Łukasz Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs. He was named one of the top ten producers of the decade by Billboard in 2009, was awarded Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year awards in 2009 and won the Songwriter of the Year Award at the 2010 and 2011 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Pop Music Awards. Gottwald was also named both the Number One Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year and Number One Producer of the Year by Billboard.^[1][2] Among his biggest hits are the number one Billboard Hot 100 songs; "Girlfriend", "I Kissed a Girl", "My Life Would Suck Without You", "Right Round", "Tik Tok", "California Gurls", "We R Who We R", "Teenage Dream", "E.T.", "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", "Part of Me", and "Hold It Against Me".

Life and career[link]

Childhood and youth[link]

Luke was born in Westerly, Rhode Island^[3] to an architect father and an interior-designer mother, but spent much of his formative years in New York City.^[3] He had originally wanted to be a drummer, but his parents refused to allow a drum kit in the house.^[4] At 13, he picked up his older sister's guitar and taught himself how to play. As a teenager, Luke would "listen to bad music over and over, if there was a guitar part [he] admired, so [he] could figure out what the guitar player was doing right."^{[4] [5]}

[edit] Career beginnings and Saturday Night Live (1997–2007)

Luke attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years. After he was a student there, he auditioned for the Saturday Night Live Band and won out over 80 applicants, joining Saturday Night Live as the lead guitarist in 1997. Luke performed with the band for ten seasons, leaving at the end of the 2006–2007 season. As a guitarist, Luke performed with Herbie Hancock, Michael Bolton, Phoebe Snow, Jack McDuff and Shabba Ranks, and played with the house band for the TV series Amateur Night at the Apollo.^[6]

While working on Saturday Night Live, Luke performed on a number of jingles and advertisements and became a deejay fixture in New York. Luke also became heavily active in the underground hip-hop scene, producing tracks and remixes for various artists, including Mos Def, Black Star, KRS-One, and Zack de la Rocha^[7] as well as for artists such as Arrested Development and Nappy Roots.^[8] He released the 12" single "Wet Lapse", under the name Kasz, for Rawkus Records, and remixed the theme from the film Mortal Kombat.^[6] While deejaying at a house party, Luke met producer Max Martin and subsequently gave Martin a tour of New York clubs when Martin arrived in the city.^[4]

Producing, songwriting and recognition (2004–present)[link]

Dr. Luke is largely responsible for the creation of hits from artists Katy Perry (left) and Kesha (right).

Luke currently owns two publishing companies, Kasz Money Publishing for his own songs and Prescription Songs. Prescription Songs employs a network of 17 songwriters, including Ke$ha, Katy Perry and Benny Blanco. As of January 2011, he has garnered 21 Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 singles, becoming the producer with the third most such hits since the charts were created.^[9] Luke co-wrote and co-produced the Kelly Clarkson Hot 100 number two song, "Since U Been Gone" with Max Martin,^[4] he provided the singer another hit in "Behind These Hazel Eyes". Subsequent songs by Pink, "Who Knew" and "U + Ur Hand" reached the Hot 100 top ten. He would go on to co-produce a number one for Avril Lavigne with the song "Girlfriend" as well as seven other songs on the Lavigne album. He also achieved a UK number one with the song "About You Now" for the Sugababes. Luke contributed two songs to Katy Perry's debut album, Hot 100 number one, "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold", as well as three songs to Britney Spears' 2008 album, Circus, including the title track. Luke also co-produced the US number one song "Right Round" by Flo Rida. His third co-production for Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" would reach the top of the Hot 100 as well. In late 2009, his song for Miley Cyrus, "Party in the U.S.A."also written by Jessie J. would reach number two on the chart as well. In December 2009, Billboard named him as one of the top 10 producers of the decade.^[10] In 2010, "Tik Tok", recorded by Ke$ha and co-produced by Dr. Luke, became the longest running debut number one single by a female artist since 1977.

On April 21, Luke was named Songwriter of the Year at the 2010 ASCAP Pop Music Awards and received 10 ASCAP Pop Music Awards for the year as the songwriter and publisher.^[8] Luke had received ten Pop Music Awards from ASCAP between 2006 and 2009. He was also named to Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business, placing at #33.^[11] Luke's co-production for Katy Perry, "California Gurls" debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and later reached number one. Second single, "Teenage Dream" would follow suit. "Dynamite", co-produced by Luke, reached number one in the UK and number two in the US. Luke would contribute to three more top ten songs, "Magic" for B.o.B, "My First Kiss" for 3OH!3 and "Take It Off" for Ke$ha, as well as a top five song, "Your Love is My Drug" by the latter on the Hot 100. In November, Ke$ha's lead single, "We R Who We R", co-produced by Luke, became only the seventeenth song to debut at number one on the Hot 100.

