May 5, 2025 • 21 mins
Celebrating his new smash "Never Forget You", Afrojack joined us again on America's Dance 30! He shared how the song was born, who the vocalist is on it, what the original title of the song was, how long ago he started working on it, and how many Vs there were of the song.
We also talked to Afrojack about his iconic moment at Ultra Music Festival 2025, bringing out David Guetta & Sia during his set to perform "Titanium" live for the first time with all three of them.
Afrojack also shared if there's anybody he'd be starstruck by meeting them, and we got into a discussion about approaching celebs and what protocol should be.
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
We also talked to Afrojack about his iconic moment at Ultra Music Festival 2025, bringing out David Guetta & Sia during his set to perform "Titanium" live for the first time with all three of them.
Afrojack also shared if there's anybody he'd be starstruck by meeting them, and we got into a discussion about approaching celebs and what protocol should be.
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I'm good man, I'm busy in the studio working hard.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Where's the pup? I saw the puff following you. Look
how little she is happy? And she goes with you everywhere.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Doesn't she?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And most of the time or with my wife.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
So adorable.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
All right, I know you're insane, so let's uh, let
me know whenever you're ready and we can get this going.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I'm ready, I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
All right, here we go.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Dance counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Afro Jack, Welcome back to America's Dance thirty. Congratulations on
this new smash Never Forget You.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
This is so awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, it's nice. It's nice to be back on the
radio and stuff getting music out.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I can't wait to talk about how this smash was born.
But first we've got to talk about Ultra. You know,
when we were chatting at Miami Music Week, you said
to me, are you going to be at Ultra? And
I said I couldn't be there because I had meetings,
and You're like, whatever you do watch the stream?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You were not kidding, No, no, no, it was Yeah,
it was a pretty big moment was very cool. Yeah,
very blessed to have David and Sia both fly out
to come do Titana with me. So pretty special.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
There have been some iconic moments at Ultra, you know,
the Prodigy performing live, Swedish House Mafia's last show, Swedish
House Mafia's return of Vich, bringing out Madonna of Vich,
bringing out Alo Black, and now you bringing out David
Getta and Sia to perform Titanium for the first time together.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
How did that come together?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh, it actually didn't come together until like three weeks before.
I was performing at a private part or I was performing.
I was doing like a crossover set at a private
party in Crane Club, New York set like the Tau
group people, they're good friends of mine. I was DJing
there and I met Siah for the first time, so
(02:23):
of course, like we worked together on Titanium and I
worked on some other songs of her like through the years,
but this was the first time we actually met face
to face. Wow, and then like we hit it off.
I love her music, I love her voice, and she's
just a very nice person. And when we were texting afterwards,
I just said like, well, probably you don't care so much,
(02:46):
but maybe if you ever feel like it, like this
is every time I applied it, play Titanium, this is
what happens. So maybe you'd want to do it live sometime.
And I sent her a video of Ultra. She's like, oh,
oh that looks great. Yeah, I'd love to come by,
like okay. So then I caught David. I was like, yo, David,
I got something special. I think you should join. And
(03:06):
then David had a new single with her Beautiful People,
and then I said like, okay, so let's let's do
it all together. I did a remix for that record
as well, so like, yo, let's just let's just put
it all together and do it live at Ultra. So
he was done. We started booking logistics. I had to
take a third mortgage for that. No, they were very
(03:29):
how you say, they were very helpful, and the label
was very helpful, and Ultra was very helpful. So it
was really like it was really everyone's everyone's heart was
in it, and it was like not a commercial out thing.
It was really everyone sacrificed their time and their efforts
just to get this moment together from their hearts. So
I'm really really appreciative of course he of David and also.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Of Ultra, and you know, as a fan it was
such a goosebumps moment watching it.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Was it the same for you?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah? Absolutely, I was. I was just a fan, like
you see me on the camera, but I was just
like I was attending. I think all of us were attending,
Like even Adam from Ultra, he was like, it's his festival,
but for that moment, he was just attending. I think
we all felt like that.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It truly was an iconic moment.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
And then there was another moment at Ultra that my
best friend Tied texted me when he saw it happening,
which was during the monsoon when you went out to
the fans and started taking pictures and saying hey to everybody.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know. I know you already know.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
How awesome that is of you, But as a fan,
if I didn't know you and Afrojack comes out to
say hey, I would be losing my shop. Is there
somebody that if you met them in person that you
would still be starstruck?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Ah? Yeah, I get starstruck. There's one of my one
of my favorite actors, Slash what do you call it actors?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, no, he's an actor. He's also model for a
lot of people and fitness and enthusiasts, you know, Terry Cruz.
