Imagine thousands of people at a festival losing their minds while dancing to … “Iris”?
Goo Goo Dolls’ iconic love ballad has been reimagined by legendary electronic music pioneer Steve Aoki into a high-energy dance track. The collaboration was sparked when Steve invited Goo Goo Dolls singer John Rzeznik to perform the song with him at the Stagecoach festival in 2025. The crowd loved it, so Steve decided to rework it into something he could play at future festivals and shows.
“Joining Steve onstage during his Stagecoach set was an unforgettable moment. The energy from the crowd was remarkable and the mixture of our two genres was amazing to witness live,” John says in a statement. “We’re thrilled to release this new version of ‘Iris’ with Steve and share that magic moment with our fans around the world.”
Steve adds in a statement, “Performing ‘Iris’ live with Goo Goo Dolls at Stagecoach was one of those rare, unforgettable moments. You could feel the connection everyone had to the song, but also this incredible rush as we brought it into a completely different environment.”
“That feeling stayed with me, and I knew we had to take it into the studio and build a version designed for festival stages, while preserving the heart of the original.”
Since its release in 1998, “Iris” — originally composed for the Nicolas Cage/Meg Ryan film City of Angels — has garnered over 5.5 billion streams worldwide. One billion of those streams were racked up in 2025 alone.
On Thursday night at New York’s Beacon Theatre, Goo Goo Dolls were one of many acts performing at the annual Love Rocks NYC concert, benefiting the charity God’s Love We Deliver. They played “Iris,” of course, as well as a cover of Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me.”
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