At just 20 years old, Felix Jaehn is the artist behind two of the songs of the summer that you probably had on repeat at your house, one of them being our favorite, OMI’s “Cheerleader, which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in addition to going #1 on Shazam in the U.S., #2 Shazam Global, #2 on the Spotify Global Top 50, and #2 on the US Top 50. Spotify plays crossed the 300-million mark, while YouTube views surpass 230 million. It has also hit #1 on iTunes in over 50 countries. Felix’s debut single for Casablanca Records, “Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better)” ft. Jasmine Thompson, has become a mega hit named by Billboard as one of the “2015 Songs of the Summer” and being played at Top 40 radio across the country. It went Top 10 on iTunes in 18 countries and #9 on the Shazam Global Chart. It’s landed in Breaker Rotation on SiriusXM BPM and Heavy Rotation at SiriusXM Chill. Spotify plays are over 66 million and counting, and YouTube plays exceed 34 million.

As we sat down to chat with him right before his set at TomorrowWorld, the first thing we noticed was how humble and down-to-earth he is, despite his meteoric rise over the last year. He grew up on the Internet and relates all of his success to it. He is a normal 20 year old, who happens to be extremely talented, and when he shared his music online, people listened, and they listened big time. Keep reading to find our full exclusive interview with Felix Jaehn.

What is your favorite part of making a song? Is it discovering the initial hook, finishing the track, or sharing it with other people.

If I have to pick just one, I think it would be when I have the first demo ready and it is good enough to play out and I just test it live. I can see the reaction of the people. And then you can go back to the studio with the experience and the direct feedback from the crowd and finalize it.

How do you feel about TomorrowWorld’s theme compared to other festivals?

Well I haven’t been able to experience it properly, to be honest, because it’s my first time and we just arrived an hour ago, but from what Ive seen online and everything its really cool because people dive into a different world and they can just forget about their lives for a little bit and just have a lot of fun.

Why is music the best medium of art for you?

It’s just very emotional for me. I don’t know, when I listen to music, or make music, or play music, its just a really great feeling. It does something to me that nothing else does, so it’s just you don’t really have to think about it. Its what it is and what it does to you.

Who are your most cherished childhood artists? Who did you grow up listening to?

When I was really really young, like about 10 years old, I was listening to rap music. My first concert I went to was actually 50 Cent. And then I had a phase where I was listening to Lincoln Park. I think you go through different musical phases when you grow up. And then when I was a teenager I got into DJing, and Aviicii was one of the main artists I was listening to. To me Avicii was really fresh with his melodies and the vocals. I think even now I am still sometimes, not comparing myself, but looking up to him. I think my style is quite similar: melodic house Music just minus a bit more down tempo and more chill.

Who introduced you to your style of music, or did you get it from multiple sources?

Ya i think so, I got it from people like Avicii with melodic house inspirations. I played the violin when I was a kid so I like to incorporate that soft musical influence, and then devote it to melodic house. Its like deep, melodic, tropical, whatever you like to call it, but essentially its melodic house music. And then when I finished high school I was 17 years old and I moved to London for a year and the UK deep house was really big at that time. It was at the time where dubstep was getting boring and everyone went into deep house music. They finally wanted something slower and not so noisy.

What is your favorite setting to perform in? Maybe the beach, on a boat, etc?

It really depends. You can’t really tell. Sometimes clubs are really cool. You might have a 200 capacity club with absolutely packed people. People go nuts and its completely dark and its the best thing ever you can actually touch the people. And then sometimes you have 60,000 people crowds. Its really huge, amazing stage production, a lot of lighting and effects, which is obviously a lot of fun as well. And then playing in nature is always great. I played a weekend festival in Estonia for I think about 20,000 people. I played between Showteck and David Guetta so that was pretty damn dope, and that was right at the beach so they had the massive stage 20 meters high but they also had the beach right there and a big crowd, so it was combining many different elements.

When you were making your remix of OMI’s Cheerleader, did you have a feeling that it would be a worldwide chart topper.

No, never. I dont think you can ever imagine that. Especially when I did it, I didn’t have any official stuff going on. I was just putting out stuff on Sound Cloud. That was my first official thing I ever did, and then later that I had management on board, I released other songs.

What is your best advice you would give to aspiring producers?

Use the internet as a tool. Do not waste time hating on others. Eventually people will discover you.