On the Verge: Dutch singer Mr. Probz makes 'Waves'

Like a phoenix: Before his Waves could crash into top 40 radio, Mr. Probz had to rise from the ashes — and not just metaphorically. Last year, the German-born, Netherlands-based singer escaped a fire that claimed his house and in-home studio, leaving him with only his laptop, a box of papers and the clothes he was wearing. Two days later, he went on local television and performed Waves, which immediately shot up the charts in the Netherlands. The sleeper dance hit has since washed up to No. 15 on Paste BN's top 40 airplay chart and No. 27 on Billboard's Hot 100 with its Robin Schulz remix, tallying nearly half a million downloads and 170 million streams on Spotify. "Just to sit there, sing it and watch the song fly through the roof, it was like a sign," says Dennis Stehr, 30. "Like, 'That's behind you and you're going to do something different now.' "

Problematic: Probz was a self-described "problem child" growing up: struggling to fit in at school and turning to graffiti as a way to express himself. After he was slapped with a hefty fine for tagging, he shifted his focus to hip-hop, inspired by idols such as Wu-Tang Clan and Cypress Hill. But it wasn't until two years ago that he picked up guitar and switched from rapping to singing, encouraged by a musician friend. "It was like Morpheus telling Neo (in The Matrix) that he couldn't open the door. 'You have to go through it yourself,' " Probz says. "That was perfect timing. After he told me that, I was like, 'Let's just give it a try and see how far we can go.' "

Universal appeal: Waves erupted outside the Netherlands with the help of German producer Schulz, whose remix couples Probz's husky vocals with a hypnotic dance beat. As he wrote the mellow track, "it was like someone put a hard drive in the back of my head and boom! The song was there," Probz says. While it has undoubtedly resonated with many a lovesick individual, the song's appeal isn't lost on those who aren't in relationships. "Everyone knows this type of situation, where the distance between you and a certain person is growing, every time you fight or whatever."

Troublesome title: For an artist whose stage name is short for "problems," his prospects look anything but dubious. His formal debut album is expected out next year, he has notched collaborations with 50 Cent and Akon, and pairings with David Guetta and Armin van Buuren are up next. Despite his rising star, Probz has stuck to his chosen moniker, which he adopted in his hip-hop days. "If I have something that's troubling me, I just let my pen do the talking and poof! It's gone," he says. "As a rapper, it made sense, but now it's kind of weird if you hear a song like Nothing Really Matters," about a lover who's all he needs in life.

Keeping it casual: Despite his rising star, Probz hasn't had any bizarre run-ins with feverish fans yet. "I have a certain aura or force field that says, 'If you just act normal, we can chill.' It's all about what you send out," he says. "I'm just a regular dude who makes music. Paparazzi would not make a lot of money off me."