June 23, 2025 • 9 mins
Celebrating another #1 on the dance charts, James Hype joined us again on America's Dance 30 to talk all things "Don't Wake Up"! He shared how the song was born, how long ago he started working on it, and how many Vs there were of the song before its release. We also asked James a question he's never been asked before!
And we got to know James Hype better w #FinkysFavorites!!
Find out about:
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!
And we got to know James Hype better w #FinkysFavorites!!
Find out about:
- a favorite show he's done recently
- his favorite song at the moment that his fans wouldn't expect
- his favorite EDM song of all time
- a favorite un-hype thing to do
- his favorite lesson he's learned
- what favorite song (or remix) of his he would use as his alarm clock
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!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, James Hype, we're gonna be chatting all about your
smash Don't Wake Me Up coming up. We're gonna get
to know you a little better coming up and possibly
ask you a question you have never been asked before.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I know.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
But before all that, I just got to know when
I want you to be one hundred with me.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
James Hype, are we broken.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Up because it's been like three years long, three years
since we've caught up.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I know, so I feel like I did something wrong.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I'll send you a dozen roses after this chat, All right,
James Hype, Welcome back to America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Thank you so much, Dance.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Counting down the biggest dance songs in the country. This
is America's Dance.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
The congratulations on another number one with Don't Wake Me
Up William This is for podcasts, by the way, so
you could.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Say yeah, I just on a sort of.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes much better.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Can't wait to talk about how this smash was born,
but first let's get to know James Sype a little better.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
With Finkey's favorites.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Now, of course you've been touring all over the world,
but do you have a favorite show that you've recently done.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Oh, you've caught me the best possible time.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I just flew back from my Betha and I played
the opening of our house Mondays at.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Higabitha and it was it was wild, It was insane.
It was a lot of pressure because we're doing our
own night in this insane club. But it all worked out.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Now, are those the shows without phones?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
No?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
That was our policy two years ago, and it started,
it started spreading throughout the industry, and I don't know.
I think there was a lot of kind of conflicted
opinions on it. And I'm off the position that if
the people want to buy the ticket for the show
and they want to film while they're there, I don't
want to stop them.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, totally makes sense.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Now, do you have a favorite song of the moment
that your fans would be surprised as a favorite song
of yours?
Speaker 6 (02:28):
I really like Sabrina Carbins as bed Camp.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
It really is all of Sabrina Carpenter is good. Have
you ever had a chance to meet her?
Speaker 4 (02:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I haven't.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
No, I don't think I've ever been on a lineup
with her. Anyway.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
She is an amazing girl.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I got the chance to interview her a few years ago,
and she's absolutely hilarious and very down to earth, so
I'm sure she would appreciate that fact.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Now, what is your favorite EDM song of all time?
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (02:59):
Man, probably gonna go really cliche and say like of
Vichy Levels or something, and like that sounds like I
haven't really thought about it. But honestly, there's a reason
it's like it's it's up there for so many people,
Like it's it's probably people's favorite.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Song who don't really know that much about E d M.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
But then, even though I know lots about about dance music,
like I've I live this this stuff, I can still
appreciate how that one has risen to the top.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
What is James Hype's favorite unhype thing to do?
