November 1982), known professionally as Steve Angello, is a Greek–Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record label owner. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Seba ...

's Size Records. Amid his 2013 releases, he performed as a resident at The Light Las Vegas and he also played numerous major festivals including

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music Music festival, festival that takes place in March in Miami, Florida. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, but bes ...

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

Electric Daisy Carnival Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance music festival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest e ...

Las Vegas and Puerto Rico,

Sensation White Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system. Sensation or sensations may also refer to: In arts and entertainment In literature *Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode *Sensation novel, a British ...

, and

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

, amongst others. One of his most notable gigs was at

TomorrowWorld TomorrowWorld was an electronic music festival, held in the Atlanta metropolitan area within the town of Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. Held from 2013 to 2015, the festival was a spinoff of the Belgian festival Tomorrowland. The festival was ...

where he was one of the first music acts to present an interactive performance experience using

Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-u ...

. In October 2013, Romero ranked at number 7 on ''DJ Mags Top 100 DJs annual fan poll. He helms his own weekly radio show, Protocol Radio and his own record label, Protocol Recordings.

2014–present: Studio work

In June 2014 he released a song called "Feet On The Ground" with vocals by the Dutch singer Anouk. Beside his music, he is up for different kinds of charity projects, as '10.000 Hours – People Planet Party' which is made to help renovate playgrounds for disadvantaged kids. "Legacy" was used as the backing track by Australian television network Channel Seven in on-air promotions for the 2014 season return of hit show ''

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

''. After the advertisement's high rotation during the high rating

2014 Australian Open The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of eve ...

, the song charted in Australia at number 50. In August 2014, Nicky partnered with EDM lifestyle brand Electric Family to produce a collaboration bracelet for which 100% of the proceeds are donated to Fuck Cancer. In November 2015, Romero indicated that he had been suffering from anxiety which forced him to reduce his touring commitments and scale back his studio work. In 2018, Nicky Romero released a song with ROZES, titled "Where Would We Be".

Other productions

In addition to all "Nicky Romero" singles, he also co-produced the track " Right Now" (featuring David Guetta) from Rihanna's seventh studio album ''

Unapologetic ''Unapologetic'' is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth studio album, '' T ...

'', which was released on 19 November 2012. Before his performance at Tomorrowland, he mentioned in an interview with MTV that he was also working on a new project with Rihanna. He co-wrote and produced " It Should Be Easy" by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

for her eighth studio album ''

Britney Jean ''Britney Jean'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 29, 2013, by RCA Records. The album is Spears's second eponymous record after ''Britney (album), Britney'' (2001), though the album's name ...

''. Romero also co-produced "Bang My Head" (featuring Sia) and "No Money No Love" from David Guetta's 2014 album titled

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indi ...

. Furthermore, he co-produced "Dragon Night" from

Sekai no Owari Sekai no Owari (literally translated, "End of the World"; stylized in all caps) is a Japanese Pop music, pop band from Tokyo. The band was formed in 2005 and has four members: Nakajin, Fukase, Saori, and DJ Love. Since their debut, they have ...

's second studio album

Tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

Other ventures

Protocol Recordings

Protocol Recordings is a Dutch record label founded on 8 May 2012 by

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer and DJ Nicky Romero. They have released music by notable underground electronic artists such as

Blasterjaxx Blasterjaxx is a Dutch DJ and record production duo composed of Thom Jongkind (born 1990) and Idir Makhlaf (born 1991), originated in The Hague and active since 2010. They are mostly known for producing big room house and electro house music, be ...

Don Diablo Don Pepijn Schipper (; born 27 February 1980), better known by his stage name Don Diablo, is a Dutch DJ, digital artist, record producer, musician and songwriter of electronic dance music. He is one of the pioneers of the future house genre and ...

, R3hab,

Vicetone Vicetone is a Dutch electronic music production DJ duo formed by Ruben den Boer (; born 22 January 1992) and Victor Pool (; born 9 July 1992) from Groningen. The duo began as a DJ act, and in 2013, they were voted into the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJ ...

Stadiumx Stadiumx is a Hungarian progressive and future house DJ and production duo, comprising Dave (Dávid Nagy) and Sully (Zsolt Milichovszki). Career The duo initially met at a producer workshop in Budapest (2009). Sully was already in Muzzaik f ...

Thomas Gold Thomas Gold (May 22, 1920 – June 22, 2004) was an Austrian-born astrophysicist, who also held British and American citizenship. He was a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a Fe ...

Arno Cost Vadim Arnaud Constentin (; born 6 August 1986), better known by his stage name Arno Cost, is a French musician, DJ and record producer. Biography Cost was born on 6 August 1986, in Nogent-sur-Marne. His career in 1999 by creating his own music ...

and Volt & State. The label's first release was "WTF!?" by Nicky Romero and ZROQ. Protocol Recordings has become a successful record label as a result of releases by Nicky Romero. The most successful international single from the label was Like Home by Nicky Romero and Australian duo

NERVO Nervo may refer to: People *Nervo (DJs), Australian DJs Olivia Nervo and Miriam Nervo *Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet *Carlo Nervo (born 1971), Italian professional footballer *Hugo Nervo (born 1991), Argentine football defender *Jacques de Nervo (1 ...

, which reached 37th place in Sweden, 15th place in the general chart and 5th place in the dance chart of the Netherlands and 33rd place in the singles chart and 9th place in the dance chart of the United Kingdom. Five releases have reached number one on the Beatport Top 100. Four of these have been produced by Nicky Romero and another, Howl At The Moon, produced by Hungarian duo

StadiumX Stadiumx is a Hungarian progressive and future house DJ and production duo, comprising Dave (Dávid Nagy) and Sully (Zsolt Milichovszki). Career The duo initially met at a producer workshop in Budapest (2009). Sully was already in Muzzaik f ...

, which reached 59th place in the French

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

chart. Protocol Radio is a weekly podcast and syndicated radio show created in 2013 and is hosted by Nicky Romero. It comprises upcoming releases on Protocol Recordings and tracks that he supports. In 2019, Romero joined fellow DJ,

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

, in his investment in the Rogue esports team. In 2021 Nicky Romero expanded his output by delivering an in-depth music production masterclass for aspiring DJs and producers.

Filmography

Romero made a cameo appearance in the 2015 film '' We Are Your Friends'', starring

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...

. He appeared in the ending, playing himself during the movie's Summerfest party.

Discography

References

External links

Official site

Label site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Nicky 1989 births Living people Dutch expatriates in Canada Dutch expatriates in France People from Amerongen Dutch progressive house musicians Dutch electronic dance music DJs