Absolutely I sent him at d M that like I
really appreciate his work and like everything he's doing, and
he hit me back like same. So that was like, yeah, okay,
that's that's cool. That's like, hey, yeah, don't. I don't
(05:18):
know what to say, like because like there's some people
that like I follow their careers for ten or twenty years,
and I'm like, okay, I'm like I'm out. I was
sitting next to Keanu Reeves in a lounge like a
few weeks ago, and I didn't say anything, you know,
like I respected him too much to to be that
guy because it was only me and him in the
(05:40):
entire lounge. So I thought, like, okay, if I start
the conversation now, like his privacy is like shattered for
for the rest of his off days or off hours,
so I let him be. But that was definitely like,
you know, I watched John Wick back to back. I
watched The Matrix back to back, like he's he's the one,
you know, he's neo, so I definitely get toarstruck. The
(06:00):
only thing that changed for me is because I know
how it is when you have like you're in your
private bubble in your head and then you need to activate.
So usually I try not to how you say, even
when I'm starstruck, I try not to bother the people
unless I have some I feel like I can add
value to their moment. But like, you know, I definitely
(06:24):
get starstruck.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, that's such a touchy thing because I forget who
it was that I heard talking about on a podcast
about it. You know, they would love to take pictures
and say hey to everybody, But when you're in those
private moments, you know, you really do want your privacy.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
So it really is such a tough moment.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Yeah, but I do think that, like most of us entertainers,
we made a choice and this is like it's part
of it. And I know, like you might want to
be a musician or an actor just for the sake
of acting, and like stop doing interviews and stop doing press.
Just do the craft and don't promote it. And like
(07:06):
the reason everyone does promotion and interviews and stuff, like
I know I can get shut down for this, but
like the reason that most of us do interviews in
press is because we want to use cloud as leverage
to make the music bigger, you know, So if you
don't want that, like, don't do any promotion, just make music,
upload it, don't make a lot of money with it,
(07:26):
then just just chill and like I feel bad for
the people because there's a lot of people that, like
I recently saw a long post from Robbie Williams.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I love Robbie Williams. He's amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
That's amazing guy.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, yeah, amazing musician. But it's like, okay, like I
understand that it sucks when you're on a plane with
your family and everyone wants to take a picture with you,
and then you have to be happy Robbie because else
people are going to feel offended and that takes a
lot of time out of the day. But this is like, unfortunately,
this is the human effect of doing a Netflix documentary.
(07:59):
It's it sucks, but this is how humans work. And
like I don't agree necessarily that that's ethically the correct
thing to do, Like I wish humans didn't work like that,
but this is how we are wired subconsciously. Like people
think that the actor isn't a person. They think that
the actor is that guy they see in the movie.
(08:21):
You know, if you watch Titanic, you think Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack, right, Jack,
He's a guy pretending, but he pretended so good. You
believe that. And this is like, this is how our
brain works. So it just it comes with the territory.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And it is like Robbie Williams said in that post,
it's tough because you don't know what he's going through
at the moment. He could be talking to his wife,
for somebody, having a deal with something.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
You can be in a fight.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I had many times that like I was going through
something and then someone said, hey, can I ask a picture?