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Oh man, sorry, I've already had three hours sleep.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
It's all good. We'll skip that one.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
My most unhyped thing to do is get eight hours sleep,
because it's so rare, but when you get it, may
it's incredible the things you can do on eight hour sleep.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Dude, I couldn't even tell you what that's like.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I always say that I would eat a small child
to get eight hours of sleep, And you know, I mean,
sleep is just so hard to come by. Now, what
is your favorite lesson that you've learned so far.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
I think there's a lesson that I recurringly learn. I've
always felt through my.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Life like I'm going to get to this point where
I've made it. I'm like, oh, I remember when I
when I first got a paid gig in a nightclub,
and I thought, oh, now I've got the gig, all
the record labels are going to give me music because
because I thought that there was another DJ I knew
and he had like promo CDs from record labels. That's
(04:32):
how old I am CDs and I thought, oh, now
I have the gig, I'm going to.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Get CDs from record labels.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And after I got the gig, a few months went
by and I hadn't got any promos from record labels.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
And that was just the first, the first time I
learned that lesson.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
And I think I think we all were all guilty
of that a little bit, where you feel like, oh, cool,
once I've.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Done that, then everything more be easy.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
Once I've done that, then everything more easy, and it's
and it's not the case. And when you can accept that,
then you get to the point where.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
You you stop waiting for it to be easy, and you
just get on with it and you actually can learn
to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I really love that because I'm kind of in the
same situation. You know, you get to these stepping points
in your career and at some point you go, God,
when can I stop grinding?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
But the grinding never stops.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, if you want to keep sending, I couldn't tell
you the last James Hype CD I got. Now Finally
in Finkey's favorites, what's your favorite Dead Mouse song? No,
(05:39):
I'm totally kidding in honor of Don't Wake Me Up
and the incredible success. If you had to choose one
of your songs or remixes as your alarm to wake
you up, what would be your favorite alarm?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Oh, let me think something like really High. I'd probably
go for my truck Wild.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Every time the synth comes in, I'm like, you know,
still it hasn't got old for me yet.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
What's your kernel alarm? What do you used to wake up?
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Oh? The default Apple one. It's awful, but get you
out there.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
See, there's two types of people like you and one
of my fellow employees, DJ Jamie Ferrara uses this wah
wah wah alarm. Yeah, no idea, how that? But I,
on the other hand, get woken up by Beethoven.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Oh nice, Yeah, that's very sophisticated.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, thank you, sir. Huh. Let's talk about this smash.
How was Don't Wake Me Up? Born?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well?
Speaker 5 (06:34):
I got in the studio with all my favorite people,
the same guys that we wrote Ferrari with, and we
just started playing around the piano and first of all,
we wrote the chords and then we wrote the lyric
don't if you see me dreaming, Don't wake Me Up?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
And then the melody was conceived.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
And that's such an important part of this song because
it's like it plays off the chorus because you have
if you me Dreaming, don't Wake Me Up, and then.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
A B and they have to go together for it
to be complete. Because it's crazy.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
I've written so many songs and there's so many songs
that I have that are missing that piece.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
So as soon as we'd written that piece, I was like, Oh,
this is it. I know how to finish this song.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Because it's such a struggle when you're writing songs. Sometimes
you can write something that's great and not know how
to finish it.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I agree with you. The melody is definitely like a
second hook to the song. And how long ago did
you guys start working on it?
Speaker 5 (07:32):
I think we started in April twenty four.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Oh okay, not too long ago.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I mean like a year every long by my standard.
What's the oldest song you're sitting on?
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Man, got I've got songs from twenty sixteen when I
first started writing songs, but.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
The process of Ferrari was like three years.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, I remember you telling me that.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Speaking of that, something I love to find out about
songs is how many different versions there are from when
you start working on all the tweaking that goes on.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
You're already looking for the final.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
V on my laptop right now.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
And by the way, if anybody wants the deep dive
into how this song was done, check out James Hype's YouTube.
I saw the breakdown you did, which was a great breakdown.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
Yeah, okay, so able some projects one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty,
twenty one, twenty two, twenty two, twenty four, five, twenty seven,
twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty thirty one.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Oh no, no, that's it, that's thirty Oh.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
That's not too bad.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
It's not too bad.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
I am getting better as I get more experienced, and
as I say, I already knew how to finish this
one as soon as we've written it.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
So congratulations on this smash. It is such an amazing song.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Thank you. Minding means a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Now before I let you go, I asked chat ept
to give me a question that James Hype has never
been asked before.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So I gotta test this out right now.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
If your decks could talk, what would they complain about
after a James Hype show.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Repetitive use of cube button? Do you know what else
I do? I tap next to the cube button before
I tap the cue button. A lot of people have
said in the comments, why do you do that? And
I do it to keep the beat in my head.
