David Guetta Essentials

From his early days playing Chicago house in French discotheques to his long reign atop the pop charts, David Guetta has revolutionised dance music multiple times. By the early 2000s, he had translated French touch into a clever merger of pop sass and club swagger. Along with a knack for killer hooks, Guetta’s versatility would become one of his principal calling cards. As EDM exploded across pop culture at the end of the 2000s, his shape-shifting style led the way, yielding ecstatic affirmations (“When Love Takes Over”, featuring Kelly Rowland), feisty come-ons (“Sexy Bitch”, guest-starring Akon) and unstoppable sing-alongs (Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”, which he co-produced). Since then, his collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Justin Bieber have kept listeners guessing even as his choruses—as triumphant as a bottle of bubbly blowing its top—have proven one of pop’s most dependable pleasures.