On December 1, 2010 Luke received 2 nominations for the 53rd Grammy Awards in the categories Album Of The Year (Teenage Dream by Katy Perry), and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical.^[12] He was also named both the Number One Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year and Number One Producer of the Year by Billboard. At the start of 2011, Advertising Age called Luke "the year's most successful producer and songwriter in terms of chart longevity."^[13] Britney Spears' single, "Hold It Against Me", co-produced by Luke, became the eighteenth song to debut at the top of the Hot 100 in January. He also produced and co-wrote Jessie J's song, "Price Tag", for which he received credit as "Coconut Man". The song debuted at number one in the UK. He also co-produced "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry, anothers Billboard number one hit. On the week ending March 3rd 2012, Luke's co-production for Katy Perry, Part of Me became the 20th song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100

Discography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

• 2011 - Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (Nominated)
• 2011 - Album of the Year (Teenage Dream) (Nominated)

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

• 2010 - Songwriter of the Year (Won)^[16]
• 2011 - Songwriter of the Year (Won)^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dr. Luke on Myspace
• Dr. Luke on Twitter
• Dr. Luke Discography

Jessie J
Jessie J at the O2 Arena in London in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Jessica Ellen Cornish
Also known as	Jessie J
Born	(1988-03-27) 27 March 1988 (age 24) Chadwell Heath, London, England, United Kingdom
Genres	pop, hip hop, R&B, dance-pop, soul
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Lava, Universal Republic, Island, Gut
Website	jessiejofficial.com

Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she studied at the BRIT School before signing with Gut Records and striking a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing where she wrote for artists such as Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus.

Signed with Universal, Jessie J came to prominence following the release of her debut single "Do It Like a Dude" which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Charts. After scoring her first number one in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and New Zealand with the song "Price Tag", she released her debut album Who You Are (2011) which charted at number two in the UK. Other releases from the album include "Nobody's Perfect", "Who's Laughing Now" and "Who You Are" which charted within the top 20 in the UK but the release of fifth single "Domino" spawned international chart success, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming her second UK number one. Aside from her musical career, Jessie J is currently a coach and mentor on television show The Voice UK.

Citing various influences, Jessie J is recognized for an unconventional musical and performance style^[1][2] that mixes her soul voice with contemporary R&B, pop, and hip-hop influences. Jessie J has garnered various awards and nominations for her contributions to the music industry, including the 2011 Critics' Choice BRIT Award and the BBC's Sound of 2011. As of April 2012, Jessie has sold over 11 million singles and 2.5 million records worldwide.^[3][4]

Early life[link]

Jessie J was born Jessica Ellen Cornish in Chadwell Heath, London,^[5] daughter of Stephen Cornish and Rose Cornish (née Archer). She was educated at Mayfield High School in the London Borough of Redbridge. She attended Colin's Performing Arts School and as an 11-year old-was cast in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of Whistle Down the Wind.^[6][7][8] Jessie has two sisters, who are five and seven years older than her, who were both head girls at school. Unlike her academic sisters, Cornish has stated she was "never really that good at anything". She said, "At school they were like 'oh, you're a Cornish girl' and they kind of expected me to be the same as my sisters. Give me something to draw or an outfit to pick for someone, or hair, make-up, acting, write a song, I'm fine with it, but anything to do with sums – it was never my thing." She also said she never based her intelligence on her exam results.^[9] She also said she was always good at singing and it was her "thing". At the age of 16 she began studying at the BRIT School and at 17 she joined a girl group named Soul Deep.^[10] She graduated in the class of 2006 along with singers Adele and Leona Lewis.^[11] At 18 she suffered a stroke.^[12]

Music career[link]

2006–2010: Career beginnings[link]

Jessie J was signed to Gut Records, recording an album for the label, but the company went bankrupt before any material was released.^[8][10] She then found success as a songwriter, gaining a Sony ATV publishing contract.^[13] She was also the support act for Cyndi Lauper during Lauper's UK dates of her 2008 Bring Ya To The Brink tour (Lauper invited J to join her on stage for the performances of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"). Jessie has also written lyrics for artists such as Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus, including "Party in the U.S.A.".^[14][15] Jessie J was also part of a girl band, called Soul Deep, for two years, however she left due to thoughts that "it wasn't going anywhere". Despite people thinking that her first notoriety was through YouTube, Jessie was signed for four years before her first video was posted. Jessie first came to the attention of Lava Records when her publisher at Sony/ATV, Rich Christina, sent Lava president Jason Flom a link to her MySpace page, which the record executive loved.^[16] After seeing an impressive U.S. showcase, Lava was, along with several other labels, keen to sign the artist but progress was hampered by her management's insistence on, what Flom called, a "crazy deal", and their refusal to let Jessie speak to any labels directly.^[16] Despite this, Senior Director of A&R at Lava, Harinder Rana, made surreptitious efforts to meet Jessie on her own in winter of 2008. Later in the year a change in management to Sarah Stennett and Nadia Khan of Crown Music allowed record deal negotiations to take place. Jessie eventually signed with Lava as part of a joint venture with Universal Republic.^[16]

