A South Jordan kindergartner spun through blinding sunlight and a stumble at the controls to finish a 30-minute festival DJ set that her family hopes will make her the youngest female DJ ever to play one, according to Guinness World Records' own benchmark for the category. Five-year-old Hadlee Lovell, known behind the decks as DJ LeeLee, played her first festival show at Utah's AWAKEN event, and her family has since submitted the performance for consideration.
The attempt, if verified, would need to clear a specific bar: a set lasting at least 30 minutes in front of a crowd, performed independently on professional-level equipment, as outlined by South Jordan Journal. Footage and photos supplied to DJane Mag show Hadlee working the controls solo in front of an audience at the ticketed house-and-techno event on Aug. 15, which her parents describe as her first festival performance. As of now, no final decision from Guinness World Records has been announced, and that review process may take a couple of months, according to the original report from KSL.com.
A Sunlit Scare Mid-Set
Partway through her set, Hadlee ran into trouble when the sun glared directly onto her DJ deck. “The sun came down on the deck, and you could not see anything,” she told Yahoo Entertainment, describing the moment her screen effectively went dark. She kept playing anyway, working through the mistake until she finished to cheers from the crowd.
Looking back on the hiccup, Hadlee said it taught her something simple but lasting. “I learned if I make a mistake, I can keep going,” she said, per the same account. Her take on DJing overall stayed upbeat too — she says the best part is that “you get to dance to the music.”
From Facebook Marketplace To The Festival Stage
Hadlee's path behind the turntables started with her father, Andrew Lovell, who is also Monte Vista Elementary's assistant principal. He bought a used DJ deck off Facebook Marketplace for a couple hundred dollars, and within a day both Hadlee and her older brother Carter wanted to learn how to use it, he said. DJing quickly became a summer hobby for the whole family, with Hadlee and Carter watching YouTube videos and practicing together with their father.
The siblings now have more than 175,000 followers on Instagram, and the South Jordan Journal reports their videos have collected millions of views online. Per the DJane Mag interview, Hadlee has advanced well past the basics, learning to set hot cues and now working on beatmatching, EQ and effects — skills her family says let her mix a 40-minute set entirely on her own, according to the South Jordan Journal.
A Separate Record And A Family Philosophy
Hadlee and her seven-year-old brother, who performs as CXRTER, already hold a separate title with RecordSetter for the Youngest B2B DJ Duo by combined age, logging a combined age of 4,476 days for a performance on June 4. Her family says Hadlee's ambitions haven't stopped at the festival stage either — they say she now wants to go after the Guinness World Record for Youngest Female DJ to Perform at a Club, according to EDM.com.
Despite the record chasing, Andrew Lovell has been clear that neither Hadlee nor Carter are being pushed into it. “If they don't want to do it, they don't have to,” he said, adding that the family wants the kids to pursue activities they love safely. Hadlee, for her part, says she simply thinks the whole record attempt is fun.
Where Hadlee's Attempt Would Land Historically
If Guinness ultimately verifies the festival set, Hadlee would be chasing down a mark currently held by DJ RINOKA of Japan, who is listed by Guinness World Records as the youngest female DJ to perform at a music festival at 6 years and 351 days old, having played a festival in New Taipei City, Taiwan, China, on Jan. 21, 2024. DJ RINOKA reportedly began DJing herself at age 5. In a related but separate category, DJ Archie holds the Guinness title for youngest club DJ at 4 years and 130 days old, a record that required an unattended one-hour set before an audience of at least 20 people; Archie went on to become the youngest person to ever perform at Glastonbury Festival in 2023, according to EDM.com.
Bringing The Beats Back To School
Hadlee's festival turn wasn't her only recent stage. She also DJed at a Monte Vista Elementary assembly in South Jordan celebrating Utah's statewide read-a-thon, where school leaders say her presence had a real effect on students. Principal Natalie Gleave said the school is trying to find more ways to include the Lovell family in future assemblies, and during the event Carter even taught Gleave how to DJ a song, with Gleave mixing Phantom of the Opera into another track live. Hadlee's mother got in on it too, dressing as Monte Vista's mustang mascot and joining students on the dance floor as her daughter inspired the crowd from behind the decks.
