Enigmatic masked DJ/producer Marshmello makes groove-oriented, synth- and bass-heavy electronic dance music that regularly achieves mainstream crossover success. In the spirit of similarly cloaked dance figures like
Deadmau5 and
Daft Punk, Marshmello performs wearing a full head covering, in his case a marshmallow mask. Despite his early anonymity, Marshmello's career blew up in 2015 when he began releasing tracks online. From there came shows at New York's Pier 94, Pomona, California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, and Miami Music Week. He also scored a number five Billboard electronic/dance album with his full-length debut, Joytime, before landing two consecutive number one dance albums, Joytime II and Joytime III. Collaborative hits followed with artists including
Selena Gomez ("Wolves"),
Khalid ("Silence"), and
Bastille (the platinum hit "Happier"). Marshmello again hit a solo peak in 2019 with his revolutionary in-game concert Fortnite Extended Set, and returned to the Top Ten of the dance charts with 2021's Shockwave. In 2023, he collaborated with Brazil's
Tropkillaz on Mellokillaz and again topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart with his first Latin crossover set, Sugar Papi. His 2024
Kane Brown collaboration, "Miles on It," also topped the dance charts and was followed by The Roots EP and his 2025
Space Laces collaboration "Rave Repeater."
Marshmello's career began in 2015 when he posted his music on SoundCloud, including remixes of
Zedd's "Beautiful Now,"
Jack Ü's "Where Are U Now," and others. Soon he was drawing fans and gaining vocal support from peers like
Skrillex, who reposted Marshmello's track "Find Me." High-profile live DJ appearances followed, with shows at Ultra Music Festival and California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, among others. In 2016, Marshmello released a compilation of his previously released tracks, Joytime, which reached number five on the Billboard electronic/dance albums chart and number one on a digital top electronic albums chart. Included on the album was the single "Keep It Mello" featuring rapper
Omar LinX.
Also in 2016, after a set at Electric Daisy Carnival, Dutch DJ
Tiësto jokingly emerged from under Marshmello's mask, fallaciously proclaiming he was the mysterious DJ. The real Marshmello continued to perform and release singles throughout the year, later starting his own
Joytime Collective record label. More collaborations followed in 2017, including "Silence" with
Khalid and "Wolves" featuring
Selena Gomez. Both tracks became Top 30 hits and were certified platinum around the world.
In 2018, Marshmello added another hit collaboration to his roster, pairing with British vocalist Anne-Marie for their multi-platinum hit single "Friends." After delivering his second full-length album, Joytime II, he released the non-album single "Happier," which featured
Bastille's Dan Smith on vocals. The song quickly became a high-charting track, rising into the Top Three in the U.S., U.K., and Australasia. As the popularity of "Happier" continued to rise, Marshmello scored a charting effort with the revolutionary Fortnite Extended Set, a 30-minute mix taken from his 2019 in-game concert that attracted millions of video gamers. By the time summer rolled around, "Happier" had topped the Billboard electronic chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, a collaboration with
Chvrches, "Here with Me," began its steady rise up the charts, giving the indie outfit their highest-charting single to date. Marshmello also added additional cross-genre collaborations to his singles list, including "Light It Up" with
Tyga and
Chris Brown, "One Thing Right" with country singer
Kane Brown, and "Rescue Me" with pop-punkers
A Day to Remember. The latter track appeared on Joytime III, which arrived in July 2019 and featured guests
Slushii,
Flux Pavilion,
Elohim, and
Wiwek. It hit number 50 on the Billboard 200 and topped the dance chart.
In February 2020, Marshmello joined Svdden Death for the track "Crusade," and later
Halsey for the ebullient "Be Kind." The following year saw Marshmello deliver collaborations with Aussie singer/songwriter
Vance Joy ("You"), Kentucky rapper
2KBABY ("Like This"), and Iranian singer/producer Arash ("Lavandia"). The DJ's fourth full-length, Shockwave, arrived in June 2021 and featured appearances by
Juicy J,
Megan Thee Stallion,
Subtronics, and more. It hit number three on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and earned Marshmello his first Grammy Award nomination. A handful of non-album tracks kept the DJ busy in 2022, including "Numb" with
Khalid, "Sah Sah" with
Nancy Ajram, and the punk-influenced "American Psycho" with
Mae Muller (and featuring
Trippie Redd). "Bye Bye," a 2019 collaboration with the late
Juice Wrld, appeared in 2022, followed in 2023 by the Jamie Brown-assisted "Party Jumpin'." Other 2023 singles included collaborations with
Polo G,
Farruko, and
Brent Faiyaz; he additionally released Mellokillaz with
Tropkillaz. That same year, Marshmello also teamed with
Sony Latin and a full roster of guests who included
Farruko, Anuel AA,
Nicky Jam, and more on the Latin dance crossover album Sugar Papi, which topped the Electronic Albums chart.
"Miles on It," the DJ's second collaboration with country singer
Kane Brown, arrived in March 2024, topping the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and reaching number 29 on the Mainstream Top 40. That November, Marshmello was back with the EP The Roots, which featured guest spots from Pluko,
Hamdi, and
Lil Jon, among others. In December 2025, the DJ joined forces with dubstep producer
Space Laces for the single "Rave Reapeter." ~ Matt Collar