[edit] 2010–2012: Who You Are

Jessie J performing at a concert in New York City in 2011.

Jessie J began recording her debut studio album in 2006 and it was completed on 19 January 2011.^[17][18] She revealed that "Big White Room" would be on the album and was written from an experience she had when she was 11 years old, although she wrote the song at age 17, in hospital, where a ward mate, a little boy, died.^[19] Jessie J says the album's title track, "Who You Are", is one of her proudest creations, she said the song is a "positive role model for young people" and "I always say that I'm half-artist, half-therapist".^[19] In late 2010 Jessie J released her first single, "Do It Like a Dude" which was co-written with George Astasio, Tj Normandin, Jason Pebworth, Jon Shave, Kyle Abrahams and Peter Ighile. Originally, she wrote the song with Rihanna in mind because "Rude Boy" was released at the time, partly inspiring the song. She then sent the song to her label, Island Records, before sending it to Rihanna's management. Island insisted the song become Jessie J's first single.^[20] She wishes to perform the song with Rihanna at one point.^[21] The single gained positive reception from critics.^[22] The single charted at number two on the UK Singles Charts. Her follow-up single "Price Tag" was released in late January 2011. This was written by Jessie J, Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, and Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. and charted at number one in the top of the charts. "Price Tag" was released in the United States on 1 February 2011 and peaked at 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[23] "Price Tag" also charted at number-one in New Zealand and Ireland and is the most successful online video J has released. As of October 2011, the video has generated over 148 million views on Youtube and Vevo, making it the 22nd most viewed music video of all time.^[24][25] Her first American television appearance was as the musical guest on the 12 March 2011 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live.^[26]

On 25 February 2011 her debut album, Who You Are, was released.^[27] The album first entered the charts on 6 March 2011 where it charted on the UK Album Charts at number two. The album charted into the top ten in a number of countries and number 11 in the United States.^[28] After the release she went on to release a third single from the album, "Nobody's Perfect".^[29] MTV reported that the single is, so far, only confirmed for release in the United Kingdom.^[30] The album's fourth single was "Who's Laughing Now". "Domino" was her second US single.^[31] The Dr. Luke-produced track was sent to mainstream radio on 6 September 2011.^[32] With the success of Who You Are in North America, Jessie was chosen to tour as the opening act for American pop artist Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour in 2011 but after she was unable to fully recover from her injuries during rehearsals she was forced to pull out under the doctor's orders.^[33] Jessie J served as the house artist at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, performing several of her original songs along with covers around commercial breaks.^[34]

James Morrison's third studio album, The Awakening features a collaboration with Jessie J called "Up", the song was released as a single on 4 December 2011. Jessie J re-released "Who You Are" on 9 November 2011, featuring the regular tracks plus "Domino" and two new songs. "Domino" became her first top 10 hit in the U.S., following the success of "Price Tag". The song also peaked at number 1 in January 2012 in the UK, before it was even officially released there.

[edit] 2012–present: Second studio album and The Voice

On 4 October 2011, Jessie announced that she will be one of four coaches for new BBC program, The Voice UK.^[35] The show was announced after the success of the US version, The Voice. It premiered in March 2012 on BBC One. It will be presented by Holly Willoughby and Reggie Yates, with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), Tom Jones and Danny O'Donoghue (of The Script) joining Jessie on the coaching panel.^[36] The first stage of the competition, The Blind auditions, began in London on 18 January 2012 at the BBC Television Centre and finished filming on 22 January 2012. The winner will receive £100,000 and a record deal with Universal Republic. It was also reported that the 4 coaches recorded a cover of the Black Eyed Peas song, "I Gotta Feeling", and will release an accompanying music video to help promote the show.^[37]

On 31 January 2012, Jessie announced that she had begun recording for her second studio album.^[38] She also stated that she hopes to collaborate with many artists this year, possibly including some of her fellow coaches on The Voice.^[39] It was revealed that she has worked in the studio with Cee-Lo Green after he tweeted her on twitter. Jessie has also revealed on twitter that she has worked with Diane Warren as well as reuniting in the studio with her 'Price Tag' co-writer Claude Kelly.

