MTV counts down the top 10 electronic dance music artists of the year. By Akshay Bhansali and Adam Stewart deadmau5 Photo: Getty Images Maybe you were at the grocery store when you found yourself singing along to Afrojack’s “Take Over Control” for the hundredth time. Or maybe it was when Martin Solveig’s “Hello” was suddenly on repeat on your iPod. Whatever your moment was, it’s fair to say the American appetite for electronic dance music surged in 2011, bringing “the rave” to radio and festivals, touching every U.S. city (big and small). Even Grammy voters took notice this year, nominating Skrillex for Best New Artist and in four other categories. Afrojack, David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Benny Benassi put up mainstream, chart-topping bangers. Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival and Miami’s Ultra Music Festival saw record attendance, and dance music’s biggest stars headlined a stage at every major mainstream festival: Lollapalooza, Coachella, SXSW, Austin City Limits. We’ve been covering the movement, but this year we tapped some of our EDM pros to commemorate a seminal year for the genre. MTV News’ Akshay Bhansali and Adam Stewart, MTV Coordinator of Music & Talent Rawley Bornstein and MTV World Music Director Micah McKinney sat down for a roundtable discussion — moderated by MTV News’ Sway Calloway — about the biggest players this year and crowned our top 10. Below, we reveal #10 through #3. Stick with MTV as we reveal our final two at 4:59 p.m. ET on Monday (December 12). Who will be named the Best EDM Artist of 2011? 10. Martin Solveig When Irv Gotti stopped by MTV News’ “RapFix Live” in October, he joked, “We’re just one record away from Kanye or Jay [being like]: [ sings hook to Solveig’s ‘Hello’ ] ‘I just came to say hello — Hov!’ ” Gotti was kidding, but it’s true. Rap dudes beware: Songs like “Hello” and guys like Martin have seen such widespread success that the hip-hop industry, which has long enjoyed club and radio dominance, is shook. In addition to being a technically superior producer and DJ, Solveig has also proven to the world that he has a sense of humor. His “Smash” video series — including “Hello,” “Initial S.H.E,” “Ready 2 Go” and “Big in Japan” — are some of the funniest and most well-produced clips of any genre. Kudos to Martin and his “manager” Lafaille for making us laugh and dance in 2011. 9. Ti
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