Dardan Aliu (born 23 July 1993), mostly known as Regard, is an Albanian-Kosovan DJ and record producer. Born and raised in Ferizaj, he made his international breakthrough in 2019 with his cover of Jay Sean's 2008 single "Ride It", which resulted in commercial success worldwide.
Life and career
Regard was born as Dardan Aliu on 23 July 1993 into an Albanian family in the city of Ferizaj, Kosovo. Regard 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 streamed 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 1, 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 Chart, 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 was 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 Headliner Magazine 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. The single would peak inside the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and become certified silver in the same country. The single would also peak inside the top 20 of numerous European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland.
Discography
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album For "You": "Ride It" 2019 3 2 6 13 4 9 8 2 2 62ARIA: 7× Platinum BEA: 2× Platinum BPI: 3× Platinum BVMI: 2× Platinum IFPI DEN: 2× Platinum IFPI SWI: 2× Platinum RIAA: Platinum RMNZ: 5× Platinum SNEP: Diamond "Secrets" 2020 24 17 20 68 84 17 — 85 6 —ARIA: Platinum BEA: Gold BPI: Platinum BVMI: Gold IFPI DEN: Platinum RMNZ: Gold SNEP: Platinum Euphoric Sad Songs "Say My Name" — 27 — — — — — — — — rowspan="3" "You" 2021 51 50 — — — 30 — — 46 58BPI: Silver IFPI DEN: Gold RIAA: Platinum RMNZ: Gold "Signals" — — — — — — — — — — "Hallucination" 2022 — — — — — — — — 56 —BPI: Silver Night Call (Deluxe) "No Love for You" — — — — — — — — — — rowspan="5" "New York" (with Steve Aoki and Mazie) 2023 — — — — — — — — — — "No Sleep"(with Ella Henderson) — — — — — — — — — — "Can't Stop Us"2024 — — — — — — — — — — "Stay Another Night"(with Cheat Codes) — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Awards and nominations
+ List of awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result 2020 Los 40 Music Awards Best International Dance Artist Himself rowspan="7" NRJ Music Award DJ of the Year Berlin Music Video AwardsBest CinematographyRide It 2021 American Music Awards Favorite Electronic/Dance ArtistHimself Brit Awards Best Song of the Year "Secrets" 2022 Billboard Music Awards Top Dance/Electronic Song "You" iHeartRadio Music Awards Dance Artist of the Year Regard Dance Song of the Year "You"
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