RAVER GIRL

The #roadtothejump with @hardwell, the World’s Number One DJ

To see more of Hardwell’s journey, check out @hardwell and the #roadtothejump hashtag on Instagram. For more music stories, head to @music.

Ibiza on Tuesday. Majorca on Friday. Barcelona on Saturday. Then it’s back to Ibiza before jet-setting to Holland to get ready for the electronic music festival Tomorrowland.

This is the life of the world’s number one DJ, Robbert van de Corput, aka Hardwell (@hardwell). Before this year is through, Hardwell will have played for thousands of fans at 150 concerts around the world. At each show, he’ll tell those in attendance to scream, to throw their hands in the air and, most importantly, to jump, in what has become his signature show-stopping moment.

“It’s amazing. You can’t even describe it with words,” he says, of the instant he starts counting and then telling people to reach for the sky. “Being in control of a crowd, I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m a DJ. It’s great to touch so many people with your music. You’re in control of making the best party possible.”

Ironically, Hardwell got the idea for the jump movement from the times he wasn’t DJing.

“I was always grabbing the mic when my friends were playing,” he says. “I spoke for them. I came up with the ‘1-2-3 jump’ thing. It’s so familiar now. Everybody is using it. I just did it once, and it worked, so I kept doing it.”

“The Jump” is now ubiquitous in the DJ world, which is why Hardwell and his camp began the #roadtothejump hashtag last week, allowing his fans to share their own Jump moments with each other in real time. In turn, Hardwell has been leading them along the journey, giving his followers a chance to get a personal, inside look at his tour.

But the road isn’t always glamorous. The energy from shows often leaves the 27-year-old performer staying up long after the set has finished. And since he’s usually playing again the next day, he’ll typically get only two to four hours of sleep a night –– though he’ll try to sneak a nap in on the plane or in the van on the way to the gig. He also rarely has a chance to catch up with friends or family. Still, he wouldn’t trade what he’s doing now –– visiting different cities, making new friends and getting people to jump as high as they can –– for anything.

“I’m living my dream literally at this moment,” he says. “I can travel the world, play to different cultures, different people all around the world. It’s really amazing … It’s definitely really exhausting to do a world tour, but I will never complain because this I what I want to do.”