Sonny John Moore born January 15, 1988, better known by his stage name Skrillex, is an American electronic music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and in Northern California, Sonny Moore joined the American post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead singer in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band (Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count, 2004, and Heroine, 2006) before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007. He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and The Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press' annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.
After releasing the Gypsyhook EP in 2009, Moore was scheduled to record his debut studio album, Bells, with producer Noah Shain. However, he ceased production of the album and began performing under the name Skrillex, distributing the My Name Is Skrillex EP for free download on his official MySpace page. Subsequently, he released the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP in late–2010 and More Monsters and Sprites EP in mid–2011, both of which have since become moderate commercial successes. On November 30, 2011, he was nominated for a total of five Grammy Awards at the 54th Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and won three: "Best Dance/Electronica Album", "Best Dance Recording", and "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical". On December 5, 2011, the BBC announced that he had been nominated for their Sound of 2012 poll. On December 12, 2011, he was also named MTV's Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year. Skrillex has won a total of six Grammy Awards. Skrillex has collaborated with Diplo to form the group Jack Ü, and with Boys Noize to form the group Dog Blood.
Moore was born in the Highland Park neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, but moved to the Forest Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at the age of 2, where he attended elementary school. At the ages of 9 and 10, Moore attended a local boarding school located in the Mojave Desert LV, but eventually moved back to Northern California. By the time he was 12, his family moved back to his birthplace of northeast L.A., where he enrolled in a private academy school specializing in arts. Later he was home schooled at the age of 14 due to bullying. In 2004, he learned he was adopted and dropped out of the program when he was 16. While a young teenager in Los Angeles, Moore would attend punk gigs in Mexican American neighborhoods in East and South Los Angeles, and later at electro club raves in the downtown's Silver Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods.