Joel Corry

“Back Again” might seem like a strange title for a debut single, but not for Joel Corry: When the British DJ/producer dropped his first record in 2015, he was already well known to UK audiences from his appearances on the MTV reality show Geordie Shore. While that program captured its cast members’ romantic misadventures with tongue firmly in cheek, Corry has treated his musical career with far more seriousness, faithfully updating the sounds of classic house with a sleek contemporary touch. Born in London in 1989, Corry was just a boy when the slinky sounds of UK garage catapulted underground dance music into British pop around the turn of the millennium, but he brings the same crossover spirit to his own productions. While 2015’s “Back Again” and “Light It Up” flirted with big-room EDM, Corry looked to the past for his breakout hit, a 2019 cover of Monsta Boy’s 2000 UK garage classic “Sorry” that paired soulful vocals with crisp, jittery drum programming. He’s pursued a similar approach on subsequent singles like “Lonely” and “Head & Heart”, updating the piano chords and organ stabs of ’90s dance pop with 21st-century production values. While Corry’s timeless hooks are perfect for radio, he’s careful to always have something special for the dance floor. As he told Apple Music: “With all my records I like to do my own VIP mix”—that is, a club-ready version that’s a little tougher and heavier. With reality TV in the rearview, these days Corry’s simply keeping it real.