Like well, im, I say no, I'm angry right.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Now, and then you're the ask Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
But yeah, but that's like I don't agree because I
feel like, well, I'm not the ass. But this is
how people perceive it, and you cannot blame them. They
see you five seconds. In your whole life, you see
people every day for five seconds, but they only see
you one time. So yeah, I feel like even though
(09:15):
and I'm like digging my own grave right here, but like, yeah,
this is part of the job where you see people
they want to take a picture smiling wave. It's that's
that's what you get, or stop doing interviews, change your alias,
make a new name for yourself, and just do music
and where your head.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And you know, I mean, I I completely agree with
you because and I've said there's a million times before
with my show on the radio. You know, our listeners
don't really care what we're going through in our lives
because we're there to distract them from what they're going.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Exactly. So when I.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Got part of it is though that like, if you
show your face as entertainer, you automatically oblige your face
to entertainment. So if you're walking around in the street,
that face still says entertainment and you like, of course,
you can wish people to understand that you're off at
that moment, but their subconscious does not understand this, and
that's part of.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
The job unfortunately, Absolutely saying I agree. I'm not saying
it's fair, but this is the way the world works. Like,
if you eat fat food, you get fat. If you
eat healthy, you get healthy. It's like, what do you want?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Absolutely, and ps, side note, let me just tell you
how amazing you've been looking lately speaking of healthy food.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah, you know, it's a lot easier these days, since
I have more time, I have a wife. My life
is very stable. I tell you, honestly, when your mentality
is stable, everything else follows.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Let's talk about an amazing song and never Forget You?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
How was this song born?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
The first demo from page On, a completely different type
of how you say instrumental? Back in I think September
or October, you know, maybe even earlier, maybe like May
last year. I started working on it. I just couldn't
figure out what exact direction I wanted to take it.
And I was in the studio with Amel, the guy
(11:21):
I just signed, who was like, very how you say
Martin Garrick's Brooks a VICI inspired. So I said, let's
let's try and make this like like a record a
VICI would make back in the days before Wake Me Up,
before all the international hits, just like that, that real
feeling like from I think it was like two thousand
(11:42):
and eight nine sent Tomorrow and the first tomorrowl and
stream type of feeling. Then we made the first version.
It was very I was very happy with it, but
it still was missing something. I couldn't get the melodies better.
And then I called my longtime friend and collaborator at
Georgia time for it. Who's well, if you google that name,
(12:02):
you will go like, oh my god, wow. And he
sent me something back in five minutes, just like one
chord change and one extra note and completely changed the game.
It's crazy because like you can have the ninety nine
percent of a record and then the one percent can
be It's it's like the magic ingredient and like I
(12:25):
did a good job, and I did a good job.
Page did an amazing job, but Giorgio added that magic ingredient.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
And you talk about Page Paige Cavell, Right, yeah, Now
is there a reason that she isn't on the name
of the song?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I don't know, Like you know, like one thing, you
see a lot when artists are how you say, up
and coming or on the rise, then management gets very
or not even management, also the artists themselves they get
very like, oh, I don't know if I want to
put my name on that, like titanium. I don't know
if it's cool. So I think like someone in her
(13:02):
camp or maybe herself, said like, Okay, yeah, I'm not
sure about if this fits with the whole John Summit thing.
So I'm just gonna not put my name on this one.
Okay right, no, absolutely, like you know, like to each day,
like I've been there. So I said the same thing
David said to me when I.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Did, like are you sure? Okay?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
No, David didn't say are you sure? He just said okay.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
So yeah, Well she absolutely killed it like she always does.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Like the first time I heard the vocal, I was like,
oh my god, like who do I call?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
And was the final product a lot different because I
know you mentioned that it was going to be over
a different beat.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
No, like if you hear the first version, like they
sound completely different, like my first production sound completely different
the original like writing chord progression was a different chord
progression even. And then it's funny because right now I
have song coming soon with Martin Garrickson David Ghetta, which
we also premiered at Ultra, also with Amel, and there,
(14:07):
like the process was completely different there. We actually sat
down and we wrote the song together. But there was
also the same thing that like I almost had the
perfect melody, Like it was like, ah, this is great,
Like I was with Amel in my studio in Antwerp,
and I'm like, yo, like, let's demo this quickly and
send it to Martin. So I played the melody Ammel
(14:29):
built around it a little bit. I send it to Martin,
and then Martin sent me back a voice note like
five minutes later. It's like, yeah, but what about if
we do this? And it was one different note, and
then he sent he sent back like a METI file,
and that one note completely changed the entire record. And
(14:50):
then from that point on we started making that one.
So that's probably the next one I'm gonna do interview
with you about. It's called Our Time, and it's coming soon.
So right now we're still we're still with never Never
Forget You, But yeah, our Time, I'm excited about to.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Speaking of never Forget You. Was there any thought of
having it called never Regret You?
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, absolutely, that's the initial title.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
But you know, like I don't.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I don't believe that the art or the magic is
in a title or a name. I believe it's in
the music. And then when I said, like they told
me never Regret You, it's like, yeah, that's nice, but
I'm not going to sing that Like Europeans don't hear
we never forget you? Hey, that's what we hear, you know.
