Regard (DJ)


Dardan Aliu, professionally known as DJ Regard, is a DJ from Kosovo. His 2019 single "Ride It" is a remix of Jay Sean's 2008 song, which became a viral sensation on TikTok and has since achieved international success.

Career

He released a house cover of the Jay Sean song "Ride It". The cover rose to prominence after it received 4.1 million views on TikTok. DJ Regard was signed to the Ministry of Sound and "Ride It" was released in July 2019. The single topped the Spotify Viral chart in the US, and eventually had over a million plays on Spotify. By the end of August 2019, the song had been stream over 2.4 million times in the US and entered the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart at number 21. The single received heavy airplay in the UK, on BBC Radio One, the BBC Asian Network, Kiss FM and Hits Radio. It eventually reached number 1 in the Ireland singles chart, number 2 on the UK singles charts, and number 3 in Australia. The Head of Music Partnerships at TikTok Europe highlighted Regard's success as a "great example of how TikTok can support artists by providing a platform to promote their songs to a global audience." Regard is booked to play the BBC's Top of the Pops New Year's Eve special with Jay Sean, on 30 December 2019.
DJ Regard told that the 'Ride It' remix came to him when he was drunk: “I was very drunk returning to my apartment from my gig, and I was listening to Jay Sean's song. The rattling in my head from the sound system at my gig made the perfect combination to make the track! The moment I arrived home, I started to form the basic idea for the Ride It remix.”
Regard released the follow-up single "Secrets" with British singer-songwriter Raye on 23 April 2020.

Discography

Singles