Darude "Feel the Beat"

Ville Virtanen (born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude is a trance producer and DJ from Finland. Debuting in 1995, he released in late 1999 the hit single "Sandstorm" and subsequent album Before the Storm. Darude is known worldwide for his progressive/uplifting style. Sandstorm" was a smash hit in Finland, topping the Finnish Single Chart, selling platinum and holding the #1 spot on the Finnish Dance Chart for seventeen consecutive weeks. Word quickly spread about the track, which found global success. After becoming the #3 single in the United Kingdom (becoming the first record by a Finnish artist to do so), "Sandstorm" eventually sold 2 million units worldwide, and was the world's biggest selling 12-inch record in 2000. Shortly thereafter, Darude released his debut album, Before the Storm, selling 800,000 copies worldwide, topping the Finnish album charts, and earning him three Finnish Grammy awards. Before the Storm was produced by JS16, and features two of his remixes. Darude's second single, "Feel the Beat," closely followed the success of "Sandstorm", reaching #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Subsequent releases, "Out of Control," and "Out of Control (Back for More)" (a remix of the former, featuring vocals by Tammie Marie) failed to match the success of Darude's first two singles. Darude began a successful world tour in 2001, releasing Before the Storm: Australian Tour Edition in the process. 2002 saw the release of Before the Storm: Special Edition, featuring a collection of remixes of Darude's work. Since the release of Rush, Darude has remained on the road, particularly the United States and Eastern Europe. In 2003, Darude released his second album, Rush, along with singles "Music" and "Next to You". All three had modest success, with Rush reaching #4 in weekly Finnish album sales and "Next to You" being commonly featured in DJ mixes. [Wikipedia]