30 Unknown Facts Every Fan Should Know About the Greatest DJ - Tiësto

Tijs Michiel Verwest, a Dutch DJ and record producer, famously known by the stage name Tiësto, is often referred to as “The Greatest DJ of all time.” He was born on January 17, 1969 in Breda, Netherlands. Here are 30 facts to know about the DJ:

1. Tiësto was named as the "best DJ of the last 20 years" by the readers of DJ Magazine, in the year 2013.
2. In a poll conducted by MixMag magazine, the fans voted him to be the “Greatest DJ of All Time.”
3. It was at the age of 12, that his passion for music started and within a period of 2 years, it intensified and he began professionally DJing at school parties.
4. Tiësto was the first DJ to have performed a solo concert in a stadium. The concert, later dubbed as “Tiësto in Concert,” was held at Arnhem’s GelreDome for 25,000 people.
5. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on May 20, 2004.
6. At the Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam, there is a wax sculpture of Tiësto, placed behind a turntable, where visitors can mix his music together.
7. Tiësto is the first DJ in the history to play live on stage at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens. He performed his second studio album “Just Be.” He played for around 90 minutes.
8. He performed from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on every weekend at the Spock, a small club in Breda, where he mostly played acid house and new beat.
9. He was invited to support Dance4Life, in an effort to create awareness among the teens about the risks of HIV/AIDS. He was named as the official worldwide ambassador in April 2006.
10. During his Kaleidoscope World Tour, for his Halloween show at Congress Theater in Chicago, on October 31, 2009, he dressed as the hometown Chicago Bears NFL quarterback Jay Cutler throughout his entire four-and-a-half-hour set.
11. Tiësto’s first single “Traffic,” from his second artist album “Just Be,” is the first non-vocal track to reach #1 spot in the Dutch national charts after 23 years.
12. He headlined the free Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park, in September 2014.
13. In the year 2008, he announced his residence at Privilege Ibiza, the "world's largest nightclub," where he played sets every Monday from July 7 to September 22, 2008.
14. For three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004, Tiësto was named as the “World’s No 1 DJ,” in the annual Top 100 DJs readership poll, conducted by the DJ Magazine.
15. Initially, he started releasing hardcore and gabber track materials under aliases as Da Joker and DJ Limited on Noculan Records' sub-labels Chemo and Coolman, in the year 1994.
16. He was diagnosed with Pericarditis, in September 2006, when he was admitted to the hospital after experience sharp, sudden pain in his chest.
17. Tiësto was honored with the Zilveren ('Silver') Harp music award on February 27, 2002. He also received the Lucky Strike Dance Award in the category Best DJ Trance/Progressive, the same year.
18. He collaborated with fashion designer Giorgio Armani, following the success of “Elements of Life,” and had a limited edition Tiësto T-shirt available at Armani Exchange stores, that came with his single “Sweet Things,” that include exclusive “A|X Remix.” This charity is said to have raised over $300,000.
19. His fourth album “Kaleidoscope,” was released on October 6, 2009, which lasted at #3 on the much acclaimed Driscoll 5, for 24 weeks. It debuted on the Top 10 chart on iTunes, within its first week.
20. In collaboration with Product Red, an organization that spreads awareness about AIDS, he released a compilation album “Dance (RED) Save Lives,” in November 2012. Every proceedings from the album was donated to cause of fighting against AIDS.
21. Tiësto’s U.S. debut, “Summerbreeze,” which is a mix album showcasing his remix of Delerium's "Silence," spent more than four weeks in the UK's Top Ten chart and peaked at #2 in the Billboard dance chart.
22. He performed in a free outdoor fundraiser in De Dam, Amsterdam, on January 6, 2005, to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Southern and Southeastern Asia.
23. He released his third studio album “Elements of Life,” on April 16, 2007, which reportedly moved 73,000 units in its April release. Just a week before the album’s release, he started “Tiësto’s Club Life,” a weekly two-hour radio show.
24. Tiësto performed live at New Year's Eve/New Year's concert in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena for two consecutive years to a sell-out crowd.
25. He signed to Basic Beat and released records on the sub-label Trashcan, which was founded by Arny Bink. He later went on to create the Guardian Angel sub-label with Bink, under which the most popular “Forbidden Paradise” series was introduced.
26. He headlined the first-ever Thank You Festival presented by the Global Citizen in partnership with World Childhood Foundation in June 2014.
27. Tiësto won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, for his remixed version of John Legend’s “All of Me.”
28. He was awarded the key to the city of Las Vegas on Jauary 14, 2017, a day now celebrated as “Tiësto Day,” in Clark County, Nevada.
29. In the year 2005, he was voted to be the No 1 DJ, by the annual poll held in the US by the BPM. The result was unveiled in the Winter Music Conference.
30. Tiësto along with fellow Ducth Deejay Ferry Corsten created duo of Gouryella, based on trance. The first track which carried the same name, turned out to be a huge hit scoring a number of chart positions around the world, in May 1999.