So and then they said, like, yeah, but there's already
(15:36):
ten records called never Forget You. It's like yeah, because
it's a catchy title. How many songs are there, like
how many streams are there on records called never regret you?
Right from a European perspective, like the definition of never
regretting you? That's like that sounds like some philosophical stuff,
you know, or like you got it from an old
testament or something like never forget you. It's like, ah,
(15:58):
I will never forget you, like never regret you. I
don't know what that means. I'm sure if I read
into it, I can understand what it means. But when
I hear a song, I don't have to think about that.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Never forget You just flows a lot better.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
She also says it so well, it's not the main one,
but you know it sounds nice.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Well, congratulations on this smash.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I can't wait to talk again when it goes number one.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
I hope, I hope, I hope I did a good
job with the forget you regret your marketing strategy.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I think you did well. I can't thank you enough
for your time.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
You know, before I let you go, I had to
hop on a trend that's going on right now where
you ask chat gpt to roast you, and so I
asked chat gpt to roast afro Jack, but with compliments.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Do you want to hear it?
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yeah? Yeah, sure, my friends did this once to me too,
like chachiptis from please please tell me.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Afrojack's the kind of guy who could headline a festival,
lose a shoe mid set, and still make it look
like part of the show.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You saw the turn up the speaker's version at Ultra
Europe where I pressed stop right on the final big
drop and the fireworks went off and everything still silent,
like by mistake, Yeah, like literally by mistake, Like I
just pressed stop the cue button on the wrong CD
player which was running turn up the speakers like no excuse,
(17:26):
no technical error, just like I made them. I made
a boo.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Boo happens Afrojack? Does it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So you know you're winning at life when your side
projects are hit singles, your bad days are sold out shows,
and your biggest controversy is being too damn consistent?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Well? No, so I do have to say, like I
did see some YouTube comments that they were saying that
like no, matter what, I'm the most consistent DJ. I
don't feel like that at all. I feel like like
I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to figure
out what I have to do next all the time.
But I always say, like, if you aim for a
three hundred percent, you'll at the least do like one
(18:11):
hundred percent, or like, are your worst day, You'll like
put up a ninety percent. So I'm always struggling to
aim for that three hundred percent. But it's a lot
of work, man, Like I'm still like I'm in my
studio for the last six hours, i haven't made any music.
I've just been working and thinking and studying and preparing
and looking at the shows of the next two months.
(18:33):
What am I going to do, How I'm going to
make it legendary, How it's going to be epic per
show for every single show. I take it very serious.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
And can I just say that anybody that might be
new watching this, I mean, you've been doing this for
so long and you're still dealing with that.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So it's perfectly fine to feel that way.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Oh yeah, you're you're like people said, how does few
you made? It's like, no, I didn't make I didn't
make it, you know who might have made it? By now?
David Getta, Like I hear he just bought like a
two hundred foot yacht or something. And he has a
house in Aspen and in Californi, in Hollywood and in Miami.
(19:12):
He bought the house next to Jeff Basil's. Like, I
think he's pretty calm, but I'm working on him on
some stuff with him right now. And even David who
made it, like you're sitting on like I half a
billion dollars or something, I think you made it. This
guy is still doing all the shows, going to the studio,
(19:32):
working in the studio sixteen hours a day. Because it's
not about the money. It's not about how many streams
you have. It's about how many streams is your next
song going to do, how many people like your next song.
I don't care about the streams. I care about how
happy are my people with the music that I make.
So when I go to YouTube and I look at
the comments and I see everyone like, oh my god,
(19:54):
I missed this music, or like wow, I love this song,
I'm so happy he's doing this music again, I'm like,
that's that's what I want to have. To do that
again and again and again, and there's no amount of
prior success that can block you from any future success.
It's just like your future success is the only success.
Past doesn't matter, Like this is the same thing, Like
(20:16):
the Titania moment was amazing at Ultra, Like what am
I going.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
To do next year?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, yeah, I know you say that you don't feel
like you've made it, but I told you this in Miami.
