Nobody has heard of these people, but they wrote some of the world’s biggest ever pop hits
June 22nd, 2008Do the names Max Martin or Jorgen Elofsson ring any bells to you? If you want to make it big in music, but away from the limelight, learn from these people. They are truly reference standards in pop songwriting today. And perhaps by sheer coincidence, they are all Swedish.
Martin Karl “Max Martin” Sandberg (above), 37 wrote, or co-wrote, the following worldwide smash hits:
- Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time
- Backstreet Boys - Shape of My Heart
- “Oops!… I Did It Again” by Britney Spears
- Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
- Bon Jovi - It’s My Life
- Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
- Backstreet Boys - Quit playing games with my heart
- Backstreet Boys - As long as you love me [one of their signature songs and to me the undisputed pop song of the year in 1997]
Jorgen Elofsson (above), 46 became a full-time songwriter in 1994, and wrote, or co-wrote, the following songs:
- Westlife - If I Let You Go
- Britney Spears - Sometimes
- Britney Spears - (You Drive Me) Crazy
- Il Divo & Tony Braxton - The Time of Our Lives (FIFA’s official anthem for the 2006 World Cup)
- Westlife - Fool Again
- Westlife - My Love
- Will Young - Evergreen [to me one of Westlife's best ever songs]
- Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This [this is surely a favourite at weddings]
- Gareth Gates - Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)
- Gareth Gates - Say It Isn’t So
Now how about someone only slightly more famous in his time.
Music lovers will surely remember Giorgio Moroder, who, together with Phil Oakey had a big hit in 1985 with “together in electric dreams”. Well, Moroder wrote that number. What you might not know is that Moroder also wrote the following classics of the 1980s:
- Berlin - Take My breath away (1986)
- Irene Cara - Flashdance … what a feeling (1983)
Next up, Diane Warren (above), 52 who wrote:
- Celine Dion - Because You Loved Me
- Milli Vanilli - Blame It on the Rain
- Trisha Yearwood - How Do I Live?
- Aerosmith - I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
- Belinda Carlisle - I Get Weak
- Debarge - Rhythm of the Night
- Laura Branigan - Solitaire
- Laura Branigan - Ti Amo
- Faith Hill - There you’ll be [Pearl Harbor]
- Bon Jovi - Stick to your guns
- Cher - just like jesse james
- Toni Braxton - unbreak my heart
Songwriters, be inspired!!!
P.S. What do you think of the fact that publicity photos are most likely photoshopped such that the subjects never seem to be in need of any acne treatment>
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I thought Westlife wrote their own songs?
So these are the magic behind those songs ey. Inspiring man!
I thought so too… now I want to find out who wrote all those Air Supply songs.
Wow…these 4 are my favourites, especially, I want it that way!
- Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
- Bon Jovi - It’s My Life
- Backstreet Boys - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
- Backstreet Boys - Quit playing games with my heart
It’s amazing that Mazx martin wrote Quit playing games when he was just 23 or 24, and he is my favorite songwriter in the world I first heard of him about 9 years ago.
You’ve done a great job here telling about these magnifiscent people to the others