Jessie will embark on her first arena tour in March 2013. Via microblogging website, Twitter, Jessie J confirmed the tour will be called Nice to Meet You Tour.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Jessie J performing at the 2011 The Big Chill, sitting on the "gilded throne" she used for performances while her foot was broken.

In early 2011 she suffered a panic attack on stage after she was forced to perform in the dark. "I did a gig recently and had a panic attack on stage," she told NOW. "The night was called 'Black Out' and I had to perform in the dark. I asked them to turn on the lights and they didn't. I was onstage in pitch black and, because I couldn't see anything, I started to panic. It was awful."^[41]

Jessie J is bisexual and stated in an interview on the "In Demand" radio show on 3 March 2011, "I've never denied it. Whoopie doo guys, yes, I've dated girls and I've dated boys – get over it."^[42][43] However, in April 2012 The Sun outed her as homosexual which she denied via Twitter, calling it a "yet another boring untrue story".^[44] According to The Guardian, Jessie J's sexuality is valuable to young teens, especially for young girls unsure of themselves because of their sexuality and identity, to feel "that this does happen and this is normal."^[45]

On 12 June 2011 at the Capital Radio Summertime Ball, Jessie ruptured several tendons in her foot during rehearsals, and performed her set the following day while sitting on a gilded throne.^[46] For her appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2011 on 25 June 2011, she performed on the throne again, claiming her physician had told her not to perform with her broken foot which would take six weeks to heal.^[47] Jessie J was scheduled to play at several festivals throughout the summer, however it was reported on 1 July 2011 that she would not be able to attend T in the Park, T4 On The Beach, Wembley:Orange, iTunes Festival, Lovebox and Oxegen due to the injuries to her foot. Jessie J personally tweeted before surgery; "Keep making nervous jokes with the doctor and he keeps looking at me blankly. Which is making me laugh even more. It's getting serious. I just took my nose stud out." Tweeting after the surgery, she wrote: "Can't keep tweeting. Still very dizzy and being sick. But I'm OK, I got through it." Her record label released an official statement on 30 June 2011 that under strict orders from her doctor, she will not be able to perform for a number of weeks so she can heal and recuperate properly.^[48] She returned to the concert circuit in late August, including sets at the V Festival^[49] and The Big Chill. For the 2011 VMA's she was still in a cast and using the throne to keep off it.

Jessie J confirmed on 2 August 2011 that she would be shaving her hair off for charity in 2012. Speaking via her official Twitter account she said: "It’s hair, It will grow back. Even if it takes 2 years, if it saves lives it’s worth it. Even if its 1 life that’s something."^[50]

‎Artistry and voice[link]

Jessie J performing at the Bournemouth International Centre in 2011.

Although she was first identified as a soul singer, she primarily records songs of contemporary R&B and pop music with hip-hop influences.

Music critic Matthew Perpetua of Pitchfork Media compared Jessie J to her peers Adele and Amy Winehouse, but suggested she was missing something: "Whereas Adele and Winehouse also have powerhouse voices, they fit into clear aesthetic niches and invest their songs with depth and humanity. Jessie J doesn't have even a fraction of their restraint." Perpetua added: "Her idea of showcasing her gift is to shoot for a blaring melisma on "Mamma Knows Best" that makes Christina Aguilera seem as subtle as Joni Mitchell by comparison."^[51]

Ailbhe Malone of the music magazine NME also recognized Cornish's "undeniably potent voice". However, she pointed out the possible "identity crisis" that might have been caused by Jessie's songwriter past: "This is an album of singles for other artists. There’s Rihanna Jessie (‘Do It...’), Perry Jessie (‘Abracadabra’), Pixie Jessie (‘Mamma Knows Best’), Ellie Jessie ('Big White Room')."^[52]

Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian shared her positive opinion about the singer, saying that "if any singer has the potential to be the British Katy Perry or Pink, with the accompanying millions of sales, it's her". Sullivan also complimented Cornish's attitude: "[Her songs] are delivered with a confidence that money can't buy."^[53]

Entertainment Weekly's music critic Adam Markovitz said of Jessie: "The 23-year-old Brit has all the tools, from a monster voice to an ear for hooks — she co-wrote Miley Cyrus' 'Party in the U.S.A.' — and a manic persona that's equal parts Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, and Alice Cooper."^[54]

Discography[link]

• Who You Are (2011)

Concert tours[link]

Headlining

• Stand Up Tour (2011)
• Heartbeat Tour (2011-12)
• Nice To Meet You Tour (2013)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jessie J

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jessie J discography at Discogs
• Jessie J's channel on YouTube
• Jessie J's BBC Sound of 2011 page at BBC Online

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (May 2012)

Lil Mama
Lil Mama performing at the Ed Hardy Fashion Show in March 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Naitia Jessica Kirkland
Born	(1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 22)
Origin	New York, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, R&B
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Labels	Jive, RCA

Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989) professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter.

