Fans Aren’t Happy Armin van Buuren Went B2B With This Artist
Despite Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike being crowned the #1 DJs in the world by DJ Mag, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike have attracted thousands of haters worldwide for their marketing efforts to gain that #1 spot.
At a recent show, Armin van Buuren decided to go back to back with the big room house duo which has not been taken well by Armin van Buuren’s fans.
For a lot of trance purists, this wasn’t just about one set. Armin has been one of the genre’s defining figures for close to two decades, building his entire career and A State of Trance brand around melodic, uplifting trance while big room house acts like Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike built theirs around festival-ready drops and crowd-hype tactics. Watching Armin share the decks with a duo a lot of his longtime fans see as the poster children for everything trance isn’t, was, for some, a step too far.
People wrote things such as “RIP Trance 1993- 2015 Thanks for Killing Armin” and “You were a legend this is such a shame an a joke.. What a slap in the face to your old fans.” Take a look at more of his hateful comments below:
It’s worth noting that Armin has never exactly stayed in a genre box; he’s dabbled in progressive house, trap, and plenty of other sounds over the years without losing his trance audience for good. Whether this B2B was a genuine creative move, a bit of a troll aimed at the DJ Mag drama surrounding Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s #1 win, or just two artists having fun on a shared lineup, it clearly struck a nerve with the diehards who feel protective over what “real” trance is supposed to sound like.
Either way, the internet reaction says a lot about how tribal this scene can get. Genres and subgenres in EDM have always had their gatekeepers, and few artists inspire fan loyalty quite like Armin van Buuren does. Whether this backlash blows over or actually affects how his hardcore base sees him going forward remains to be seen, but for now, the comments section is not happy.
