[1] Dhani has worked as a promoter and songwriter for other artists, including Alexa Key and Mulan Jameela.

In recent years, he has generated controversy after his son killed seven people while driving illegally and throughout his political career in the late 2010s.

In 2020, Dhani denied allegations that his maternal grandfather, Jan Pieter Friederich Kohler, a German born in the Dutch East Indies in 1883, was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

[4] Dhani formed his first musical group, Dewa, in 1986 with Andra Junaidi, Erwin Prasetya, and Henry Juniarso.

It also won the inaugural Festival 90, a high school band competition that was part of the Djarum Super Fiesta Musical.

Their first album, Dewa 19 (1992), was a huge success with several hits such as Kangen and Kita Tidak Sedang Bercinta Lagi.

Dhani's popular solo album Laskar Cinta (Warriors of Love) was praised because it "challenged militant ideology".

In 2010, Dhani sang with Ari Lasso at concerts in Jakarta and Bali, leading to rumors of a Dewa 19 reunion.

A few months later, Dhani declared the new band would be named Mahadewa, which would substitute for Dewa 19, which he said still existed but in a vacuum.

The complete album's release was stalled because Dhani was preoccupied with his role as a judge on Indonesian Idol[6] and X Factor Indonesia.

The divorce was known to be controversial and gained extensive media attention, particularly on the legal issues regarding the guardianship of their children[8] and Dhani's later relationship with singer Mulan Jameela.

"[16] In June 2014, Dhani released a short campaign video of Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa.

The Nazi similarity was considered ironic since Dhani is of partial Jewish descent from his maternal grandmother.

Time magazine's website ran a critical article headlined "This Indonesian Nazi Video Is One of the Worst Pieces of Political Campaigning Ever".

However, there were rumors that Dhani was struck by Prabowo for his controversial music video, during a visit to the presidential candidate's residence.

On 23 June 2014, a Twitter post allegedly by Dhani stated that he would "cut off his penis" if presidential contender Joko Widodo and his running mate, former vice president Jusuf Kalla won the election.

On 2 December 2016, Dhani was arrested at a Jakarta hotel on suspicion of involvement in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

[23] On March 2017, Dhani posted on Twitter: "Siapa saja yg dukung Penista Agama adalah Bajingan yg perlu di ludahi muka nya" (English: "whoever supports the blasphemer is a bastard who needs to be spat in the face").

[24] The tweet was a reference to supporters of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja 'Ahok' Purnama, who was standing for re-election while on trial for insulting Islam.

[30] In a separate case, Surabaya District Court in East Java province on 11 June 2019 sentenced Dhani to one year in jail for referring to his political rivals as "idiots" in an online post.

[34] Ahmad Dhani once gave a statement that he supports LGBT and will legalize same-sex marriage if he is elected president.