You have made it and that's all that matters. And yes,
I get it, it's all about what's next. But please
know that Afrojack has made.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
It not yet, not yet.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
That's a great mindset because it keeps you working hard. Afrojack,
I can't thank you enough for your time. Thank you
for being with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Thank you Brian, good to see you good. I like
the shirt. You should get me one of those shirts,
probably like four size is bigger.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
That's when you know you've made it, when you've got
an America's Dance thirty shirt.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Let's good it.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
America's Dance thirty Counting down the biggest dance songs in
the country.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
America's Dance thirty
How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I'm good man, I'm busy in the studio working hard.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Where's the pup? I saw the puff following you. Look
how little she is happy? And she goes with you everywhere.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Doesn't she?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And most of the time or with my wife.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
So adorable.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
All right, I know you're insane, so let's uh, let
me know whenever you're ready and we can get this going.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I'm ready, I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
All right, here we go.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Dance counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Afro Jack, Welcome back to America's Dance thirty. Congratulations on
this new smash Never Forget You.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
This is so awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, it's nice. It's nice to be back on the
radio and stuff getting music out.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I can't wait to talk about how this smash was born.
But first we've got to talk about Ultra. You know,
when we were chatting at Miami Music Week, you said
to me, are you going to be at Ultra? And
I said I couldn't be there because I had meetings,
and You're like, whatever you do watch the stream?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You were not kidding, No, no, no, it was Yeah,
it was a pretty big moment was very cool. Yeah,
very blessed to have David and Sia both fly out
to come do Titana with me. So pretty special.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
There have been some iconic moments at Ultra, you know,
the Prodigy performing live, Swedish House Mafia's last show, Swedish
House Mafia's return of Vich, bringing out Madonna of Vich,
bringing out Alo Black, and now you bringing out David
Getta and Sia to perform Titanium for the first time together.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
How did that come together?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh, it actually didn't come together until like three weeks before.
I was performing at a private part or I was performing.
I was doing like a crossover set at a private
party in Crane Club, New York set like the Tau
group people, they're good friends of mine. I was DJing
there and I met Siah for the first time, so
(02:23):
of course, like we worked together on Titanium and I
worked on some other songs of her like through the years,
but this was the first time we actually met face
to face. Wow, and then like we hit it off.
I love her music, I love her voice, and she's
just a very nice person. And when we were texting afterwards,
I just said like, well, probably you don't care so much,
(02:46):
but maybe if you ever feel like it, like this
is every time I applied it, play Titanium, this is
what happens. So maybe you'd want to do it live sometime.
And I sent her a video of Ultra. She's like, oh,
oh that looks great. Yeah, I'd love to come by,
like okay. So then I caught David. I was like, yo, David,
I got something special. I think you should join. And
(03:06):
then David had a new single with her Beautiful People,
and then I said like, okay, so let's let's do
it all together. I did a remix for that record
as well, so like, yo, let's just let's just put
it all together and do it live at Ultra. So
he was done. We started booking logistics. I had to
take a third mortgage for that. No, they were very
(03:29):
how you say, they were very helpful, and the label
was very helpful, and Ultra was very helpful. So it
was really like it was really everyone's everyone's heart was
in it, and it was like not a commercial out thing.
It was really everyone sacrificed their time and their efforts
just to get this moment together from their hearts. So
I'm really really appreciative of course he of David and also.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Of Ultra, and you know, as a fan it was
such a goosebumps moment watching it.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Was it the same for you?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah? Absolutely, I was. I was just a fan, like
you see me on the camera, but I was just
like I was attending. I think all of us were attending,
Like even Adam from Ultra, he was like, it's his festival,
but for that moment, he was just attending. I think
we all felt like that.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It truly was an iconic moment.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
And then there was another moment at Ultra that my
best friend Tied texted me when he saw it happening,
which was during the monsoon when you went out to
the fans and started taking pictures and saying hey to everybody.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know. I know you already know.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
How awesome that is of you, But as a fan,
if I didn't know you and Afrojack comes out to
say hey, I would be losing my shop. Is there
somebody that if you met them in person that you
would still be starstruck?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Ah? Yeah, I get starstruck. There's one of my one
of my favorite actors, Slash what do you call it actors?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, no, he's an actor. He's also model for a
lot of people and fitness and enthusiasts, you know, Terry Cruz.
