Rami Yacoub (born 17 January 1975) is a Swedish (originally Lebanese) music producer and songwriter and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone. Together with Max Martin and other songwriters and producers, he has worked with acts such as Nicki Minaj, Danity Kane, Stephanie McIntosh, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Westlife, The Saturdays, Pink, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Bon Jovi, Shayne Ward, Enrique Iglesias, The Veronicas, Robyn and N'Sync.

Biography[link]

Rami began his music career at the age of 13 when he began playing bass in a band in Stockholm.^[1][2]

His talent for songwriting was already in evidence as he wrote many of the group's songs. By 18 he had discovered production when, with the aid of a "sampler, a little mixing board, synthesizers",^[3] he began doing remixes.

In 1998 he was approached by Max Martin, who was looking for a new production partner, and asked to join the legendary Cheiron Studios in Stockholm. Rami’s first collaboration with Martin was producing the ground-breaking hit "...Baby One More Time” that launched the career of Britney Spears.^[1]

Following ten years of service, Rami split amicably from Maratone in early 2008 because he felt that "he needed to go [his] own way." After taking a year off to assess what he wanted to do next, he began putting together his own production group based at his Kinglet Studios in Los Angeles.^[3]

Discography[link]

• Backstreet Boys
  • "Don't Wanna Lose You Now" – Written by Max Martin. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Don't Want You Back" – Written by Max Martin. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Drowning" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Andreas Carlsson/Linda Thompson
  • "Get Another Boyfriend" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "It's Gotta Be You" – Written by Max Martin/Robert Lange. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "I Still..." – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Larger than Life" (single mix) – Written by Max Martin/Kristian Lundin/Brian Littrell. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Shape of My Heart" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Lisa Miskovsky
  • "Siberia" – Written by Alexandra Talomaa/Rami Yacoub/Max Martin
  • "The Call" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub

• Britney Spears
  • "...Baby One More Time" – Written by Max Martin. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Denniz Pop
  • "Bombastic Love" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by: Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Cinderella" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Britney Spears. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "(You Drive Me) Crazy" [The Stop Remix!] – Written by: Max Martin/Jorgen Elofsson/Per Magnusson/David Kreuger. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Don't Go Knocking On My Door" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Alexander Kronlund/Jake Schulze. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Jake Schulze
  • "Girl in the Mirror" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Jorgen Elofsson. Produced by: Max Martin
  • "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Dido. Produced by: Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "I Will Be There" – Written by Max Martin/Andreas Carlsson. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Lucky" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Alexander Kronlund. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Oops!... I Did It Again" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Overprotected" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Stronger" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "What U See (Is What U Get)" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Per Magnusson/David Kreuger/Jorgen Elofsson. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Per Magnusson/David Kreuger
  • "Where Are You Now" – Written by Max Martin/Andreas Carlsson. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub

• Celine Dion
  • "Faith" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "In His Touch" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yaacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Love Is All We Need" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub

• Danity Kane
  • "Stay With Me" – Written by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub/M Riddicki. Produced by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub

• E-Type
  • "Hold Your Horses" – Written by E-Type/Mud/Herbie Crichlow. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "So Far Away" – Written by E-Type/Rami Yacoub/Mud. Produced by Jake Schulze/John Amatiello
  • "Life" – Written by E-type/Mud. Produced by: John Amatiello/Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Kristian Lundin

• Enrique Iglesias
  • "I Wish I Was Your Lover" – Written by Arnthor Birgisson/Enrique Iglesias/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub
  • "Miss U" – Written by Arnthor Birgisson/Enrique Iglesias/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub

• i SQUARE
  • "Hey Sexy Lady" - Written by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Steve Angello/Lazonate Franklin. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Steve Angello

• Lutricia Mcneal
  • "Ain't That Just The Way" – Written by G Larson/S Phillips/B Belland. Produced by Rami Yacoub/D Papalexis/D Bäckström/J Larossi
  • "Stranded" – Written by Rami Yacoub/D Papalexis/J Larossi. Produced by Rami Yacoub/D Papalexis/J Larossi

