Last week, global superstar, producer, and DJ Kygo joined forces with acclaimed pop artist Ava Max for their new single, “Whatever,” out now via RCA Records.
A playful take on Shakira’s multi-platinum smash hit “Whenever, Wherever”, the new single starts with a rush of guitar strums and Ava’s powerhouse vocals, while she reckons with the end of a relationship. As she finds the strength to move forward, the instantly iconic chorus kicks in, ushered by a flurry of synths and house-infused production.
Accompanying the single is its music video, directed by Dano Cerny (The Chainsmokers, Halsey, Elle King). Introducing the first chapter of visuals to come from Kygo this year, the “Whatever” video follows Ava Max across a desolate desert highway.
His first release of 2024, “Whatever”, follows Kygo’s official remake of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s legendary chart-topping song “Say Say Say” last year, as well as the release of his fourth studio album, Thrill Of The Chase, in 2022, which featured collaborations with X Ambassadors, DNCE, Lukas Graham, Gryffin, Sam Feldt, Dean Lewis, and more.
About Kygo
Whether behind the piano in his studio or headlining a sold-out festival, Kygo quietly reaffirms his status as a prodigious talent, forward-thinking producer, dynamic DJ, and influential global superstar. The Norwegian musician born Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll first introduced himself in 2013 and quietly became one of the most ubiquitous hitmakers in the world. Amassing 23 billion cumulative global audio and video streams by 2022, he has broken numerous streaming records. Kygo earned one of his biggest hits with the multi-platinum “It Ain’t Me” (feat. Selena Gomez), going Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and clocking over 2.9 billion streams worldwide. In 2019, Kygo unleashed “Higher Love” with Whitney Houston and generated another 1.4 billion combined streams/views worldwide and peaked at #1 on Dance Radio, in addition to leaving his imprint on a classic.
He heralded his 2020 critically acclaimed third full-length album Golden Hour [Sony Music International/Ultra Records/RCA Records] with the anthems “Like It Is” (feat. Zara Larsson & Tyga), “Lose Somebody” (with OneRepublic), and “I’ll Wait” (feat. Sasha Alex Sloan). The album has garnered over 2.5 billion streams worldwide. Following Golden Hour, Kygo released his remix of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” to rave reviews. After headlining Lollapalooza and Life Is Beautiful, along with sold-out headlining shows at Madison Square Garden and Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion, this past November Kygo surprised fans with the release of his fourth album Thrill Of The Chase [RCA Records]. The album featured notable singles including “Dancing Feet” (feat. DNCE), “Woke Up In Love” (with Gryffin feat. Calum Scott), and “Never Really Loved Me” (feat. Dean Lewis), amassing over 900 million streams worldwide and debuting in the Top 5 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart.
About Ava Max
With over 15.6B worldwide streams, an array of smash collaborations, and multiple RIAA gold and platinum certifications in the US alone, the first-generation Albanian American artist has fast proven a true pop superstar, hailed for her seismic voice, idiosyncratic high fashion mindset, and undeniable knack for cinematic, theatrical popcraft. 2018 saw Max make her explosive arrival with the blockbuster success of the RIAA 4x-platinum certified hit, “Sweet but Psycho.” Currently boasting more than 4.6B global streams, the track took the world by storm, spending three weeks in the top 10 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” while reaching #1 in more than 20 countries around the world and earning diamond certification in Brazil, France, Poland, as well as multi-platinum certification in Australia (5x), Austria (3x), Belgium (2x), Canada (6x), Denmark (3x), Germany (2x), Italy (3x), the Netherlands (2x), New Zealand, Norway (9x), Portugal (2x), Spain, Switzerland (4x), and the United Kingdom (3x). Joined by an official video that has now garnered over 910M views, “Sweet But Psycho” further earned Max a long string of international honors, including the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards’ coveted “Best Push Artist” award, “Best New Artist” nominations at both the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards, and an iHeartRadio Titanium Award marking over 1B spins in 2020 alone. Max kept up the pace with a series of smash singles, including the RIAA gold certified “So Am I,” “Salt,” and the Platinum “My Head & My Heart,” as well as the platinum certified title track to her acclaimed full-length debut, Heaven & Hell. The newly RIAA Platinum certified album made spectacular chart debuts around the globe, earning over 13B worldwide streams and gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications in over a dozen countries. 2021 saw Max unveil “EveryTime I Cry,” declared by PAPER as “an undeniably uplifting banger” and joined by an official music video, co-directed by Max and Charlotte Rutherford, currently boasting over 32M views via YouTube. What’s more, Tiësto & Ava Max’s worldwide hit anthem, “The Motto,” has proven an undeniable international blockbuster since its November 2021 release, reaching the top 5 on Billboard’s “Dance/Electronic Songs” chart while earning over 1.4B worldwide streams thus far. Her latest album, Diamonds & Dancefloors, includes hit single “Million Dollar Baby,” which now boasts over 210M global streams after garnering 10M streams and 8M music video views in just two weeks after release. Most recently, Max released “Choose Your Fighter” from the GRAMMY-nominated Barbie The Album, with the track amassing over 104M streams and counting.
Named to Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30” list in 2021, Ava has been feted with a wide range of media attention from such high profile outlets as VOGUE, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Billboard, PAPER, to name but a few, while also delivering a long run of show-stopping performances on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden, NBC’s TODAY, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Good Morning America, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020, the MTV Europe Video Music Awards, and more. A truly international artist, Max has teamed up with a stunning assortment of diverse musicians around the world, spanning Norwegian DJ/producer Alan Walker and Spanish superstar Pablo Alborán to David Guetta, Jason Derulo, AJ Mitchell (for the RIAA gold certified “Slow Dance”), and country stars Thomas Rhett & Kane Brown (the RIAA gold certified “On Me”).