Early life[link]

Lil Mama was born in Harlem in 1989. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Edward R. Murrow High School. In 2006, Kirkland signed a recording contract with Jive Records. Her mother Tara died on December 15, 2007 following a four-year battle with colon cancer.Her father died before she was born. Kirkland faced personal and financial struggles at an early age. As one of eight brothers and sisters, she started to express herself artistically through poetry and dance.

2006-2008[link]

Her first studio album VYP (Voice of the Young People) was released in late April 2008. The album spawned four singles: "Lip Gloss", "G-Slide (Tour Bus)", "Shawty Get Loose" and "What It Is (Strike a Pose)" The album sold 19,000 copies in the first week, debuting at number 25 on the Billboard 200.

2009-2011[link]

VMA incident[link]

On September 13, 2009, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Lil Mama came onstage during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys's performance of "Empire State of Mind". And while Jay-Z was ending his final verse, Lil Mama came from her seat in the crowd onto the stage and started bobbing her head to the beat. Jay-Z was surprised but continued to perform. Jay-Z patted Lil Mama on the leg to fall back and threw in a quick joke, saying, "You T-Paining right now," a reference to a similar incident at Summer Jam two months earlier when T-Pain jumped onstage with Jay-Z at Summer Jam during his performance of "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". At the end of the performance, Lil Mama came to the front and posed alongside Jay-Z and Keys.

Present[link]

Since the release of her first album, Lil Mama has been in the studio working on new music. She released the singles "Dough Boy" featuring Mishon, "On & On & On", and "NYNYLALA" featuring Snoop Dogg, all of which failed to chart. She has since released two singles entitled "Scrawberry" and "Hustler Girl" featuring Clyde McKnight. In 2009 she announced the title of her proposed new album as 'Voice Of The Young People: I Am That', although this has not been released.^[1]

On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Lil Mama (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.^[2][3]

Television[link]

She is currently a judge on the dance contest show America's Best Dance Crew. She joined the judging in 2008 at the age of nineteen. She has also appeared in Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model with Benny Ninja.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 2008: VYP (Voice of the Young People)

Singles[link]

Other appearances[link]

• "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" by Avril Lavigne off the Limited Edition of her 2007 album, "The Best Damn Thing", as well as some editions of Lil Mama's debut.
• "Amazed" by Vanessa Hudgens off her 2008 album, "Identified".
• "Block Party" by Lisa Lopes off of her 2009 posthumous album, "Eye Legacy".
• "Video Chat", "Big Boy Rims" and "Cupid" by College Boyys off of their 2010 debut album, "Spring Break".
• "Sexiest" a song by Colombian singer "Yahaira" and featured by her.

Awards and nominations[link]

• BET Awards
  • 2009, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
  • 2008, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
• MTV Video Music Awards
  • 2007, Monster Single of the Year: "Lip Gloss" (Nominated)
• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2008, Choice Rap/Hip-Hop Track: "Shawty Get Loose" (Winner)
  • 2008, Choice TV Personality: Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew (Nominated)
  • 2007, Choice Rap Artist (Nominated)
  • 2007, Choice Summer Song: "Lip Gloss" (Winner)
  • 2007, Choice Music Hookup: "Shawty Get Loose" (Nominated)
• MTV Asia Awards
  • 2008, Best Hook-up: "Girlfriend" - featured by Avril Lavigne (Nominated)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lil Mama

• Lil Mama at MTV
• Lil Mama at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2009)

Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, (born 26 February 1971) is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. He broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid-1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like Ace of Base, E-Type, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, *NSYNC and Robyn. Some of his earlier hits include "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", "...Baby One More Time" and "It's My Life".

His trademark during the second half of the 1990s and the early 2000s was a danceable, keyboard-laden pop sound that blended music styles such as funk, heavy metal and europop. However, with Kelly Clarkson's 2004 hit "Since U Been Gone", Martin stepped back into the spotlight after reinventing himself with a heavier, rock-tinged sound.

Since 2008, he has written and co-written more than 10 number-one hits, including "So What" by Pink, "Hot n Cold", "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, and "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson. Since 2010, he has co-written ten top-10 singles, including "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by Usher, "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert, "F**kin' Perfect" by Pink, and "Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears.