Absolutely I sent him at d M that like I
really appreciate his work and like everything he's doing, and
he hit me back like same. So that was like, yeah, okay,
that's that's cool. That's like, hey, yeah, don't. I don't
(05:18):
know what to say, like because like there's some people
that like I follow their careers for ten or twenty years,
and I'm like, okay, I'm like I'm out. I was
sitting next to Keanu Reeves in a lounge like a
few weeks ago, and I didn't say anything, you know,
like I respected him too much to to be that
guy because it was only me and him in the
(05:40):
entire lounge. So I thought, like, okay, if I start
the conversation now, like his privacy is like shattered for
for the rest of his off days or off hours,
so I let him be. But that was definitely like,
you know, I watched John Wick back to back. I
watched The Matrix back to back, like he's he's the one,
you know, he's neo, so I definitely get toarstruck. The
(06:00):
only thing that changed for me is because I know
how it is when you have like you're in your
private bubble in your head and then you need to activate.
So usually I try not to how you say, even
when I'm starstruck, I try not to bother the people
unless I have some I feel like I can add
value to their moment. But like, you know, I definitely
(06:24):
get starstruck.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, that's such a touchy thing because I forget who
it was that I heard talking about on a podcast
about it. You know, they would love to take pictures
and say hey to everybody, But when you're in those
private moments, you know, you really do want your privacy.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
So it really is such a tough moment.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Yeah, but I do think that, like most of us entertainers,
we made a choice and this is like it's part
of it. And I know, like you might want to
be a musician or an actor just for the sake
of acting, and like stop doing interviews and stop doing press.
Just do the craft and don't promote it. And like
(07:06):
the reason everyone does promotion and interviews and stuff, like
I know I can get shut down for this, but
like the reason that most of us do interviews in
press is because we want to use cloud as leverage
to make the music bigger, you know, So if you
don't want that, like, don't do any promotion, just make music,
upload it, don't make a lot of money with it,
(07:26):
then just just chill and like I feel bad for
the people because there's a lot of people that, like
I recently saw a long post from Robbie Williams.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I love Robbie Williams. He's amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
That's amazing guy.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, yeah, amazing musician. But it's like, okay, like I
understand that it sucks when you're on a plane with
your family and everyone wants to take a picture with you,
and then you have to be happy Robbie because else
people are going to feel offended and that takes a
lot of time out of the day. But this is like, unfortunately,
this is the human effect of doing a Netflix documentary.
(07:59):
It's it sucks, but this is how humans work. And
like I don't agree necessarily that that's ethically the correct
thing to do, Like I wish humans didn't work like that,
but this is how we are wired subconsciously. Like people
think that the actor isn't a person. They think that
the actor is that guy they see in the movie.
(08:21):
You know, if you watch Titanic, you think Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack, right, Jack,
He's a guy pretending, but he pretended so good. You
believe that. And this is like, this is how our
brain works. So it just it comes with the territory.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And it is like Robbie Williams said in that post,
it's tough because you don't know what he's going through
at the moment. He could be talking to his wife,
for somebody, having a deal with something.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
You can be in a fight.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I had many times that like I was going through
something and then someone said, hey, can I ask a picture?
Like well, im, I say no, I'm angry right.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Now, and then you're the ask Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
But yeah, but that's like I don't agree because I
feel like, well, I'm not the ass. But this is
how people perceive it, and you cannot blame them. They
see you five seconds. In your whole life, you see
people every day for five seconds, but they only see
you one time. So yeah, I feel like even though
(09:15):
and I'm like digging my own grave right here, but like, yeah,
this is part of the job where you see people
they want to take a picture smiling wave. It's that's
that's what you get, or stop doing interviews, change your alias,
make a new name for yourself, and just do music
and where your head.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And you know, I mean, I I completely agree with
you because and I've said there's a million times before
with my show on the radio. You know, our listeners
don't really care what we're going through in our lives
because we're there to distract them from what they're going.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Exactly. So when I.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Got part of it is though that like, if you
show your face as entertainer, you automatically oblige your face
to entertainment. So if you're walking around in the street,
that face still says entertainment and you like, of course,
you can wish people to understand that you're off at
that moment, but their subconscious does not understand this, and
that's part of.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
The job unfortunately, Absolutely saying I agree. I'm not saying
it's fair, but this is the way the world works. Like,
if you eat fat food, you get fat. If you
eat healthy, you get healthy. It's like, what do you want?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Absolutely, and ps, side note, let me just tell you
how amazing you've been looking lately speaking of healthy food.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah, you know, it's a lot easier these days, since
I have more time, I have a wife. My life
is very stable. I tell you, honestly, when your mentality
is stable, everything else follows.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Let's talk about an amazing song and never Forget You?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
How was this song born?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
The first demo from page On, a completely different type
of how you say instrumental? Back in I think September
or October, you know, maybe even earlier, maybe like May
last year. I started working on it. I just couldn't
figure out what exact direction I wanted to take it.