• Marion Raven
  • "End Of Me" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Marion Raven. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Gotta Be Kidding" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Camela Leivert/Marion Raven. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Here I Am" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Marion Raven. Produced by M Martin/Rami
  • "In Spite Of Me" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Alexandra/Marion Raven. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Little By Little" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Peter Svensson/Marion Raven. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Six Feet Under" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Marion Raven. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub

• Michael Bolton
  • "Only A Woman" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Robert Lange/Shania Twain. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Robert Lange

• Nicole Scherzinger
  • "Don't Hold Your Breath" Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Steve Angello

• *NSYNC
  • "It's Gonna Be Me" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Andreas Carlsson. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "Tell Me, Tell Me Baby" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Rami Yacoub

• Nick Carter
  • "I Just Wanna Take You Home" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yaacoub/Per Aldeheim. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Per Aldeheim
  • "I`ve Got You" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub
  • "Blow Your Mind" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Per Aldeheim. Produced by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Per Aldeheim
  • "Burning Up" - Written by Nick Carter/Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Savan Kotecha/Briddy

• Nicki Minaj
  • "Starships" - Written by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Wayne Hector/Nicki Minaj. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk RedOne
  • "Pound The Alarm" - Written by Nicki Maraj/Nadir Khayat/Carl Falk/Rami Yacoub/Bilal Hajji/Achraf Jannusi. Produced by RedOne/Carl Falk/Rami
• One Direction
  • "What Makes You Beautiful" - Written by Savan Kotecha/Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk
  • "I Wish" - Written by Savan Kotecha/Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk
  • "One Thing" - Written by Savan Kotecha/Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk

• P!nk
  • "U + Ur Hand" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Lukasz Gottwald/Pink. Produced by: Max Martin/Lukasz Gottwald

• Shayne Ward
  • "Breathless" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Damaged" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Got Me So" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub /Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Melt The Snow" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "No... U Hang Up" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yaacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Some Tears Never Dry" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Tangled Up" – Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "U Make Me Wish" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Until You" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson

• Stephanie McIntosh
  • "Mistake" – Written by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub/Tom Nichols. Produced by Arnthor Birgisson/Rami Yacoub

• Taio Cruz
  • "Troublemaker" - Written by Taio Cruz/ Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Steve Angello. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Steve Angello
  • "World In Our Hands" - Written by Taio Cruz/ Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Michelle Zitron/Iaian James. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk

• The Saturdays
  • "White Lies" - Written by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Ina Wroldsen. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk

• Westlife
  • "I Need You" – Written by Max Martin/Rami Yacoub/Andreas Carlsson. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "Miss You" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Jake Schulze. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Jake Schulze
  • "No No" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Andreas Carlsson. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "Pictures In My Head" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Soledad" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Andreas Carlsson/C Porter. Produced by Per Magnusson/David Kreuger
  • "Something Right" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "The Easy Way" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "Us Against The World" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson/Savan Kotecha. Produced by Rami Yacoub/Arnthor Birgisson
  • "What I Want Is What I've got" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Alexandra^{[disambiguation needed ]}. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "When You're Looking Like That" – Written by Rami/Andreas Carlsson/Max Martin. Produced by Rami Yacoub
  • "What It Takes 4 U 2 B Loved" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Shy Carter/i Square. Produced by Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk

• The Wanted
  • "Lose My Mind" – Written by Rami Yacoub/Carl Falk/Nina Woodford. Produced by Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk

• Misc
  • "Still Alive: The Remixes" – Written and produced by Arnthor Birgisson and Rami Yacoub.
  • "Battlefield 3 Theme Music" - Produced by Rami Yacoub

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Cheiron Studios website archived
• Interview, HitQuarters Aug 2009

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]

External links[link]

• Maratone
• The Location
• A Side Productions

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (November 2011)

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Savan Kotecha is an American songwriter and vocal producer from Austin, Texas of Indian descent.^[1] Kotecha has sold over 75 million records with artists such as Usher, Enrique Iglesias, Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, One Direction and Justin Bieber. He scored a #1 in the US with Carrie Underwood’s first ever single "Inside Your Heaven" Glee's "Loser Like Me" and Britney Spears' hits "I Wanna Go" as well co-writing "If U Seek Amy", Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love", One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful and One Thing , Shontelle's "T-Shirt", Adam Lambert's "If I Had You" and Leona Lewis's "I Got You".

