BREAKING NEWS:
David Guetta has more than one love !
Canwest News Service


After a year of career highs, David Guetta is only making one resolution for 2010.

"To give a little more time to my family and my friends," says the 42-year- old father of two.

It might be next to impossible. The jet-setting native of Paris, France is one of the most sought after house DJs and producers, based on his recent string of dance hits – Sexy Bitch featuring Akon, When Love Takes Over with Kelly Rowland, and One Love with Estelle.

These three tracks make up the backbone of Guetta's latest album, One Love, which topped the charts in 17 countries. It recently earned a Grammy nomination for best dance electronic album of the year, while When Love Takes Over picked up nods for best dance recording and best remixed recording.

Then, there's I Gotta Feeling, which Guetta produced for the Black Eyed Peas and their latest disc, The E.N.D. The tune, which was No. 1 for 14 weeks and sold more than 4 million digital downloads in the U.S., is nominated for one of the most prestigious Grammys in January – record of the year.

"We had so much fun together," says Guetta of his collaboration with the Peas.

"It was crazy. In the studio, it was like, `Wow.' We were discovering each other. (The group's mastermind will.i.am), actually, really inspired me to go to that direction with my album and I hope I inspired him a little bit too."

Guetta, who sounds as bubbly as champagne, is still stunned by his latest accomplishments. He's been a big name in Europe for years – even throwing his own celebrity-studded parties in Ibiza- but in the U.S., he was best known for a remix of Deep Dish's Flashdance. He didn't expect to break down mainstream America's resistance to dance music with One Love – he simply wanted to make his own uplifting blend of urban and house with the help of R&B, hip-hop and pop artists.

"When we made the album, it was so fun, experimenting with something different," says Guetta.

"For all of us, we were like, `Let's just have fun, it doesn't matter, we're trying something new, it's very exciting, we'll see what happens.' But I know Akon didn't imagine, and especially his team, they didn't see the potential of it. For them, it was like, `OK, this is dance music. It's never going to work in America."'

It almost didn't – only because Sexy Bitch, which is also known as the more radio-friendly Sexy Chick wasn't on the original version of Guetta's album.

He recorded the track in a last-minute, late-night session with Akon, after the two met at a festival in England.

"Akon was like, `We need to work together.' So I said, `Let's go the studio TONIGHT. We don't wait.' He was like, `That's crazy. I'm leaving at six in the morning, I don't know …"' recounts Guetta.

"We went to the studio in London and we made Sexy Bitch in one night. In the morning, I sent an e-mail to my record company, `Stop everything! Stop everything!' I said, `Listen, I've got THE bomb.' And they were like, `C'mon David, we have too many tracks already.' I was like, `No, no, I don't care what you say, I need this to be on the album."'

His persistence paid off. Sexy Bitch/Chick is one of the album's biggest hits, particularly in Canada – selling more than 80,000 digital downloads and holding the No. 1 spot on the Top 40 radio charts for eight weeks.

As satisfying as sales and airplay are to DJs, their real test comes in the clubs – playing sets to win the hearts and hips of dance-floor denizens. This year, Guetta was voted the world's No. 3 DJ by the readers of DJ Mag, behind Holland's towers of trance, Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto.

"You know what's funny? Both Armin and Tiesto called me to say, `This year, you're the No. 1.' Both of them. That was really nice of them – but they were wrong," Guetta laughs.

If he doesn't top the list in 2010, at least he'll have even more hits to his name. He's worked on new tracks for Kelly Rowland, Kelis (Acapella), and Madonna (Revolver). He's also producing some of the cuts on Akon's next disc.

"It's crazy," says Guetta.

"We've got some really big, big songs so I'm really happy. It's really impressive to see how the success of I Gotta Feeling and my album is being very influential to the urban scene – so many people want to take that direction. I'm really happy about it. I'm really proud of it and I love it. I think this combination is the best of both worlds."

He's trying to expand his sphere of influence – into video games. He's the European ambassador for DJ Hero, the club scene's equivalent of Guitar Hero. (Video games now have their own marketing diplomats? The end is nigh!) Players try to match the beats of two songs or scratch in time to the rhythm to earn points.

"I think it's amazing, this game, and I'm going to work on the No. 2 version," says Guetta. "It's a really crazy game. After 10 minutes, you get the rush that a DJ gets after 10 years of practising. I have fun with it, but you know what? I can't go to the maximum level. It's too difficult for me. It's crazy."

Edmonton Journal
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