Who Is Marshmello? Everything to Know About the DJ

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, everyone was wearing masks — but celebrity DJ MarshmelloThe trend was well ahead of its time in 2015

Even those who don’t know Marshmello by name likely know of a few of his popular collaborations. His songs are almost always trending on the charts, and he’s paired up with some of the biggest names in music.

The Billboard Music Award nominee is responsible for some of the hottest singles of the last decade, including “Wolves” with Selena Gomez, “Silence” featuring Khalid and “Friends” with Anne-Marie. In 2018, he teamed with a British band Bastille for the hit single “Happier,” which spent 27 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100.

The EDM producer and star is well-known for his white helmet that looks almost like a marshmallow. The accessory features two Xs for eyes as well as a wide smile. The helmet has not been removed by the artist since 2015 when he first entered the scene.

Masked DJs aren’t necessarily new to the electronic music genre, but Marshmello gets a lot of credit for standing by his attempt to remain anonymous. “I don’t take my helmet off because I don’t want or need fame. I’m genuinely trying to create something positive for people to connect with,” the artist tweeted in August 2017, adding in a separate post, “The helmet makes me marshmello and also makes you marshmello…we are all marshmello.”

Marshmello has not officially confirmed his identity, and he never removed his headpiece. However, as his star continued to rise, fans and reporters alike began to dig for clues about who was behind some of pop music’s biggest hits — and his identity slowly became an open secret.

Some might find the anonymity gimmick boring, but Marshmello has made it fun and original with his stunts and pranks. The artist regularly trolls his fan base by pulling off his mask during performances as if about to reveal who he is — only to surprise them with the faces of random celebrities instead.

Scroll down to uncover more clues about the man behind the marshmallow head — and to find out how SkrillexThe secret was almost revealed:

1. How the Internet (Probably Unmasked Marshmello)
Aspiring artists might want to follow Marshmello’s strategy of anonymity. The “Leave Before You Love Me” hitmaker managed to amass a huge audience in a relatively short amount of time.

Marshmello released an album that reached No. 1 after just one year of being on the scene. 5 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic charts. This feat was achieved despite being on a small Canadian label. It is remarkable in a genre already saturated.

2. Marshmello’s Journey to Fame
Like many DJs, Marshmello’s music career started on Soundcloud. He uploaded an original song and a few remixes to the platform in 2015 and quickly caught the attention of EDM legends like Skrillex, who reposted one of Marshmello’s songs.

The artist released his first studio album in 2016. JoytimeThrough his own record label, Joytime Collective, he released the following: The 10-track record included his first big hit, hip-hop/EDM hybrid “​​Keep it Mello,” which featured Mexican rapper Omar Linx.

Since then, the artist has collaborated extensively with pop stars and hip-hop artists. The musician has performed at festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival and appeared at events such as the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. Marshmello’s 2019 FortnitePerformance was the most-watched concert on the platform with more than 10,000,000 people tuning in to hear him spin some his greatest hits.

3. Skrillex’s Infamous Slip-Up
Marshmello has stayed relatively mum about his actual identity — but not all of his peers have managed to do the same. Skrillex was interviewed by NBC in 2015. Katie CouricWhen his phone rang in the middle of conversation. Couric said, “It’s Chris,” to which the record-breaking DJ replied, “Oh, Marshmello,” before picking up the phone and putting it on speaker.

Sure, a first name — and especially a common one at that — probably shouldn’t be enough for anyone to identify Marshmello’s true persona, but one ForbesThe code was apparently cracked by the writer.

Natalie Robehmed discovered Marshmello’s name by searching through the BMI music royalties database, which lists every individual who contributed to the making of a song, from the producer and the songwriter to the mixer. On each and every Marshmello song, a name appeared that seemed to match Skrillex’s contact: Christopher Comstock.

Further research revealed that Comstock was the sole proprietor of Marshmello Creative, LLC, a holding company. The American DJ, Dotcom, is also known and verified on Instagram.

4. An Open Secret
EDM insiders have called Marshmello’s identity an open secret within the community for years. Many internet sleuths and social media superfans have also matched the stage name Marshmello with the artist’s real name by the time Forbes published its expose, and they’ve since compiled a lot more evidence that supports the outlet’s findings.

Many people have pointed out that Marshmello as well as Comstock have the exact same leg tattoo. The photo shows Comstock wearing ripped jeans. Others have also noticed a similar mole on their necks, and have matched photos of their hands.

Marshmello, despite all the evidence, continues to honor his vow to silence, Despite this, Marshmello continues to honor his vow of silence. Forbes’ report about the DJ’s identity, neither Marshmello nor Comstock have addressed the speculation.

5. Why is Marshmello anonymous?
To understand why Marshmello has chosen to keep quiet about who he really is, fans should look toward the electronic genre’s long history of masked DJs, with Daft PunkThe leader in the field deadmau5Introduce the idea to a new generation.

The motivation for many artists is to keep people’s attention on their music rather than their personal lives. Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter once said, “We want the focus to be on the music. If we are going to create an image, it should be artificial. This combination hides the physicality of us and shows our view on the star system. It is not a compromise. We’re trying to separate the private side and the public side.”

In the age of social media — which leaves so many celebs accessible to millions of fans and haters alike — it’s not hard to understand why someone would want to keep their image to themselves.

6. Marshmello’s Not Interested in Fame
The artist seems to have followed in Daft Punk’s footsteps when it comes to their philosophy toward fame. In 2017, Marshmello tweeted, “I don’t take my helmet off because I don’t want or need fame. I’m genuinely trying to create something positive for people to connect with.”

One year earlier, he tweeted, “If I wanted the fame that 90% of you crave, I would take off my helmet. But I don’t care about that s–t. I care about making a difference.”

7. He is too good at trolling
Although his identity is almost certain, it seems that the recording artist is having far too much fun with his audience to stop the gag.

Marshmello has pulled off many stunts where he invites celebrities to don his iconic mask and then remove it. Masked Singer-style. He is known for bringing out Tiësto during 2016’s Electric Daisy Carnival, but fans soon put together that it wasn’t the real Marshmello under the helmet.

The DJ also received Shawn MendesOne of Shawn’s pranks during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Video Awards. When “Marshmello” took the stage to accept an award, Shawn pulled off the mask, shocking everyone and saying, “Woah! It was hot in there. Well, thank you so much!”

He thanked then Moe Shalizi, Marshmello’s manager, before running off the stage.

8. Forget the Mask — It’s All About the Music
At the end of the day, the reason fans love Marshmello is that he regularly puts out incredible songs, collaborating with some of the world’s favorite pop and rap artists. If Marshmello wants listeners to just focus on his music, he’s been pretty successful on that front.