Kotecha's songs have been featured on 10 UK number-one albums so far, and has had 15 top ten UK singles, including a number-one Brit Award Winning hit with One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful , JLS's "The Club Is Alive" and Alexandra Burke's "Start Without You". Other UK top ten hits include Cher Lloyd's "With Ur Love", Alexandra Burke's "Broken Heels", Shontelle's "T-Shirt", Westlife's "Obvious, "Amazing" and "Us Against the World" as well as Shayne Ward's, "No U Hang Up" and "Breathless". His songs have won 7 BMI awards, 1 ASCAP Award, Song of the year at the 2012 Brit Awards and two Billboard Music Awards.^[2]

Savan is also currently a A&R executive at Simon Cowell's SYCO label as well has having his own Label Imprint under SYCO/Sony.

He served as the lead vocal coach for the 2010 series of 'The X Factor UK', and is now serving as vocal producer/coach for 'The X Factor (U.S.)'. ^[3]

2012

▪ Nick Carter "Burning Up"

▪ One Direction "One Thing" (UK #9) (US #62)

▪ One Direction "What Makes You Beautiful" (US #4)

▪ Maroon 5 "One More Night"

▪ Usher "Scream" (US #13)

▪ Justin Bieber (feat Nicki Minaj) "Beauty And A Beat"

▪ Cher Lloyd "Want U Back" US

2011

▪ Christian TV "Love2Baby"

▪ Glee Cast "Loser Like Me" (US #6)

▪ Glee Cast "Light up the world" (US #33)

▪ Britney Spears "I Wanna Go" (US #7) (US POP/CHR #1)

▪ Britney Spears "Up n' Down"

▪ Victoria Justice "Beggin' (on your knees)" (US #58)

▪ Victoria Justice "Best Friends Brother" (US #86)

▪ BC Jean "I'll Survive You"

▪ Il Divo "Sempre Sempre"

▪ Laza Morgan "One By One"

▪ One Direction "What Makes You Beautiful" (UK #1)

▪ One Direction "Na Na Na"

▪ One Direction "I Wish"

▪ One Direction "One Thing" (UK #9)

▪ One Direction "Up All Night"

▪ One Direction "Save You Tonight"

▪ Cher Lloyd "With Ur Love" (UK #4)

▪ Cher Lloyd "Want U Back" (UK #25)

▪ Cher Lloyd "Grow Up"

▪ Cher Lloyd "Over The Moon"

▪ Carolina Liar "All That Comes Out Of My Mouth"

2010

▪ Miranda Cosgrove "Oh Oh"

▪ JLS "The Club Is Alive" (UK #1)

▪ Alexandra Burke "Start Without You" (UK #1)

▪ Alexandra Burke "What Happens on the Dance floor"

▪ Usher "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" (US #4)

▪ Shayne Ward "Close To Close"

▪ Shayne Ward "Obsession"

▪ Westlife "I Get Weak"

2009

▪ Paula Deanda "Roll The Credits" (US CHR #37)

▪ Paul Potts "Mamma"

▪ Jessie James "I Look So Good (Without You)" (US CHR #43)

▪ Jessie James "Burn It Up"

▪ Jada "Break Up Song"

▪ Days Difference "Speakers" (#29 Hot AC)

▪ Space Cowboy "Boyfriends Hate Me"

▪ Alexandra Burke "Broken Heels" (UK #8)

▪ Alexandra Burke "The Silence" (UK #16)

▪ Alexandra Burke "Dumb"

▪ Alexandra Burke "Gotta Go"

▪ Carrie Underwood "Quitter"

▪ Allison Iraheta "Friday I'll Be Over U"

▪ Allison Iraheta "Just Like You"

▪ Leona Lewis "I Got You" (UK #14)

▪ Leona Lewis "Brave"

▪ Leona Lewis "Naked"

▪ Leona Lewis "Outta My Head"

▪ Adam Lambert "If I Had You" (US CHR #15)

▪ Westlife "Where We Are"

▪ Westlife "No More Heroes"

2008

▪ The Three Graces "You'll Be Watching"

