Paul Edward Blair (born September 20, 1978), known by his stage name DJ White Shadow, sometimes written as DJWS, is an American music producer, musician, songwriter and DJ. Based in Chicago, Illinois, he is best known as the producer for Lady Gaga's albums, Born This Way and Artpop.[2][3] He also produced and wrote songs with Gaga on the soundtrack for the 2018 film, A Star Is Born.[4] Blair has played in numerous cities throughout the United States[5] and has toured as a headliner. He has also toured with Lady Gaga internationally.[5] He has two kids.
DJ White Shadow | |
|---|---|
 DJ White Shadow in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Edward Blair[1] |
| Also known as | DJWS |
| Born | September 20, 1978 Youngstown, Ohio |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupations |
|
| Website | djwhiteshadow |
In addition to his writing and producing, Blair has released three EPs as part of a Trilogy through DECON Records. He was featured in the Anheuser-Busch Pac-Man commercial for Super Bowl XLIX, the song for which he remixed using the original Pac-Man music.[6] His remixes have appeared in other television commercials including for Beats by Dre.[7] Blair won a Grammy Award in 2020 for his work on the A Star Is Born soundtrack.[8]
Outside of music, Blair is a NFT enthusiast and collector. He has collaborated on NFT projects and also launched his own social token ($DJWS) in 2022.
Early life and education
editBlair spent his younger years on a farm in Ohio and started collecting records when he was in second grade.[5] His family moved to Detroit, Michigan, when he was in fifth grade and he purchased his first set of turntables at the age of 16.[1][5] Growing up in Detroit, he used to sneak out of his house to go to Techno shows when he was 15 years old.[5] Blair learned Japanese when he was younger and attended Western Michigan University where he studied international business. His first year at WMU, he entered a Japanese exchange program in order to study abroad.[5]
Blair was 17 when he held his first residency, playing at the Delta Market while attending college in Takamatsu, Japan.[1] He got the residency by asking the owner to play some records one night at the bar. The owner invited Blair back to play every Thursday night which turned into his first official residency.[5] Despite performing as a DJ earlier in his lifetime, it was in Japan that he started getting paid to perform.[9]
Career
editAfter returning from Japan, Blair worked in various clubs and performed at parties throughout the midwest. He gained prominence in the Detroit techno scene[10] and moved around from Detroit to New York prior to settling in Chicago. He eventually began playing for corporate clients that included Google, Nike, Playboy, and Guinness.[11] He held residence at it-nightspot Hyde in Los Angeles where he eventually ran into Lady Gaga.[12]
Blair met Lady Gaga during one of his shows in Los Angeles,[5] and went on to help write and produce nine songs on her second studio album, Born This Way. He co-wrote and produced the album's title track "Born This Way" which went to number one on various charts and was nominated for a Grammy Award.[5] Following the release of the album, Blair toured with Gaga for two years, performing with Gaga and working on different projects.[5] Blair continued to work with Gaga, co-writing and producing much of her Artpop album which was released in 2013.[13] He co-wrote the lead single "Applause" which reached #1 on numerous charts and was performed live by Gaga at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. For Artpop, Blair worked with Gaga recording 70 to 100 songs,[14] later performing at ArtRave, a two-day event hosted by Gaga to promote the album.[2] Blair is also credited with partnering R Kelly with Lady Gaga for the song "Do What U Want", the second song from the album, also remixing a version of the song.[13][15]
In addition to Lady Gaga, Blair has remixed songs for various other artists. In 2010 he remixed "Fall in Love" and "Freak", two singles from Estelle that were later released as part of her 2012 album All of Me.[16][17] The following year he remixed two songs that appeared on Kitsuné Maison Compilation 12: The Good Fun Issue, also playing at the album release party.[18] In 2012 Blair remixed a version of Chris Brown's song "Don't Wake Me Up". His remix also appeared on Brown's Germany Digital Remix EP of the same song.[19] Blair also mixed Time of Our Lives a compilation released by Pitbull and Ne-Yo in 2014.[20] Blair has released three EPs as part of a trilogy through Decon Records.[21] The first of which was I'm Killing Me, a five-song compilation that he released for free on his own website in 2011.[22] The second, Pussy, Drugs, Fear, was released in 2013,[23] with the third, The Clock is Ticking, released the same year.[13] Releases from the trilogy were featured in articles with Billboard, including the title track "The Clock Is Ticking", the video for which depicts a man's life story from conception through death.[13] The video to the song "Fear" was described by Billboard as one that skewers the images of violence that constitute our cultural notion of fear.[24]
Blair's work in music took him to television when was hired by Anheuser-Busch to work on its #upforanything campaign for the 2015 Super Bowl.[25] He was featured in the company's "Coin" advertisement that featured a life size maze resembling the 1980 video game Pac-Man.[26] The music for the commercial was a remix of the original Pac-Man music, mixed by DJ White Shadow himself.[25] Blair also worked with Namco on the project, the copyright holder to the original Pac-Man.[27]
