Portrait of Gotye

Birthday profile

Gotye

Gotye, Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter

Born
May 21, 1980
Age in 2026
46
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1980

About Gotye

Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye, is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbra) topped the Billboard Hot 100, as well as several international charts, becoming one of the best-selling songs of 2012. He has won five ARIA Awards and received a nomination for an MTV EMA for Best Asia and Pacific Act. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while its parent album – Making Mirrors (2012) – won Best Alternative Music Album. Gotye has released three studio albums independently and one album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums. He is a founding member of the Melbourne indie-pop trio the Basics, who have independently released five studio albums and numerous other titles since 2002. His 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" topped the Billboard Hot 100, as well as several international charts, and became the best-selling song of 2012.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Gotye timeline

  1. His 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" topped the Billboard Hot 100, as well as several international charts, and became the best-selling song of 2012.
  2. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while its parent album — Making Mirrors (2012) — won Best Alternative Music Album.

The world when Gotye was born

Gotye was born in 1980. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1980

  • #1 song"Call Me" – Blondie
  • Top movieOrdinary People
  • Top TV showDallas
  • Best-selling bookThe Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMiracle on Ice — US hockey team beats the Soviets at Lake Placid
  • Top headlineJohn Lennon assassinated outside his New York apartment
  • Technology milestoneCNN launches as first 24-hour news channel
  • Defining fadRubik's Cube
  • Notable inventionPost-it Notes (officially released)
  • World population4.44 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
  • Sports championPhiladelphia Phillies (World Series)
  • Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population227.2M

1980 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Gotye's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19802026
Gas$1.19$3.45/gal
Average home$68,700$435,000
Average income$21,023$67,500
Minimum wage$3.10$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.15$0.73
Population227.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.