▪ Shontelle "T Shirt" (US #36) (UK #6)

▪ ICarly Soundtrack/Miranda Cosgrove "Stay My Baby" (Radio Disney #19)

▪ Jordan Pruitt "My Shoes" (Radio Disney #11)

▪ Delta Goodrem "I Can't Break It My To My Heart" US Album (AUS #13)

▪ Lesley Roy "Phsyco B**ch"

▪ Leon Jackson "Stargazing"

▪ Leon Jackson "Fingerprints"

▪ Same Difference "Right Between The Eyes"

▪ Britney Spears "If U Seek Amy" (US #19)

2007

▪ Enrique Iglesias "Ring My Bells"

▪ Delta Goodrem "I Can't Break It To My Heart" (AUS #13)

▪ Journey South "Do You Think Of Me"

▪ Journey South "I'll Be Your Desire"

▪ Westlife "Us Against The World" (UK #8)

▪ Westlife "Something Right"

▪ Westlife "The Easy Way"

▪ Westlife "Pictures In My Head"

▪ Celine Dion "Eyes On Me"

▪ Shayne Ward "If That's OK with You" (UK #2)

▪ Shayne Ward "No U Hang UP (UK #2)

▪ Shayne Ward "Breathless" (UK #6)

▪ Shayne Ward "Damaged"

▪ Shayne Ward "Some Tears Never Dry"

▪ Shayne Ward "Until You"

▪ Shayne Ward "Melt the Snow"

▪ Shayne Ward "U Got Me So"

▪ Shayne Ward "You Make Me Wish"

2006

▪ Edurne "Un Dolor Silencioso (Antilove Song)"

▪ Il Divo "Una Noche"

▪ Shayne Ward "Stand By Me" (UK #14)

▪ Shayne Ward "Something Worth Living For"

▪ Shayne Ward "A Better Man"

▪ Stephanie McIntosh "You Should Have Lied"

▪ Vanessa Hudgens "Say OK" (US #61)

▪ Vanessa Hudgens "Whatever Will Be"

2005

▪ Tammin "Pointless Relationship" (AUS #5)

▪ Tammin "Whatever Will Be" (AUS #13)

▪ Tammin "Almost Me"

▪ Carrie Underwood "Inside Your Heaven" (US #1)

▪ Celine Dion "Let Your Heart Decide"

▪ Westlife "Amazing" (UK #4)

▪ Westlife "Colour My World"

▪ Westlife "Hit You With The Real Thing"

▪ Westlife "Maybe Tomorrow"

▪ Westlife "Miss You When I'm Dreaming"

▪ Westlife "Still Here"

2002-2004

▪ Dannii Minogue "Love Fight"

▪ Il Divo "Mama"

▪ Westlife "Obvious" (UK #3)

▪ Westlife "Heal"

▪ Westlife "When a Woman Loves a Man"

▪ Lindsay Lohan "Disconnected"

▪ Lindsay Lohan "Symptoms Of You"

▪ Ryan Cabrera "Shame on Me"

▪ Geri Halliwell "Ride It" (UK #4)

Discography Europe (and minor markets)[link]

2006

• Agnes "On Top of the World"

2007

• Stanfour "It's Not Over"
• Amy Diamond "Stay My Baby" (#4 SWE)
• Lisa Bund "Closer"
• E Type "True Believer" (#1 SWE)
• Ola "Rain" (#1 SWE)
• Stephanie McIntosh "You Should Have Lied"
• Marilou "Ce Monde Est Fait Pour Nous"
• Marilou "Je Pars Sans Toi"

2008

• Emilia de Poret "I Can"
• Charlotte Perrelli "Appreciate"
• News "Liar" (#1 JP)
• Monrose "Stained"
• Jonathan Fagerlund "A Little More"
• Jonathan Fagerlund "If I Can't Love You Anymore"
• Cortes "Mama"

2009

• No Angels "Minute By Minute"
• No Angels "Thunderstorm"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Savan Kotecha on Myspace
• Savan Kotecha on Twitter
• Savan Kotecha discography at Discogs

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. (May 2010)

Carl Falk is a Swedish composer, producer, songwriter and musician.^[1]

Falk began playing violin at the young age of five, moving on to playing drums and piano before settling on the guitar as his instrument of choice. After studying music at the Södra Latin school in Stockholm, he decided to pursue music full time, working as a studio musician for various record labels and management companies and performing live with artists all over Sweden.

