Hardwell and Sound Rush Reimagine Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris'

From Ballad to Festival Behemoth

Hardwell and Sound Rush have joined forces for a hard dance cover of "Iris," the aching Goo Goo Dolls ballad that has been reducing entire millennial friend groups to tears at weddings since 1998. The Dutch EDM icon and identical twin brothers have reworked the track into a 160 BPM festival behemoth, trading the original's hushed guitar for a candy-coated banger with soaring synths and pounding kick drums.

Hardstyle's Pop Mining Operation

The track keeps John Rzeznik's melody largely intact, stretching it across a shimmering arrangement produced for festival mainstages rather than late-night radio. It's a transformation typical of hardstyle's recent evolution, in which producers mine decades of pop and rock hits for melodies sturdy enough to survive a total change in tempo and texture.

Festival-Tested Before Release

Hardwell had already tested the track in front of enormous audiences, dropping it during DJ sets at EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Europe and Tomorrowland, three of the largest fixtures on the international EDM festival calendar.

"Iris" is now officially available on streaming platforms via Hardwell's influential label, Revealed Recordings.