It’s a tough task figuring out what Paris Hilton is famous — or infamous — for.
An heiress to the Hilton hotels, the socialite considers herself “first and foremost, a businesswoman and a brand”, but over the years, she has fancied herself everything from an actress, singer, writer, designer, entrepreneur, model, reality TV star, and most recently, a DJ. (She’ll be presenting her latest range of handbags and meeting fans at Arabian Centre on Monday from 3-4pm).
The polarising star was met with harsh words when she took to the stage with her turntables for the first time during Brazil’s Pop Music Festival in 2012. Even DJ Afrojack, who’d worked on tracks with Hilton before, was displeased with videos of her set on YouTube.
“It is simply not possible to become a good DJ unless you put lots of hard work and years of sweat in it. I’m afraid Paris underestimated this,” he said.
Despite negative reactions she received from Afrojack and other DJing professionals (Deadmau5 compared her performance to an apocalypse), Hilton says that the bad reviews were rife with rumours and falsehoods.
“The Brazil show went amazing. Everyone was so happy, everyone was just having the time of their lives, so I think it’s just always that one mean blogger who likes to be a hater and talk bad and then that one negative thing will just spread everywhere,” she told tabloid!.
“Since the beginning, it’s always been amazing and it just gets better and better.”
Hilton sat down with tabloid! on Sunday ahead of her gig at Cavalli club that night to talk about her adventures behind the decks so far.
Not everyone is familiar with your DJing style. How would you describe it?
I love to play a lot of different music. I love playing house. I love playing a lot of different bootlegs and remixes and things that people have never heard. I’m friends with basically every DJ, so I’m always getting all these songs that are unreleased and no one’s ever heard before.
How did you break into the world of DJing?
My friend, DJ AM, taught me how to DJ ten years ago, and then, over the past two-and-a-half years I’ve had DJ trainers who actually own DJ schools in LA. I did lessons with them every single day, studying.
Tell us a bit about your gig in Ibiza.
I was a resident DJ all summer at [a club in Ibiza] Amnesia, it was called Paris Hilton’s Film and Diamonds Party. It was incredible. I was playing to, like, 10,000 people every single night. It was over-sold-out, over-capacity every week. The owner was so happy, and said it was his most successful night of the week. He’s hired me for next summer at all of his properties, so it just felt amazing, and [was] such an honour to play at one of the most legendary clubs in the world alongside the biggest names in the business.
What are some of the hottest tracks on your set right now?
I love Martin Garrix’s song Animals, I think that’s such a dope song. This other song I really love is Atmosphere by Cascade. Another one that always, the crowd goes crazy [for], is Rattle by the Bingo Players.
You’ve always been interested in music. Do you feel more comfortable behind the decks or with a microphone?
I like both. I love playing instruments — I’ve played the violin and piano since I was four years old. I’ve sang my whole life, so I feel very comfortable behind the mic. I think it’s fun to DJ — the energy in the room, when the lights are going and the music. It’s even fun when I play one of my songs, sometimes I’ll get on the mic and sing to my song, so it’s kind of like being a hybrid DJ-singer.
If you could DJ one person’s wedding, who would it be and why?
I guess my sister, because she’s my family and I love her and I would do anything for her. I wouldn’t really think about DJing anyone else’s — or maybe one of the princesses?
What’s next for Paris Hilton? What can we expect from you?
I have 17 product lines now, I’m about to launch my 16th fragrance. I have over 50 Paris Hilton stores around the world; we’re opening more and more every month. I’m following in my family’s footsteps, getting into real estate and opening my own properties, and the first one is in Manila, Philippines.