Falk joined production/publishing company "The Location" in 2002, but left in 2007. He decided to broaden his horizon and go his own way. He has maintained a very close relationship with Kristian Lundin, owner of Location Songs, and they are collaborating on numerous internationally acclaimed projects. Carl re-located to LA in April 2010 and has teamed up with Rami Yacoub and Steve Angello (Swedish House Mafia).

Some of the top artist he's worked with are One Direction, Backstreet Boys, Taio Cruz, Gavin DeGraw, Nicki Minaj, Nicole Scherzinger, Matthew Morrison (Glee), Russell Crowe, Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) and many more.

Discography[link]

CREDITS[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

2012[link]

• "Pound the Alarm" (Nicki Minaj) - Written & Produced
• "Starships" (Nicki Minaj) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Treatment" (Labrinth) - Written
• "Troublemaker" (Taio Cruz) - Written & Produced (2nd Single)
• "World In Our Hands" (Taio Cruz) - Written & Produced
• "One Thing" (One Direction) Written & Produced (2nd Single)
• "I Wish" (One Direction) Written & Produced

2011[link]

• "What Makes You Beautiful" (One Direction) - Written & Produced (1st Single) - Best British Single 2012 BRIT AWARDS
• "Don´t Hold Your Breath" (Nicole Scherzinger) - Produced (2nd Single)
• "White Lies (The Saturdays) - Written & Produced
• "Bloodstained Heart" (Darren Hayes) - Written & Produced (3rd Single)
• "Black Out The Sun" (Darren Hayes) - Written & Produced (2nd Single)
• "The Siren´s Call" (Darren Hayes) - Written & Produced
• "Talk Talk Talk" (Darren Hayes) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "True Love" (Destinee & Paris) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Hey" (Matthew Morrison) - Written & Produced
• "Burning Up" (Nick Carter) - Written & Produced (2nd Single)
• "Remember" (Nick Carter) - Written & Produced
• "We´re The Shit" (Cady Groves) - Written & Produced
• "The Crow/Doyle Songbook Volume III" (Russell Crowe) - Produced

2010[link]

• "Hey Sexy Lady" (iSquare) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Loose My Mind" (The Wanted) - Written & Produced (2nd Single)
• "Marching Band" (Joe Brooks) - Written & Produced
• "Broken Hands" (Joe Brooks) - Written & Produced
• "Hello Mr. Sun" (Joe Brooks) - Written & Produced
• "Holes Inside" (Joe Brooks) - Written
• "Too Late For Hallelujah" (Boyzone) - Written
• "Now Is The Hour" (Jennifer Rush) - Written

2009[link]

• "Have It All" (AJ McLean) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "London" (AJ McLean) - Written & Produced
• "Drive By Love" (AJ McLean )- Written & Produced
• "Mr. A" (AJ McLean) - Written & Produced
• "Leaving" (Westlife) - Written
• "Beautiful Lie" (Jennifer Paige) & (Nick Carter) - Written & Produced
• "I Want It" (Brad Johner) - Written
• "You Don´t Know What You Are Sorry For" (Sweetbox) - Written
• "Broken Tonight" (VanVelzen]) - Written
• "In or Out" (Jeanette Biedermann) - Written & Produced
• "Solitary Rose" (Jeanette Biedermann) - Written & Produced
• "Street Lights" (Kevin Borg) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "More Than I Do" (Kevin Borg) - Written
• "Beautiful Lie" (Armin Van Buuren) Feat. VanVelzen) - Written
• "Sometimes Truth Needs a Lie" (Brandur) - Written

2008[link]

