Bonnie McKee

Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Trouble, was released in September 2004 under Reprise Records. After being dropped by Reprise several years after its release, McKee had taken a musical hiatus before establishing a name for herself as a songwriter. McKee has co-written eight singles that have reached #1 in the United States or the United Kingdom, which have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide combined. After sometime of focusing on songwriting, McKee released "American Girl" in July 2013.

McKee is particularly known for collaborating with pop singer Katy Perry, and the duo have co-written the hits "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," "Part of Me," "Wide Awake," and "Roar" together. McKee also co-wrote "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, which became the second best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.

Early life

Childhood

Bonnie Leigh McKee was born in Vacaville, California and raised in Seattle, Washington. She studied classical piano and became a member of the Seattle Girls Choir Prime Voci at age 12, and toured with the choir throughout North America and Europe. She recorded two albums with the choir, titled Jackson Berkey Meets The Seattle Girls' Choir and Cantate 2000. She briefly attended The Bush School, where she recorded a demo as part of a class project, before being kicked out soon after. At age 12, McKee's mother gave a demo CD featuring her singing Bette Midler and Fiona Apple songs to a friend of hers, the co-founder of the Sub Pop label, Jonathon Poneman, who was intrigued by her songwriting talents. According to McKee, this was the moment when she realized she had to be "more than just a singer," but a songwriter as well.