Martin Sandberg
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Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
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known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s making a string of hit singles such as
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
's " ...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' " I Want It That Way" (1999), Céline Dion's "
That's the Way It Is That's the Way It Is may refer to: *'' Elvis: That's the Way It Is'', a 1970 documentary film about Elvis Presley * ''That's the Way It Is'' (Elvis Presley album), a 1970 album by Elvis Presley * "That's the Way It Is" (Mel and Kim song), a 1988 so ...
" (1999) and
NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...
's " It's Gonna Be Me" (2000). Martin has written or co-written 25 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one songs, most of which he has also produced or co-produced, including
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
's " I Kissed a Girl" (2008) and " Roar" (2013),
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
's " One More Night" (2012), Taylor Swift's " Shake It Off" and "
Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. The song was released to US radio stations as the second single from ''1989'' on November 10, 2014, by Republic Records in partners ...
" (2014), and The Weeknd's " Blinding Lights" (2019) and " Save Your Tears" (2020). Martin is the songwriter with the third-most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26). In addition, he is tied with George Martin for the most Hot 100 number-one songs as a producer, with 23 as of 2021. Some of Martin's biggest hits were used in the 2019 jukebox musical ''
& Juliet ''& Juliet'' is a 2019 coming-of-age stage musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet does not die at the end of Shakespeare's '' ...
''. In early 2019, his single sales were tallied by '' The Hollywood Reporter'' to be at over $135 million. According to ''Variety'', his net worth was approximately $260 million in 2017. The previous year his corporate entity generated revenue of $54 million, with a profit of $19 million. Martin has won the
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
Songwriter of the Year award a record eleven times. He has also received five
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
, including
Producer of the Year The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non-classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in ...
, and nominations for an Academy Award and two
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
.


Life and career


Early career and It's Alive

Sandberg was born and grew up in
Stenhamra Stenhamra is a locality situated on the island Färingsö in Ekerö Municipality Ekerö Municipality ( sv, Ekerö kommun) is a municipality in the province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of ...
, Ekerö Municipality,
Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...
. His mother was a middle school teacher and his father was a police officer. As a child, Martin was a student of Sweden's public music-education scheme, and once said he had "public music education to thank for everything". 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 was 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 It's Alive participated in "Rock-SM", a nationwide talent contest, and had a residency at a nightclub in Cyprus. The band got a breakthrough in 1991, as Dave Constable of
Megarock Records Megarock Records was a Swedish record label which focused on heavy metal music. It was located in Stockholm. Bands * Abstrakt Algebra * Ace's High * Alien * Backyard Babies * Bad Habit * Candlemass * Criss * Crossroad Jam * It's Alive * Je ...
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 BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
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 " Kingdom come" is a phrase in the Lord's Prayer in the Bible. Kingdom Come may also refer to: Film * ''Kingdom Come'' (1919 film), a Western short featuring Hoot Gibson * ''Kingdom Come'' (2001 film), a comedy starring LL Cool J * ''Kingdom ...
. ''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 protégé Max Martin and eventually became Martin's mentor.


Working with Cheiron and Denniz PoP

In 1993, Martin was hired by
Cheiron Studios Cheiron Studios () was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such a ...
and spent some time learning the basics, before the first production collaboration between PoP and Martin: the
Rednex Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...
song "
Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...
" in 1994. They both worked on Ace of Base's second album, ''
The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...
'' (1995), shortly thereafter, as well as on albums by 3T,
Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...
and
Leila K Laila El Khalifi ( ar, ليلى الخليفي; born 6 September 1971) better known by her stage name Leila K, is a Swedish Eurodance singer and rapper of Moroccan descent. Early life El Khalifi's parents decided to send her to a school in Moro ...
. To date, ''The Bridge'' has sold more than six million copies worldwide, including one million in the United States. When Martin eventually left his band It's Alive in late 1995, he was replaced by Anders Hansson. In 1995, Cheiron Studios was hired by Zomba to work on Backstreet Boys' self-titled debut album '' Backstreet Boys'' (1996). Zomba became the main working partner since the success in 1995. Martin took part in the production of " Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (1996), co-written with Herbie Crichlow, a single which quickly went platinum and climbed to No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as the singles " As Long As You Love Me" (1997) and " Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (1997). 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-wrote and co-produced Robyn's hits " Show Me Love" and "
Do You Know (What It Takes) "Do You Know (What It Takes)" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn, released as the third single from her debut studio album, ''Robyn Is Here'' (1996). In the United Kingdom, it was issued as Robyn's second single in November 1996, w ...
" which ended up on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10. In 1998, Cheiron Productions worked on albums by
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
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 continued to be his partner for many years. Martin also wrote two songs with Bryan Adams during this time, "Cloud Number Nine" and "Before The Night Is Over". In late 1999, Celine Dion released "
That's the Way It Is That's the Way It Is may refer to: *'' Elvis: That's the Way It Is'', a 1970 documentary film about Elvis Presley * ''That's the Way It Is'' (Elvis Presley album), a 1970 album by Elvis Presley * "That's the Way It Is" (Mel and Kim song), a 1988 so ...
", 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 Dion's album ''
One Heart ''One Heart'' is the eighth English-language and nineteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia/Epic Records on 24 March 2003. It was promoted by the lead single "I Drove All Night". ''One Heart'' was produced mainl ...
.'' One of them, called " Faith", was released in 2003 as a promotional single in Canada and reached number 4 on the Quebec Airplay Chart and number 37 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart. Martin, Andreas Carlsson, and Rami Yacoub wrote Westlife's song "I Need You" for the first Westlife album '' Westlife'' (1999). Martin, Nick Jarl, Steve Mac, and Patric Jonsson wrote Westlife's song "
You Make Me Feel You Make Me Feel may refer to: * ''You Make Me Feel'' (Bonfire album), 2009 * ''You Make Me Feel'' (Milosh album), 2004 * "You Make Me Feel" (AnnaGrace song), 2008 * "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", song by Sylvester * " You Make Me Feel...", s ...
" for their second album '' Coast to Coast'' (2000). Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, and Andreas Carlsson also wrote one of Westlife's hits, "
When You're Looking Like That "When You're Looking Like That" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife from their second studio album, '' Coast to Coast'' (2000). It was released on 3 September 2001 as the sixth and final single from the album in Australia, Asia, Latin America, a ...
", for their second album '' Coast to Coast'' (2000).