In 2015, Blair was named the North American music director of W Hotels where he continues to oversee musical branding in over 25 of the company's locations. In 2016, W Hotels partnered with Billboard on an emerging artist series called Next Up that Blair also worked on.[28] Blair was also the "brainchild" behind the hotel chain's "W Sound Suites" which are recording studios located within select W Hotels and available to touring musicians.[29] The first W Sound Suite was inaugurated in May 2016 at W Bali - Seminyak.[30] The first North American Sound Suite opened in April 2017 at W Seattle.[31]
After the launch of the Sound Suite in Seattle, Blair announced that he had recently finished six weeks of studio work with Lady Gaga.[32] In September 2017, the soundtrack for My Little Pony: The Movie was released which Blair executive produced.[33] That same month, he headlined the Green Tie Ball to benefit Gateway Green in Chicago.[34] In October, Lady Gaga revealed that Blair would be the main producer on her sixth studio album, Joanne.[35] Blair has referred to the upcoming album as the "little sister" of Gaga's 4th studio album, Artpop.[36]
In 2018, he co-wrote and produced 6 of the 19 songs on the soundtrack for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's 2018 film, A Star Is Born. The soundtrack debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.[4][37]
Blair collaborated with artist Romero Britto in 2021 on a NFT project to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[38]
Discography
editExtended plays
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| I'm Killing Me |
|
| Pussy Drugs Fear |
|
| The Clock Is Ticking |
|
Production
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Yu-Gi-Oh! Theme" | Yu-Gi-Oh! | Yu-Gi-Oh! Music to Duel By |
| "Time to Duel" | |||
| "I'm Back" | |||
| "Exodia" | |||
| "World of Yu-Gi-Oh!" | |||
| 2004 | "For The People" | The Black Eyed Peas | Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie |
| "One Card Short" | James Chatton | ||
| "Step Up" | Jean Rodriguez | ||
| "Shadow Games" | Trixie Reiss | ||
| "It's Over" | Fatty Koo | ||
| "U Better Fear Me" | The Deleted | ||
| "Power Within" | Dan Metreyeon | ||
| "Believe In" | Skwib | ||
| 2011 | "Born This Way" | Lady Gaga | Born This Way |
| "The Edge of Glory" | |||
| "Government Hooker" | |||
| "Americano" | |||
| "Bloody Mary" | |||
| "Black Jesus + Amen Fashion" | |||
| "Bad Kids" | |||
| "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)" | |||
| "Electric Chapel" | |||
| 2013 | "Applause" | Artpop | |
| "Do What U Want" | Lady Gaga R. Kelly | ||
| "Venus" | Lady Gaga | ||
| "Sexxx Dreams" | |||
| "Jewels N' Drugs" | Lady Gaga T.I Too Short Twista | ||
| "Manicure" | Lady Gaga | ||
| "Artpop" | |||
| "Swine" | |||
| 2017 | "Sexy Body" | Pitbull Jennifer Lopez |
Climate Change |
| "Dedicated" | Pitbull R. Kelly Austin Mahone | ||
| "Thank You for Being a Friend" | Rachel Platten | My Little Pony: The Movie | |
| "Can You Feel It" | DNCE | ||
| "I'll Chase the Sky" | Jessie James Decker | ||
| "No Better Feelin'" | CL | ||
| "Neighsayer" | Lukas Nelson | ||
| 2018 | "Look What I Found" | Lady Gaga | A Star Is Born |
| "Heal Me" | |||
| "Is That Alright?" | |||
| "Why Did You Do That?" | |||
| "Hair Body Face" | |||
| "Before I Cry" | |||
| 2024 | "Guilty Pleasure" | JoJo Siwa | Guilty Pleasure |
Remixes
edit| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Fall in Love (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | Estelle |
| "Freak (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | ||
| 2011 | "Born This Way (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | Lady Gaga |
| "Judas (Dj White Shadow Remix)" | ||
| "Scheiße (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | ||
| 2012 | "Don't Wake Me Up (Dj White Shadow Remix)" | Chris Brown |
| 2014 | "Applause (DJ White Shadow Trap Remix)" | Lady Gaga |
| "Applause (DJ White Shadow Electrotech Remix)" | ||
| "Do What U Want (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | Lady Gaga R. Kelly | |
| "Time of Our Lives" | Pitbull Ne-Yo | |
| 2015 | "DJ White Shadow vs. PacMan" | Namco |
| 2019 | "Go Go Power Rangers (DJ White Shadow Remix)" | Ron Wasserman |
| "EDENへ (Remixed by DJ White Shadow)"[39] | UVERworld |
References
edit- ^ a b c "15 Minutes with DJ White Shadow, aka Paul Blair". Chicago Mag. January 7, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ a b Musacchio, Lauren (November 11, 2013). "Gaga Producer: She Was a 'Glitery Mermaid' on 'Artpop'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ Lipshutz, Jason (February 2, 2011). "Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Is 'Much More Complex' Than 'Fame' Says DJ White Shadow". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Butler, Bethonie (October 19, 2018). "Are we supposed to hate the pop songs in 'A Star Is Born'? One of the songwriters weighs in". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Caruso, Chris (December 2, 2013). "DJ White Shadow: Lady Gaga's Go-To Guy". DJ Times. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ Caruso, Chris (January 28, 2015). "Watch DJ White Shadow's Bud Light Super Bowl Commercial". DJ Times. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Muhammad, Latifah (October 21, 2013). "Lady Gaga and R. Kelly Team Up on Do What You Want". BET. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ "Paul Blair". GRAMMY.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- ^ Bosso, Joe (August 14, 2011). "Lady Gaga producer DJ White Shadow on Born This Way and his new EP". Music Radar. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Graff, Gary (August 11, 2011). "Lady Gaga May Have 'Ruined' Cohort White Shadow". Billboard.