• "Don´t Call This Love" (Leon Jackson) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "If You Don´t Mean It" (Markus Fagervall) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Opening Nights" (Fady Maalouf) - Written
• "I Wanna Know" (News) - Written (1st Single)
• "All The Way" (Garou) - Written
• "If You Don´t Mean It" (Dean Geyer) (1st Single)
• "Sacrificial Love" (Clay Aiken) - Written (2nd Single)
• "Don´t Call This Love" (Stefanie Heinzmann]) - Written
• "Domar El Aire" (Timbiriche) - Written
• "No Words" (Cortes) - Written & Produced
• "Sacrificial Love" (Cortes) - Written & Produced
• "Flipside" (The Click Five)- Written
• "Kiss You All Over" (Danny Saucedo) - Written

2007[link]

• "The Guardian" (Delta Goodrem) - Written
• "I´m Sorry" (Dannii Minogue) - Produced
• "What I Love About Home" (Journey South) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Do You Think About Me" (Journey South) - Written & Produced
• "I´ll Be Your Desire" (Journey South) - Written & Produced
• "Save Me" (Journey South) - Produced
• "I Stand Corrected (Journey South) - Produced
• "How Do Your Mend A Broken Heart" (Journey South) - Produced
• "In Your Eyes" (Journey South) - Produced
• "Lonely Nights" (Journey South) - Produced
• "Why" (NEWS) - Written (1st Single)
• "All The Way" (Markus Fagervall) - Written & Produced

2006[link]

• "Love Fight" (Dannii Minogue) - Produced
• "Whatever Will Be (Vanessa Hudgens)- Written
• "Turn Around" (Anders Johansson) Produced

2005[link]

• "Amazing" (Westlife) - Written & Produced (1st Single)
• "Colour My World" (Westlife) - Produced
• "Still Here" (Westlife) - Produced
• "Hot You With The Real Thing" (Westlife) - Written & Produced
• "Maybe Tomorrow" (Westlife) - Produced
• "Miss Your When I´m Dreaming (Westlife) - Produced
• "Whatever Will Be" (Tammin Sursok) - Written & Produced (2nd Single)

2004[link]

• "Disconnected" (Lindsay Lohan) - Written (1st Single)
• "Six Feet Under" (Ana Johnsson) - Written & Produced
• "We Are" (Ana Johnsson) - Produced (1st Single)

2003[link]

• "Obvious" (Westlife) - Written (1st Single)

References[link]

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. (November 2010)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (November 2010)

Arnthor Birgisson born on February 12, 1976, in Reykjavik, Iceland, is a Swedish songwriter and producer. His music can be described as a mixture of pop and R&B. Arnthor moved to Sweden in 1978 at age two, and is currently living in Stockholm.

Arnthor began his professional songwriting and production career in 1996 when he worked at Cosmos Studios together with the owner/musicproducer/songwriter Kent (Gillström) Isaacs and also the music producer Bloodshy. In 1997, the founders of the record label Murlyn Music, Anders Bagget and Christian Wåhlberg, saw the potential in Arnthor and Bloodshy, and handpicked them to the newly formed production company. Arnthor’s breakthrough came a year later with the song "Because of You" written for boy band 98 Degrees. During the time Arnthor worked at Murlyn Music (until 2003) a series of hits were created for stars such as Ronan Keating, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, Samantha Mumba and Celine Dion.

Between 2003 and 2008 Arnthor worked at Maratone (the former Cosmos Studios, a production company founded by Max Martin and Tom Talomaa, together with songwriters and producers such as Rami and Dr. Luke. During the years at Maratone, Arnthor created songs for Enrique Iglesias, Shayne Ward and Westlife among others.

In 2008, Arnthor’s song "Say OK", performed by Vanessa Hudgens, was rewarded the prize for “This Year's Biggest American Pop Hit" at the BMI London Awards. The U.S. organization Broadcast Music Incorporated was supporter of the prize.

Arnthor has during his career worked with record labels including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music, EMI Group and Warner Music Group.

In 2008 Arnthor founded the Swedish-based record and production company, Aristotracks, together with businessman Linus Andreen and artist Emilia de Poret. Since then, and up to today, he has written and produced songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Leona Lewis and Shontelle.

On September 7th, Birgisson won Popjustice's 2011 Twenty Quid Music Prize for Song of the Year with "Higher" by The Saturdays.^[1] Co-written with Ina Wroldsen.

On October 6, 2011, Birgisson received a Pop Award^[2] at the BMI London Awards for the song "Impossible" performed by Shontelle.