ZHU (2022)

One Liner:  EDM that is more clean, house music for dancing not hard thrashing

Wikipedia Genre: Electronic, house, deep house
Home: San Francisco

Poster Position: 2 (top ten!  this guy!)
Both Weekends.  Sunday.

Thoughts:  Last here in 2017, but I had no recollection of that when I saw him atop this year's poster.

His bios all say that he was originally entirely anonymous, trying to remain out of the spotlight to avoid any prejudice and just make it about the music.  "In a November 2014 interview, Zhu's manager Jake Udell described the current music climate as "very black and white" and acknowledged that Zhu's race played a role in the decision to release and market his music anonymously, saying: "Some of us don't even know the limitations of our own prejudice. Rather than put those limitations to the test, we've created an engaging way for fans to focus on the music rather than who's behind it." Zhu stated in a February 2015 interview that "the project [ZHU] is all about art, and we try to make it about the songs and the response." "

But now we know he is Steven Zhu, a Californian who makes electronic music.  He shot to fame among the deep house music people, getting a Grammy nomination for Best Dance recording back in 2015.  One article attributed some of his reluctance to embrace the spotlight on the fact that he was a frat guy at USC, and he didn't want that to be the story.  He graduated from USC's Thornton School of Music in 2011, and made some music that gained popularity back then, but you can't find to stream now.  But apparently being anonymous acted to fan the flames of interest in the guy, as people were speculating that this was really other artists using a pseudonym.  But it worked.  Last year he played six straight sold-out nights at Red Rocks.

His first song was a weird mashup/reinterpretation of Outkast songs in a house style that is kind of snappy.  "Moves Like Ms. Jackson," from 2014.

Kind of interesting, but I think I'd rather hear a Girl Talk-style real mashup of those songs instead of a sing-sort-of-re-imagining of them.  

His debut album was 2016's GENERATIONWHY, and then a bunch of single before then.  It all has kind of a clean sound, which I guess is one of the hallmarks of house versus other EDM, with sunny, nice little songs like "Hometown Girl," "Generationwhy," or even the most popular and listened-to track on Spotify, the 216.1 million streamed "Working For It."

Which apparently also involves Skrillex, although his more aggressive sounds only pop out in the chorus-type break at about 1:15.  Prior to that album, the most popular track in his repertoire is a 2014 single that was on The NightDay EP, called "Faded."  269.3 million streams.

And I mean, I get it, the song is sexy as crap (well, the video is certainly sexy as crap, but I'd also argue that the song, about being wasted and faded but still wanting to go find your partner, is also sexy as hell).  I get the appeal, but it still doesn't mean that I care very much about these tunes.  The other annoying thing about artists like this is that, if you just put his music on play, you end up going into these remix EPs where they play the same damn song 8 times in a row, but with modified beats.  It is enough to make me want to jump off a bridge.

After those initial tracks and album, he released 2018's Ringos Desert, which appears to have bombed.  Only one track has more than 22 million streams, and that one is a collaboration with Tame Impala.  A bunch of singles followed that for a few years, until 2021's DREAMLAND, which kind of makes me think of The Weeknd.  It also has very few streams.  I'm curious as to why this guy is on the second line of the poster with streaming numbers like this?  Are people really clamoring to hear his 2014 hit?  Only four tracks crack six figures on streams, and the top one has 20.3 million.  This is "I Admit It," featuring 24kGoldn.

To be blared one his laptop, straight off the album!  So exciting to see him bit play when he is in person!  Although, I get it, that track bangs and those models are hot and all of that good stuff.  But also, in twenty minutes when someone asks me what Zhu sings, I'll have no recollection of anything other than electronic music.