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Hardwell On Air

Hardwell On Air (HOA) is a monthly online music show hosted by Dutch DJ and record producer Hardwell. The program started as a weekly live broadcast via Hardwell's official YouTube and Facebook profiles and ran from Friday, March 4, 2011 until its temporary closure on Friday, January 15, 2021. The show was also broadcast by many FM radio stations and online outlets, and episodes were free to download.

Hardwell On Air was put on hiatus after its 500th episode. The show "Revealed Selected" was announced to take its place, hosted by Adam K of Tomorrowland's One World Radio.[1]

On November 3, 2023, HOA was relaunched as a monthly YouTube livestream after a two-year dormancy. Episodes from the initial decade are archived in a playlist on Hardwell's YouTube channel.[2]

Concept

During the show, Hardwell plays newly released EDM songs in a one-hour mix. Each episode showcases new material in various genres including big room, progressive house, electro house, and tech house. Episodes frequently conclude with a hardstyle track.

Episode Layout

The sets have a length of one hour and are initiated with a vocal short. This consists of a distorted voice, which introduces each episode with the same word sequence: "Are we on air? Welcome to the soundtrack of your nightlife. One hour of the present and future. Tune in to Hardwell On Air." The soundtrack of the intro consists of the song "Encoded" by Hardwell himself, released in the year 2011.[3] A follow-up statement from Hardwell can be heard. Usually one or more smoother songs follow the intro. Since 2023, the soundtrack of the intro consists of the song Shotgun (It Ain't Over) by Hardwell featuring Bright Lights, released in the year 2023.

The following segments are followed in the episodes:

  • Hardwell Exclusive (2011-2021, 2023-PRESENT): One or more songs that will be released on Revealed Recordings and/or other Labels.
  • Most Voted Track of the Week (2016-2021): Casting votes to the Hardwell's Facebook Bot.
  • Demo of the Week (2016-2018): A Demo Track that was sent to Hardwell or Revealed Recordings.
  • Revealed Community Pick: #- (2018-2019): 1-2 newly released tracks from Revealed Community.
  • Revealed Radar: #- (2020-2021): 2-3 newly released tracks from Revealed Radar.
  • Demo of The Month (2023-PRESENT): A Demo Track that was sent to Hardwell or Revealed Recordings.
  • DJ on the Phone (2023-PRESENT): A particular DJ will be called for an Artist Spotlight of the Month.

After the different categories have been dealt with, the music style is mostly changed to Hardstyle or Future Bass.

Audio Tags

For many songs, a shout or tag referring to the podcast is added, to protect the song from being used before the release is done. Regarding this, in early 2017 a video was posted online which shows Korean comedian and DJ G-Park and DJharles playing Jewelz & Sparks's "Grande Opera". During the break Hardwell can be heard presenting the track as well as the "Hardwell On Air tag" just before the drop starts. This indicated that the duo recorded the track from the podcast and did not get it legally.[4] As a running gag, the duo has played the track in combination with the "Hardwell on Air tag" since then.

On June 14, 2017, Jewelz & Sparks played their track "Grande Opera" with the Hardwell on Air sample again in Ultra Music Festival Korea and also posted it to Facebook.

Channels

Hardwell during the special 300th episode.

Awards and nominations

Certification Category Year Result Source
IDMA Best Podcast 2013 Nominated [6]
Best Podcast or Radio Mixshow DJ 2014 Nominated [7]
Best Podcast or Radio Mixshow DJ 2015 Won [8]
Best Podcast or Radio Mixshow DJ 2016 Won [9]

References