Musical career and personal life[link]

Early life and career[link]

Martin grew up in Stenhamra, Ekerö Municipality, a suburb of Stockholm. As a teenager he sang in a variety of bands before joining a glam-style metal band called It's Alive in 1985 as their singer and frontman. It's Alive were formed by ex-LAZY members Per Aldeheim and Kim Björkgren on guitars, and John Rosth who had been a member of Lineout. Martin eventually dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music with his band under the nickname "Martin White". In 1988 they participated in the national rock championships and played as the in-house band at a disco in Cyprus. The band got a breakthrough in 1991, as Dave Constable of Megarock Records offered them to make a demo-record. The later debut album was originally pressed in 1,000 copies and later on given away as a free cover tape in the UK by the Metal Forces magazine.

The decision to focus on a music career paid off as they landed a record deal on producer Denniz PoP's label Cheiron Records, a BMG affiliate. After recording their second album Earthquake Visions, they released three singles in conjunction with the record and toured through Europe in 1994 supporting Kingdom Come. Earthquake Visions eventually sold a disappointing 30,000 copies, despite being released in as many as 30 countries. More importantly though, Martin also began collaborating on songs with PoP. Recognizing a talent for writing pop songs in the young rocker, PoP renamed his new protegé Max Martin and eventually became Martin’s mentor.

Working with Cheiron and Denniz Pop[link]

"I didn't even know what a producer did, I spent two years--day and night--in that studio trying to learn what the hell was going on." - Max Martin, March 19, 2001.^[1]

In 1993 Martin was hired by Cheiron Studios and spent some time learning the basics, before the first production collaboration between Pop and Martin: the Rednex song "Wish You Were Here" in 1994. They both worked on Ace of Base's second album The Bridge shortly thereafter, as well as on albums by 3T, Army of Lovers and Leila K. To date, The Bridge has sold more than six million copies worldwide, including one million in the United States.^[2] When Martin eventually left his band It's Alive in late 1995, he was replaced by Anders Jansson.

In 1995, the Cheiron Studios was hired by Zomba to work on Backstreet Boys' self-titled debut album Backstreet Boys. Zomba became the main working partner since the success in 1995. Martin took part in the production of "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", co-written with Herbie Crichlow, a single which quickly went platinum and climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the singles "As Long As You Love Me" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". The album was not released in the U.S. until 1997, but was released overseas and caught on all across Europe, eventually selling around 8 million copies worldwide. This led to the Backstreet Boys being relaunched in their home country later on, this time more successfully. Later that year, Martin co-produced Robyn’s hit "Show Me Love" which ended up on the Billboard top 10.

In 1998, Cheiron Productions worked on albums by Five, Bryan Adams and Jessica Folcker. Jessica Folcker had first been hired as a backing singer for tracks with Ace of Base and Dr. Alban, and her debut album Jessica became an instant hit with singles like "Tell Me What You Like" and "How Will I Know Who You Are" which both sold platinum. After Denniz Pop died of cancer that same summer, Martin took over as director of Cheiron Studios. He soon started working with writer/producer Rami Yacoub, who has been his partner since.

Backstreet Boys[link]

1999 was a big year for Martin. He wrote, co-wrote and co-produced 7 out of the 12 songs on the album Millennium by the Backstreet Boys. "I Want It That Way", a hit song Martin co-wrote with Andreas Carlsson and co-produced with Kristian Lundin, became the group's biggest single to date and it is still popular today ("I Want It That Way" was voted #10 in the MTV/Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs."^[3]). A VH1 special, 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s, ranked the song at number 3, making it the highest ranked boy-band single and pop song. Millennium sold over 1.1 million units in its first week in the United States, setting a record for most albums sold in its debut week (that record was later beaten by 'N Sync's No Strings Attached), and was the #1 best-selling album in the world in 1999. When working on her own solo album, to be released in 2001 on Stockholm Records, Lisa Miskovsky wrote the text for Backstreet Boys new hit single "Shape of My Heart" with Max Martin and Rami. The song, originally written for Miskovsky’s own album, was passed along to the Backstreet Boys by Max Martin when Miskovsky determined it did not fit her style. The song became the first single off the group's new album Black & Blue. In the first week of release, "Shape of My Heart" immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland (#5). Black & Blue, containing several songs produced and written by Martin, sold 1.6 million units in its first week in America. Martin again received ASCAP's award "Songwriter of the Year" both in 2000 and 2001,^[4] and is the first songwriter ever to receive the award three years in a row.