- ^ "DJ White Shadow". Shure. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Matt (June 22, 2011). "DJ White Shadow Helps Lady Gaga Craft 'Born This Way'". Hour Detroit. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c d McCarthy, Zel (December 5, 2013). "DJ White Shadow 'The Clock Is Ticking' Video Premier". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ Corner, Lewis (August 15, 2013). "Lady Gaga recorded 70–100 songs for new album ARTPOP". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ^ Gomez, Luis (October 21, 2013). "How R. Kelly ended up on Lady Gaga's 'Do What U Want'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Dolan, Jon (February 28, 2012). "Estelle All of Me Music Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "Estelle Freak (Remixes)". The Word Remix Makes Me Hard. June 6, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "Meet White Shadow – Kitsune Maison 12". Kitsune official website. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Don't Wake Me Up (Remixes) – EP 2 von Chris Brown" (in German). iTunes Store (Germany). Apple. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Time of Our Lives (@DJWS Remix)". Mix Matters. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ Caruso, Chris (July 17, 2013). "DJ White Shadow Releases Explosive 'Fear' Video & Gears Up for EP Trilogy". DJ Times. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Graff, Gary (August 11, 2011). "Lady Gaga May Have 'Ruined' Cohort White Shadow". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Sadri, Arshan (August 7, 2013). "Must-Watch Music Videos: DJ White Shadow's Trilogy of Found Footage". Tube Filter. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ McCarthy, Zel (July 9, 2013). "DJ White Shadow, 'Fear' Video First Watch". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Burton, Bonnie (February 2, 2015). "Go behind the scenes of the Pac-Man Super Bowl ad". CNET. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ "Super Bowl: Anheuser-Busch releases details on Bud Light, Budweiser TV sports". Austin Free Press. February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 29, 2015). "Go Behind The Scenes of the Crazy Pac-Man Super Bowl Ad". Game Spot. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ^ Peters, Mitchell (April 21, 2016). "W Hotels Music Director Paul Blair (aka DJ White Shadow) Talks New Billboard Partnership & More". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Brunner, Jeryl (May 26, 2017). "Finding Creative Spaces In The Most Unexpected Locales". Forbes. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ "W Hotels Worldwide Open Recording Studio at W Bali". Billboard. May 17, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Ramsey, Colby (August 7, 2017). "Interview: DJ White Shadow on W Hotels' private sound suites". Audio Media International. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ "Lady Gaga's Right-Hand Man, DJ White Shadow, Makes More Than Just Pop Music: Interview". PopCrush. April 21, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Sawyer, Jonathan (September 22, 2017). "Watch Sia's "Rainbow" Video Featuring Maddie Ziegler for 'My Little Pony: The Movie'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Bostedt, Shelbie Lynn (September 12, 2017). "Paul Blair, aka DJ White Shadow, talks Wrigley Field, Lady Gaga and Green Tie Ball". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Malone, Chris (October 19, 2017). "Lady Gaga Returns to Studio With 'Born This Way' Producer DJ White Shadow". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Savage, Mark (December 20, 2017). "Lady Gaga announces two-year Las Vegas residency". BBC. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Dommu, Rose (October 15, 2018). "Lady Gaga Scores Fifth Number-One Album With A Star is Born Soundtrack". Out. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ Pessoa, Gabriel. "Romero Britto and DJ White Shadow Collaborate On Limited Edition NFT Art Collection". Haute Living. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ "UVERworld/ROB THE FRONTIER＜初回生産限定盤＞". tower.jp. Retrieved September 6, 2021.