Not only is the cue button getting better, the plastic
next to it is, so.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Your decks would be complaining about you, James Hype. It
is always great seeing you and catching up. Congratulations on
everything that's been going on for you, James Hype, Thank
you for your time with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
Thank you so much, man I really appreciate you having
me on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
America's Dance thirty
Now, James Hype, we're gonna be chatting all about your
smash Don't Wake Me Up coming up. We're gonna get
to know you a little better coming up and possibly
ask you a question you have never been asked before.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I know.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
But before all that, I just got to know when
I want you to be one hundred with me.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
James Hype, are we broken.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Up because it's been like three years long, three years
since we've caught up.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I know, so I feel like I did something wrong.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I'll send you a dozen roses after this chat, All right,
James Hype, Welcome back to America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Thank you so much, Dance.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Counting down the biggest dance songs in the country. This
is America's Dance.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
The congratulations on another number one with Don't Wake Me
Up William This is for podcasts, by the way, so
you could.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Say yeah, I just on a sort of.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes much better.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Can't wait to talk about how this smash was born,
but first let's get to know James Sype a little better.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
With Finkey's favorites.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Now, of course you've been touring all over the world,
but do you have a favorite show that you've recently done.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Oh, you've caught me the best possible time.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I just flew back from my Betha and I played
the opening of our house Mondays at.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Higabitha and it was it was wild, It was insane.
It was a lot of pressure because we're doing our
own night in this insane club. But it all worked out.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Now, are those the shows without phones?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
No?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
That was our policy two years ago, and it started,
it started spreading throughout the industry, and I don't know.
I think there was a lot of kind of conflicted
opinions on it. And I'm off the position that if
the people want to buy the ticket for the show
and they want to film while they're there, I don't
want to stop them.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, totally makes sense.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Now, do you have a favorite song of the moment
that your fans would be surprised as a favorite song
of yours?
Speaker 6 (02:28):
I really like Sabrina Carbins as bed Camp.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
It really is all of Sabrina Carpenter is good. Have
you ever had a chance to meet her?
Speaker 4 (02:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I haven't.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
No, I don't think I've ever been on a lineup
with her. Anyway.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
She is an amazing girl.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I got the chance to interview her a few years ago,
and she's absolutely hilarious and very down to earth, so
I'm sure she would appreciate that fact.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Now, what is your favorite EDM song of all time?
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (02:59):
Man, probably gonna go really cliche and say like of
Vichy Levels or something, and like that sounds like I
haven't really thought about it. But honestly, there's a reason
it's like it's it's up there for so many people,
Like it's it's probably people's favorite.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Song who don't really know that much about E d M.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
But then, even though I know lots about about dance music,
like I've I live this this stuff, I can still
appreciate how that one has risen to the top.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
What is James Hype's favorite unhype thing to do?
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Oh man, sorry, I've already had three hours sleep.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
It's all good. We'll skip that one.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
My most unhyped thing to do is get eight hours sleep,
because it's so rare, but when you get it, may
it's incredible the things you can do on eight hour sleep.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Dude, I couldn't even tell you what that's like.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I always say that I would eat a small child
to get eight hours of sleep, And you know, I mean,
sleep is just so hard to come by. Now, what
is your favorite lesson that you've learned so far.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
I think there's a lesson that I recurringly learn. I've
always felt through my.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Life like I'm going to get to this point where
I've made it. I'm like, oh, I remember when I
when I first got a paid gig in a nightclub,
and I thought, oh, now I've got the gig, all
the record labels are going to give me music because
because I thought that there was another DJ I knew
and he had like promo CDs from record labels. That's
(04:32):
how old I am CDs and I thought, oh, now
I have the gig, I'm going to.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Get CDs from record labels.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And after I got the gig, a few months went
by and I hadn't got any promos from record labels.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
And that was just the first, the first time I
learned that lesson.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
And I think I think we all were all guilty
of that a little bit, where you feel like, oh, cool,
once I've.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Done that, then everything more be easy.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
Once I've done that, then everything more easy, and it's
and it's not the case. And when you can accept that,
then you get to the point where.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
You you stop waiting for it to be easy, and you
just get on with it and you actually can learn
to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I really love that because I'm kind of in the
same situation. You know, you get to these stepping points
in your career and at some point you go, God,
when can I stop grinding?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
But the grinding never stops.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, if you want to keep sending, I couldn't tell
you the last James Hype CD I got. Now Finally
in Finkey's favorites, what's your favorite Dead Mouse song? No,
(05:39):
I'm totally kidding in honor of Don't Wake Me Up
and the incredible success. If you had to choose one
of your songs or remixes as your alarm to wake
you up, what would be your favorite alarm?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Oh, let me think something like really High. I'd probably
go for my truck Wild.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Every time the synth comes in, I'm like, you know,
still it hasn't got old for me yet.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
What's your kernel alarm? What do you used to wake up?