Backstreet Boys

Martin wrote, co-wrote, and co-produced 7 out of the 12 songs on the Backstreet Boys' third album '' Millennium'' (1999), including all the singles. " 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 No. 10 in the
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
/ Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs".) 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 NSYNC's 2000 album '' No Strings Attached''), and was the best-selling album in the world. When working on her own solo album, to be released in 2001 on
Stockholm Records Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group, founded in 1992, and known for signing musicians such as Army of Lovers and E-Type. Overview The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company ...
,
Lisa Miskovsky Lisa Miskovsky (born 9 March 1975) is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter. Biography Miskovsky quickly placed herself on the Swedish rock music charts with her debut album ''Lisa Miskovsky'' and single "Driving One of Your Cars", with Swed ...
wrote the lyrics for the Backstreet Boys' hit single " Shape of My Heart" with Max Martin and Rami. The song, originally written for Miskovsky's own album, was passed on to the Backstreet Boys by Max Martin when Miskovsky decided that it did not fit her style. The song became the first single off the group's fourth album '' Black & Blue'' (2000). In the first week of release, " Shape of My Heart" immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany and another 15 countries. ''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 The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
's award "Songwriter of the Year" both in 2000 and 2001. In April 2013 the Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell invited Martin to collaborate on their single "
In A World Like This ''In a World Like This'' is the eighth studio album (seventh in the US) by the Backstreet Boys. It was released on July 30, 2013, through the group's own K-BAHN record label, under license to BMG Rights Management, and distributed by RED Distribu ...
". The single peaked at ''No.6'' in the '' Oricon'' chart and performed well in the rest of the world. Martin collaborated on the ''Never Gone'' songs "Climbing the Walls", "
Just Want You to Know "Just Want You to Know" is a song performed by American vocal group Backstreet Boys. The song was released on July 18, 2005, as the second single from the group's fifth studio album, '' Never Gone'' (2005). The single performed well in European c ...
", "Siberia" and " I Still...". 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 was a departure from the Backstreet Boys' earlier work.


Britney Spears

In 1998, Martin wrote and co-produced
Spears A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...
' debut single, " ...Baby One More Time", for her debut album of the same name. The single was originally offered to the Backstreet Boys and
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...
, though both passed on the song. That same year, Martin also co-wrote and co-produced the third single " (You Drive Me) Crazy". By 1999, the album ''...Baby One More Time'' had 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 30 million copies. Martin was the first non-American citizen ever to win ASCAP's prestigious award "Songwriter of the Year" in 1999, an award he also won in 2000 and 2001. Martin worked on Spears's follow-up records '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000) and ''
Britney Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
'' (2001). He co-wrote and co-produced the singles " Oops!... I Did It Again" (2000), " Lucky" (2000), " Stronger" (2000), "
Overprotected "Overprotected" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her third studio album, '' Britney'' (2001). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami. The song was released on December 10, 2001, by Jive Records as the second inter ...
" (2001), and " I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (2002). The duo ended up parting ways when Spears distanced herself from teen pop. Spears recorded '' In the Zone'' (2003) and '' Blackout'' (2007). At the request of Spears, Martin produced and wrote for Spears' sixth studio album '' Circus'' (2008). Martin co-wrote and produced the provocatively titled electro pop song, " If U Seek Amy", which was chosen by fans to be the third single of the album. Martin then produced the number one hit, " 3", for Spears' compilation album '' The Singles Collection'' (2009). Martin was one of the executive producers of Spears's seventh album, ''
Femme Fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...
'' (2011). He produced several songs for the album, including the successful singles " Hold It Against Me", " Till the World Ends", " I Wanna Go", and "
Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
".