And I was in the studio with Amel, the guy
(11:21):
I just signed, who was like, very how you say
Martin Garrick's Brooks a VICI inspired. So I said, let's
let's try and make this like like a record a
VICI would make back in the days before Wake Me Up,
before all the international hits, just like that, that real
feeling like from I think it was like two thousand
(11:42):
and eight nine sent Tomorrow and the first tomorrowl and
stream type of feeling. Then we made the first version.
It was very I was very happy with it, but
it still was missing something. I couldn't get the melodies better.
And then I called my longtime friend and collaborator at
Georgia time for it. Who's well, if you google that name,
(12:02):
you will go like, oh my god, wow. And he
sent me something back in five minutes, just like one
chord change and one extra note and completely changed the game.
It's crazy because like you can have the ninety nine
percent of a record and then the one percent can
be It's it's like the magic ingredient and like I
(12:25):
did a good job, and I did a good job.
Page did an amazing job, but Giorgio added that magic ingredient.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
And you talk about Page Paige Cavell, Right, yeah, Now
is there a reason that she isn't on the name
of the song?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I don't know, Like you know, like one thing, you
see a lot when artists are how you say, up
and coming or on the rise, then management gets very
or not even management, also the artists themselves they get
very like, oh, I don't know if I want to
put my name on that, like titanium. I don't know
if it's cool. So I think like someone in her
(13:02):
camp or maybe herself, said like, Okay, yeah, I'm not
sure about if this fits with the whole John Summit thing.
So I'm just gonna not put my name on this one.
Okay right, no, absolutely, like you know, like to each day,
like I've been there. So I said the same thing
David said to me when I.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Did, like are you sure? Okay?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
No, David didn't say are you sure? He just said okay.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
So yeah, Well she absolutely killed it like she always does.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Like the first time I heard the vocal, I was like,
oh my god, like who do I call?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
And was the final product a lot different because I
know you mentioned that it was going to be over
a different beat.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
No, like if you hear the first version, like they
sound completely different, like my first production sound completely different
the original like writing chord progression was a different chord
progression even. And then it's funny because right now I
have song coming soon with Martin Garrickson David Ghetta, which
we also premiered at Ultra, also with Amel, and there,
(14:07):
like the process was completely different there. We actually sat
down and we wrote the song together. But there was
also the same thing that like I almost had the
perfect melody, Like it was like, ah, this is great,
Like I was with Amel in my studio in Antwerp,
and I'm like, yo, like, let's demo this quickly and
send it to Martin. So I played the melody Ammel
(14:29):
built around it a little bit. I send it to Martin,
and then Martin sent me back a voice note like
five minutes later. It's like, yeah, but what about if
we do this? And it was one different note, and
then he sent he sent back like a METI file,
and that one note completely changed the entire record. And
(14:50):
then from that point on we started making that one.
So that's probably the next one I'm gonna do interview
with you about. It's called Our Time, and it's coming soon.
So right now we're still we're still with never Never
Forget You, But yeah, our Time, I'm excited about to.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Speaking of never Forget You. Was there any thought of
having it called never Regret You?
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, absolutely, that's the initial title.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
But you know, like I don't.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I don't believe that the art or the magic is
in a title or a name. I believe it's in
the music. And then when I said, like they told
me never Regret You, it's like, yeah, that's nice, but
I'm not going to sing that Like Europeans don't hear
we never forget you? Hey, that's what we hear, you know.
So and then they said, like, yeah, but there's already
(15:36):
ten records called never Forget You. It's like yeah, because
it's a catchy title. How many songs are there, like
how many streams are there on records called never regret you?