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Oh? The default Apple one. It's awful, but get you
out there.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
See, there's two types of people like you and one
of my fellow employees, DJ Jamie Ferrara uses this wah
wah wah alarm. Yeah, no idea, how that? But I,
on the other hand, get woken up by Beethoven.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Oh nice, Yeah, that's very sophisticated.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, thank you, sir. Huh. Let's talk about this smash.
How was Don't Wake Me Up? Born?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well?
Speaker 5 (06:34):
I got in the studio with all my favorite people,
the same guys that we wrote Ferrari with, and we
just started playing around the piano and first of all,
we wrote the chords and then we wrote the lyric
don't if you see me dreaming, Don't wake Me Up?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
And then the melody was conceived.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
And that's such an important part of this song because
it's like it plays off the chorus because you have
if you me Dreaming, don't Wake Me Up, and then.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
A B and they have to go together for it
to be complete. Because it's crazy.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
I've written so many songs and there's so many songs
that I have that are missing that piece.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
So as soon as we'd written that piece, I was like, Oh,
this is it. I know how to finish this song.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Because it's such a struggle when you're writing songs. Sometimes
you can write something that's great and not know how
to finish it.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I agree with you. The melody is definitely like a
second hook to the song. And how long ago did
you guys start working on it?
Speaker 5 (07:32):
I think we started in April twenty four.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Oh okay, not too long ago.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I mean like a year every long by my standard.
What's the oldest song you're sitting on?
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Man, got I've got songs from twenty sixteen when I
first started writing songs, but.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
The process of Ferrari was like three years.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, I remember you telling me that.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Now.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Speaking of that, something I love to find out about
songs is how many different versions there are from when
you start working on all the tweaking that goes on.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
You're already looking for the final.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
V on my laptop right now.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
And by the way, if anybody wants the deep dive
into how this song was done, check out James Hype's YouTube.
I saw the breakdown you did, which was a great breakdown.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
Yeah, okay, so able some projects one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty,
twenty one, twenty two, twenty two, twenty four, five, twenty seven,
twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty thirty one.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Oh no, no, that's it, that's thirty Oh.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
That's not too bad.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
It's not too bad.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
I am getting better as I get more experienced, and
as I say, I already knew how to finish this
one as soon as we've written it.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
So congratulations on this smash. It is such an amazing song.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Thank you. Minding means a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Now before I let you go, I asked chat ept
to give me a question that James Hype has never
been asked before.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So I gotta test this out right now.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
If your decks could talk, what would they complain about
after a James Hype show.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Repetitive use of cube button? Do you know what else
I do? I tap next to the cube button before
I tap the cue button. A lot of people have
said in the comments, why do you do that? And
I do it to keep the beat in my head.
Not only is the cue button getting better, the plastic
next to it is, so.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Your decks would be complaining about you, James Hype. It
is always great seeing you and catching up. Congratulations on
everything that's been going on for you, James Hype, Thank
you for your time with us on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
Thank you so much, man I really appreciate you having
me on America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Counting down the biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
America's Dance thirty
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