Britney Spears[link]

In 1998, Martin wrote Spears' hit "...Baby One More Time" for her album with the same name, (the hit single was originally offered to both the Backstreet Boys, who turned it down, and TLC, who passed because they were 'taking time off'^[5]). On Vh1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s", it was ranked at number 7, making it the third highest song by a female. ...Baby One More Time has sold over 15 million copies in the U.S., certifying Diamond Status. Also, within a year of its release, ...Baby One More Time had become the best-selling LP by a teenager in history, selling over 29 million copies. The single remains Spears' best selling single to this date. Martin was the first non-American citizen ever to win ASCAP's prestigious award "Songwriter of the Year" in 1999.

Martin worked on Spears' first three studio albums which were made in the style of teen-oriented pop. However, when Spears recorded her 2003 album In the Zone, she decided to move away from the that genre. The duo ended up parting ways, and Martin had no input on that album nor on her 2007 album, Blackout. At the request of Spears, Martin produced and wrote for Spears' 2008 album Circus, released that December. Martin co-wrote and produced the provocatively titled, "If U Seek Amy", which was chosen by fans to be the third single off the album. Different than Martin's previous produced tracks for Spears, "If U Seek Amy" is an electro-pop dance song, in which even the lyrics shows a different, more dance-oriented direction from Spears and Martin's previous work. In July 2009, Spears stated on her Twitter account, that she was in the recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden with Martin.^[6] Later, on September 29, 2009, it was announced that Martin had worked with Spears on her upcoming compilation album. Martin produced "3", the song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Martin was the executive producer (along with Dr. Luke) of Spears' seventh album Femme Fatale, released March 29, 2011. During a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Spears stated that Martin "gets exactly what I am saying when I tell him what I want and don’t want musically. His melodies are incredible and he is always coming up with weird sounds, which I love." Adding; "There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio."^[7] In January 2011, "Hold It Against Me" was released as the lead single off Spears' new album, the song later debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Becoming Spears' second single to debut at #1 and her fourth overall, Max also co-produced the album's second single "Till The World Ends", respectively peaking at #3. As well as co-producing "Hold It Against Me" and "Till The World Ends", Martin co-produced the songs "Inside Out", "I Wanna Go", "Seal It with a Kiss", "Criminal" & "Up n' Down". In May 2011, It was announced "I Wanna Go" would serve as the 3rd single from "Femme Fatale".^[8] On August 5, 2011, Spears launched a poll on her Facebook page asking fans whether her next single should be "Criminal", "Inside Out" or "(Drop Dead) Beautiful."^[9] After the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, she revealed to MTV News that "Criminal" was chosen as the fourth single, marking the first time Martin has produced four singles off a Spears album, beating out himself when he had produced the first three singles from Oops!... I Did It Again.

Céline Dion[link]

In late 1999 Céline Dion released "That's the Way It Is," a song co-written by Max Martin to promote her greatest hits album All the Way... A Decade of Song. The song became a hit, going to number 1 on the adult contemporary charts in the United States and Canada, and reaching top 10 all over the world. Since the song was released in November 1999, it has cycled 500,000 times on almost 1400 radio stations across Canada and the U.S. In 2003 Martin co-wrote and produced three songs for Céline Dion's album One Heart. One of them called "Faith" was released as a promotional single in Canada and reached number 4 on the Quebec Airplay Chart and number 37 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart.

Producer role for Cheiron[link]

The traditional division of work in the record industry typically has the artist writing the songs and then hiring a producer to help shape the sound. At Cheiron it was the other way around; the producers wrote the songs, played the instruments, engineered and mixed the recordings and the artist was only brought in near the end of the process to do the vocals. For example, on Britney Spears's second album Oops!… I Did It Again, Cheiron had already written seven songs and had proceeded to record the layers of music before Britney even arrived at the studios in early November 1999. It took her only one week to do the vocals. Martin and his team worked more like a band that alternated singers. Martin explained his working method:

Startup of Maratone[link]

Despite the success, Cheiron Studios was closed down in 2000. The reason behind the decision to close it down was, according to the press release on their homepage, that the heart and soul of the studio had been lost with the death of Denniz Pop. Another reason for closing the studio down was for the people at Cheiron Studios to be able to do more experimental music work without the weight of the now famous name Cheiron upon their shoulders.