Right from a European perspective, like the definition of never
regretting you? That's like that sounds like some philosophical stuff,
you know, or like you got it from an old
testament or something like never forget you. It's like, ah,
(15:58):
I will never forget you, like never regret you. I
don't know what that means. I'm sure if I read
into it, I can understand what it means. But when
I hear a song, I don't have to think about that.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Never forget You just flows a lot better.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
She also says it so well, it's not the main one,
but you know it sounds nice.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Well, congratulations on this smash.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I can't wait to talk again when it goes number one.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
I hope, I hope, I hope I did a good
job with the forget you regret your marketing strategy.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I think you did well. I can't thank you enough
for your time.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
You know, before I let you go, I had to
hop on a trend that's going on right now where
you ask chat gpt to roast you, and so I
asked chat gpt to roast afro Jack, but with compliments.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Do you want to hear it?
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yeah? Yeah, sure, my friends did this once to me too,
like chachiptis from please please tell me.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Afrojack's the kind of guy who could headline a festival,
lose a shoe mid set, and still make it look
like part of the show.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You saw the turn up the speaker's version at Ultra
Europe where I pressed stop right on the final big
drop and the fireworks went off and everything still silent,
like by mistake, Yeah, like literally by mistake, Like I
just pressed stop the cue button on the wrong CD
player which was running turn up the speakers like no excuse,
(17:26):
no technical error, just like I made them. I made
a boo.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Boo happens Afrojack? Does it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:34):
So you know you're winning at life when your side
projects are hit singles, your bad days are sold out shows,
and your biggest controversy is being too damn consistent?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Well? No, so I do have to say, like I
did see some YouTube comments that they were saying that
like no, matter what, I'm the most consistent DJ. I
don't feel like that at all. I feel like like
I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to figure
out what I have to do next all the time.
But I always say, like, if you aim for a
three hundred percent, you'll at the least do like one
(18:11):
hundred percent, or like, are your worst day, You'll like
put up a ninety percent. So I'm always struggling to
aim for that three hundred percent. But it's a lot
of work, man, Like I'm still like I'm in my
studio for the last six hours, i haven't made any music.
I've just been working and thinking and studying and preparing
and looking at the shows of the next two months.
(18:33):
What am I going to do, How I'm going to
make it legendary, How it's going to be epic per
show for every single show. I take it very serious.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
And can I just say that anybody that might be
new watching this, I mean, you've been doing this for
so long and you're still dealing with that.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So it's perfectly fine to feel that way.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Oh yeah, you're you're like people said, how does few
you made? It's like, no, I didn't make I didn't
make it, you know who might have made it? By now?
David Getta, Like I hear he just bought like a
two hundred foot yacht or something. And he has a
house in Aspen and in Californi, in Hollywood and in Miami.
(19:12):
He bought the house next to Jeff Basil's. Like, I
think he's pretty calm, but I'm working on him on
some stuff with him right now. And even David who
made it, like you're sitting on like I half a
billion dollars or something, I think you made it. This
guy is still doing all the shows, going to the studio,
(19:32):
working in the studio sixteen hours a day. Because it's
not about the money. It's not about how many streams
you have. It's about how many streams is your next
song going to do, how many people like your next song.
I don't care about the streams. I care about how
happy are my people with the music that I make.
So when I go to YouTube and I look at
the comments and I see everyone like, oh my god,
(19:54):
I missed this music, or like wow, I love this song,
I'm so happy he's doing this music again, I'm like,
that's that's what I want to have. To do that
again and again and again, and there's no amount of
prior success that can block you from any future success.
It's just like your future success is the only success.
Past doesn't matter, Like this is the same thing, Like
(20:16):
the Titania moment was amazing at Ultra, Like what am
I going.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
To do next year?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, yeah, I know you say that you don't feel
like you've made it, but I told you this in Miami.
You have made it and that's all that matters. And yes,
I get it, it's all about what's next. But please
know that Afrojack has made.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
It not yet, not yet.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
That's a great mindset because it keeps you working hard. Afrojack,
I can't thank you enough for your time. Thank you
for being with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Thank you Brian, good to see you good. I like
the shirt. You should get me one of those shirts,
probably like four size is bigger.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
That's when you know you've made it, when you've got
an America's Dance thirty shirt.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Let's good it.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
America's Dance thirty Counting down the biggest dance songs in
the country.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
America's Dance thirty
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