Startup of Maratone

Following the death of Denniz PoP,
Cheiron Studios Cheiron Studios () was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such a ...
was closed down in 2000. Martin and Tom Talomaa then started a new production company named Maratone in January 2001 and moved into the famous
Cosmos Studios X-Level Studios, formerly known as EMI Studios, Abbey Road Studios and Cosmos Studios, is a recording studio in Skärmarbrink on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden. It has been running since the early 1960s. It was founded by Kent Isaacs, who ...
building. The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks for
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
's album ''
Britney Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
'' (2001). The Maratone production crew initially consisted of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami, Alexandra,
Arnthor Birgisson Arnthor Birgisson (Icelandic: Arnþór Birgisson, born 12 February 1976 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic-Swedish songwriter and producer. Arnþór moved to Sweden in 1978 at age two and lives in Stockholm. Information As young Arnþ ...
and Shellback. Following the work with Celine Dion on the album ''
One Heart ''One Heart'' is the eighth English-language and nineteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia/Epic Records on 24 March 2003. It was promoted by the lead single "I Drove All Night". ''One Heart'' was produced mainl ...
'' in 2003, few new hits appeared from Maratone until 2005. In 2004, Kelly Clarkson traveled to Sweden to collaborate with Martin and Dr. Luke on her second studio album, '' Breakaway''. These collaborations resulted in the rock-influenced singles " Since U Been Gone" (2004) and "
Behind These Hazel Eyes "Behind These Hazel Eyes" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, '' Breakaway'' (2004). It was written by Clarkson with the song's producers Max Martin and Dr. Luke. The song was released on April 12, 2005, as ...
" (2005). In 2009, Martin co-wrote Clarkson's single " My Life Would Suck Without You", which was a number one hit. In 2005, Martin collaborated with the Norwegian singer Marion Raven for the release of her debut album, titled ''
Here I Am Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a T ...
,'' writing and co-writing the songs "
Break You "Break You" is a pop rock song recorded by Marion Raven and written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz Gottwald, a.k.a. "Dr. Luke", for Raven's international debut studio album '' Here I Am'' (2005). The track was released as the lead single in ...
", " End of Me", "Here I Am", "Little By Little", "In Spite of Me", and "Six Feet Under".


Pink

Martin co-wrote and produced three songs on Pink's platinum-selling album '' I'm Not Dead'', including the singles, " U + Ur Hand" (2006), " Who Knew" (2006), and " Cuz I Can" (2007). Martin also collaborated with Pink for her next album, '' Funhouse'' (2008). Martin co-wrote the first smash hit single, "
So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * '' So What?: Early Demos and Live Abuse'', by Anti-Nowhere League, ...
" (2008), plus the singles " Please Don't Leave Me" (2009) and "
I Don't Believe You "I Don't Believe You" is a song by American recording artist Pink. It was released as the sixth single from her fifth studio album, ''Funhouse''. Music and lyrics "I Don't Believe You" is set in common time and played in the key of A-flat majo ...
" (2009). The duo wrote "
Whataya Want From Me "Whataya Want from Me" is a song by American recording artist and ''American Idol'' eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert from his debut studio album, '' For Your Entertainment''. It was released as the second single from the album. The song pea ...
" during the sessions for ''Funhouse'', but ultimately the song was recorded and released as a single by Adam Lambert. Later, Martin co-wrote hits for Pink including " Raise Your Glass" (2010), " Fuckin' Perfect" (2011), and " Just like Fire" (2016), for various Pink-related projects. For her seventh studio album, ''
Beautiful Trauma '' Beautiful Trauma'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink (singer), Pink. It was released on October 13, 2017, by RCA Records. Following ''The Truth About Love (Pink album), The Truth About Love'', Pink took a career ...
'' (2017), he co-wrote "
Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
", " Whatever You Want", "For Now", and "Secrets". In 2019, for her eighth studio album, ''
Hurts 2B Human ''Hurts 2B Human'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink. Released on April 26, 2019, by RCA Records, the album was initially planned as a standalone extended play (EP). Pursuing a sound that would be departure from her p ...
'' (2019), he co-wrote "(Hey Why) Miss You Sometime".


Usher

In 2010, Martin co-wrote and co-produced
Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...
's song " DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" that went number-one on the US Rhythmic charts and top-ten on the main Hot 100. Working together again, