Martin Garrix is preparing to release his first full pop album, “Marty,” on March 5, 2027, with a 14-track set featuring major names including Madonna, U2, Ed Sheeran and Aitana. The Dutch DJ previewed several songs for top Spotify listeners at a pop-up event in Amsterdam, describing the record as a project about growth, change and the different stages of life.
Martin Garrix is moving into a new chapter of his career with “Marty,” a 14-track album that will arrive on March 5, 2027. More than a decade after “Animals” turned him into one of electronic music’s biggest names, the Dutch producer is presenting the project as his first full pop album and one of his most personal releases so far.
The guest list immediately gives the album unusual scale. Madonna, U2, Ed Sheeran and Spanish singer Aitana are all set to appear, bringing together artists from very different generations and corners of pop music. Garrix has built his career around collaborations, but “Marty” is positioned as a broader statement rather than a collection of standalone singles.
He gave some of his most dedicated listeners an early taste of the album at a Spotify pop-up show in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The event included previews of several new songs and offered a first indication of how Garrix is approaching the transition from festival-focused electronic releases toward a more explicitly pop-centered record.
Speaking about the project, Martin Garrix said that even after spending most of his life making music, he still feels as though he is at the beginning. That idea of starting again, despite years of global success, sits at the center of the album’s concept.
He described “Marty” as a record about growth and moving through different chapters of life. Garrix also connected the album to the idea that the love people give and the energy they put into the world continue to matter after individual moments have passed.
The title itself makes the project feel more personal. “Marty” is a familiar form of his first name, and the choice suggests a record intended to bring listeners closer to the person behind the stage name. That approach fits with his comments about documenting different stages of growth rather than simply building a new sequence of club tracks.
The scale of the collaborations will naturally attract attention. Madonna brings decades of pop history, U2 add one of rock’s most recognizable identities, while Ed Sheeran has spent years moving between singer-songwriter material and large-scale pop production. Aitana represents a younger European pop generation, giving the guest list a deliberately wide range.
For Martin Garrix, working with high-profile vocalists is nothing new. His catalog includes major collaborations with artists from pop, dance and electronic music, and several of his most successful records have depended on the balance between his production and a strong vocal performance.
“In the Name of Love,” his collaboration with Bebe Rexha, became one of the clearest examples of that formula. The track reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and helped establish Garrix as a producer who could move comfortably between EDM and mainstream pop radio.
“Animals,” the instrumental hit that first pushed him into the international spotlight, had already proved that he could command enormous attention without a traditional pop vocal. Released while he was still a teenager, the track became the foundation for a career that quickly expanded into festivals, residencies and global touring.
Since then, Martin Garrix has continued moving between club records and crossover material. He has collected six entries on the Billboard Hot 100, showing that his reach has repeatedly extended beyond dance-specific charts.
His performance on Billboard’s Dance Airplay chart has been even broader. Martin Garrix has earned 32 entries there, including No. 1 records such as “Higher Ground” with John Martin and “Told You So” with Jex.
Those numbers help explain why a pop album now feels like a logical progression rather than a sudden change of direction. Garrix has spent years developing songs around vocals, hooks and melodic structures that already sit close to pop, even when the production remains rooted in electronic music.
What changes with “Marty” is the framing. Instead of releasing another electronic project with guest singers, Martin Garrix is explicitly presenting this as a pop album. That distinction raises expectations around songwriting, sequencing and the way the collaborations fit together across the full 14-track set.
The Amsterdam preview also suggests that the album is being introduced as a complete body of work rather than only through a sequence of singles. Allowing top Spotify listeners to hear multiple songs at once gives the project a more album-focused launch and places emphasis on the wider story Garrix says he wants to tell.
His comments about different life chapters point toward a record with a stronger narrative thread than many of his earlier releases. He wants listeners to experience those stages of growth alongside him, which suggests that the order and emotional progression of the songs may matter as much as the individual collaborations.
The presence of Madonna and U2 is especially notable because both acts bring strong identities that could easily dominate a track if the material is not carefully balanced. Garrix’s challenge will be to make those collaborations feel part of the same album rather than isolated event songs.
Ed Sheeran presents a different creative possibility. His songwriting style has worked across acoustic pop, electronic production and major dance collaborations, making him a natural fit for a producer who is intentionally moving closer to a pop format.
Aitana adds another dimension. Her presence connects the album to contemporary European pop and gives the project a different generational perspective from the legacy names elsewhere on the tracklist. The combination suggests that “Marty” is being built to move across audiences rather than target one specific scene.
Martin Garrix is currently supporting the next phase of his career on the road with the Martin Garrix Americas Tour. The timing means the album rollout is happening while he remains active as a touring DJ, rather than after a long break from live performance.
That overlap may shape how the new songs develop before release. Electronic artists often test material in front of crowds and adjust arrangements based on how tracks work live. Garrix’s touring schedule gives him opportunities to introduce new music gradually before the album arrives in March.
At the same time, a pop album creates different expectations from a festival set. Some songs may be designed around vocals and structure rather than drops, while others could preserve the energy associated with his biggest dance records.
The album also arrives at a point when Martin Garrix no longer needs to prove his status in electronic music. More than ten years after “Animals,” he has already built the festival profile, chart history and international audience that defined his rise.
That gives “Marty” a different purpose. Rather than establishing who Martin Garrix is, the album appears designed to show how much broader his musical identity can become and how he understands his career after more than a decade at the top level.
His quote about still feeling as if he is only beginning captures that tension. He is approaching the project with the experience of an established global artist, but presenting it with the mindset of someone entering unfamiliar territory.
The full tracklist has not yet been detailed, and the exact songs featuring Madonna, U2, Ed Sheeran and Aitana have not been identified in the announcement. That leaves much of the album’s sound and structure still unknown.
What is confirmed is the scale of the release, the March 5 date and the fact that Garrix sees it as a major step forward. With 14 tracks and a guest list spanning several generations of pop and rock, “Marty” is shaping up as the most deliberately crossover-focused project of his career.
For Martin Garrix, the move does not erase the electronic foundation that built his audience. Instead, “Marty” appears to use that history as a starting point for something wider: a pop album centered on collaboration, personal growth and the idea that after more than a decade in the spotlight, there are still new chapters left to open.