THE FIRST DJ TO WIN THE EDISON LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IS
Trance legend Tiësto was recently awarded one of the highest honors in music. The 17-year-old Dutch dance music icon was the recipient of the Edison Pop Oeuvre Lifetime Achievement Award from Holland’s renowned talk show RTL Late Night.
The annual award has been handed out over 750 times since its inauguration in 1960, making it one of the oldest and one of the most prestigious awards in music history. It’s awarded for outstanding achievement in the music industry within two main categories: International artists and domestic (Dutch) artists.
We put the @edisonsNL at my moms house! Without her none of this would have happened! #Edison pic.twitter.com/ISKaC9ALk1
— Tiësto (@tiesto) 4 Mart 2016
As a first-time recipient and the first-ever DJ to take home the award, Tiësto joins the ranks of multi-Edison winners including Quincy Jones, Elvis Costello, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Beach Boys, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder and U2, among others.
The award committee recognized Tiësto for being a pioneer of trance in the 1990s and dance music as a whole beginning in the late 2000s and continuing to this day. They cited the fact that Tiësto was the first Dutch DJ to be named most popular DJ three times and the first to headline a stadium and to perform at the Olympic Games (2004). Over the course of a career spanning more than two decades, Tiësto has won over 70 international awards and was also appointed Officer of Order of Orange-Nassau.
Young Dutch sensation Martin Garrix had the distinct honor of presenting his idol Tiësto with the award. Hardwell, Quintino, Afrojack and Oliver Heldens also offered up short videos during the ceremony congratulating and thanking Tiësto for all he’s done for electronic music. Although it is in Dutch, you can watch the heart-warming presentation of the award in the video below.