Max Martin and Tom Talomaa started a new production company together named Maratone in January 2001 and moved in to the famous Cosmos Studios that had house the production team Kai Erixon and Kent (Gillström) Isaacs whom been very successful at the Swedish pop/hiphop-arena with numerous gold/platinum-selling artist. Also, David Kreuger and Per Magnusson started A Side Productions and Kristian Lundin started the production-company The Location and the publishing-company Location Songs together with Jake Schulze and Andreas Carlsson (both also members of Cheiron's production team) at the same location as Cheiron Studios. The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks for Britney Spears' third album Britney. The Maratone production crew now consists of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami, Alexandra, Arnthor and young sensation Shellback. Following the work with Celine Dion on the album One Heart in 2003, few new hits appeared from Maratone until 2005. More recently 2009 has seen a string of hits from the studio including the hits "My Life Would Suck Without You" from Kelly Clarkson and "3" from Britney Spears.

Kelly Clarkson goes to Sweden[link]

In 2004, former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson traveled to Sweden to collaborate with Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald on songs for her album Breakaway. They decided to create songs that were rockier than anticipated by the fans, as can be heard on the hit singles "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes". "Since U Been Gone" became a huge hit and remains one of the biggest hits of Clarkson's career, and one of the biggest hits of 2005. The next single, "Behind These Hazel Eyes", actually reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 while the single "Since U Been Gone" was still on the chart. In 2009 he also co-wrote Clarkson's single "My Life Would Suck Without You", which has the record for the highest Billboard hot 100 jump to #1, jumping from #97 in its first week on the chart.

Collaborations with Marion Raven[link]

In 2005 Max Martin collaborated with the Norwegian singer Marion Raven for the release of her debut album entitled Here I Am on what may be his first mainstream Rock work, writing the song "Break You" and co-writing with Raven many songs, including "End of Me," "Here I Am," "Little By Little," "In Spite of Me," and "Six Feet Under." "End of Me" and "Break You" were big hits in Asia and Norway. In 2007 "Break You" was included again in Raven's North American and European debut album called Set Me Free. The American singer Megan McCauley did a cover of "Break You" in 2006 but the song are not included on any McCauleys albums.

Pink and Backstreet Boys[link]

In 2005, Martin collaborated on 4 of the 12 songs on Backstreet Boys' comeback album Never Gone, including "Climbing the Walls", "Just Want You to Know", "Siberia" and the melancholy love song "I Still...", a trademark song for the Backstreet Boys. Martin wanted the album to be more of a contemporary, alternative pop album with a little R&B. The resulting album had a more organic music style with more live instruments, and a departure from The Backstreet Boys' earlier work.

Martin also co-wrote and produced songs with Pink's very successful and critically acclaimed platinum selling fourth album I'm Not Dead. Worldwide the album was the sixth biggest selling album of 2006, going top 5 in the UK, platinum and top ten in the United States, and number one in Australia and Germany. In Australia the album had 5 top five singles, and spent a record 63 weeks in the top 10. As of July 2009 it is presently 10 times Platinum and has been charting in the Australian Top 50 for 146 weeks. Martin also collaborated with Pink for her fifth studio album, "Funhouse," released October 2008. Martin co-wrote the first smash hit single, "So What", plus the tracks "Please Don't Leave Me", "I Don't Believe You" and "It's All Your Fault".

Avril Lavigne[link]

Max Martin worked with Avril Lavigne on four songs for her fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby; the three singles What the Hell, Smile, and Wish You Were Here, and the album track I Love You.

Katy Perry[link]

Max Martin worked with Katy Perry on several songs on two albums. On One of the Boys including the number-one single "I Kissed a Girl", and Top 5 hit single "Hot n Cold", and following-up album Teenage Dream, including the Billboard Hot 100 numbers-ones hits singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "E.T.", "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" and the Hot 100 top ten hit "The One That Got Away". Martin also wrote the song "Part of Me" which was topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Perry and Martin's current number-one single since Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F).

Christina Aguilera[link]

Confirmed by RCA Executives on December 18, 2011, Martin will be working on Aguilera's seventh studio album and is rumoured to be the producer on the lead single.

Others[link]

4th runner up of the eighth season of American Idol, Allison Iraheta has been collaborating with Max Martin on her debut album. Her first single, "Friday I'll Be Over U" is confirmed to be written by Martin.^[10] On August 17, 2009, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert announced via Twitter that he was in New York City with Martin recording a song for his debut album. It turned out to be the song "Whataya Want From Me",^[11] that was also written by Pink.

Martin also co-wrote "Into the Nightlife", a popular club track recorded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008.

Martin also co-wrote "Loser Like Me" and "Light Up the World", two original songs for the popular TV series Glee.

Songwriting and producing[link]

Awards[link]

• Swedish Dance Music Awards 1996
• Swedish Grammis Award in 1997
• ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 1999
• ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2000
• ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2001
• ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2011
• ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2012

See also[link]

• Cheiron Studios
• Maratone Studio
• Andreas Carlsson
• Ace of Base

References[link]