Hardwell Tears Into the DJ Mag Top 100 Results On Stage [Video]

I am sure if you like to put dance music into your ears than the last few days have been filled with an aggressive amount of coverage on the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll. Between coverage of the list, reactions to the list like this article you’re currently reading, and hilariously unique satire lists, it probably feels like you cannot escape the Top 100. This is the great paradox of blogging in the dance music world: even when everyone hates something, it needs to be talked about like a dead horse needs to be beat. I digress though, apologies for the philosophical exploration there. You are here for a Hardwell rant, and I promise that is exactly what we have for you.

Hardwell is best known for looking like a younger version of Tiesto (my money is on a Boba/Jango Fett kind of thing going on), and for his winning of the Top 100 poll in both 2013 and 2014. At a recent event for his record label Revealed, Hardwell interrupted his label mate Atmozfears to tear into the list. Hardwell talks about various injustices of the poll and by that we mean the ranking of his friends. He gives Dillon a shout out too. This one is satisfying to watch though folks, Hardwell turning against the DJ Mag Poll is like Stalin turning against Communism. Check out the footage below courtesy of DUEDMRS.

https://www.facebook.com/DUEDMRS/videos/324076691292294/

For context, this year’s DJ Mag Top 100 had Martin Garrix taking the Number 1 spot, with Hardwell himself landing at Number 3, so his frustration wasn’t coming from personally falling out of the rankings. According to reporting at the time, Hardwell’s comments centered specifically on Atmozfears, who he called a much better producer than his placement (or lack of one) on the list suggested, arguing that festival booking politics keep artists like his labelmate off the poll regardless of talent. He reportedly punctuated the point with a blunt “f*** the DJ Mag” during the set. Hardwell wasn’t the only artist airing frustrations with the poll that week either; Dillon Francis has a long track record of publicly mocking the list on social media, which is likely why he got a shout out here.

The DJ Mag Top 100 has drawn this kind of pushback from artists for years, largely because it’s a fan vote rather than a critics’ or peers’ ranking, meaning marketing reach and fanbase size can outweigh what other DJs consider technical skill or production quality. Hardwell hasn’t walked back these comments publicly, and the annual poll has continued on largely unchanged since.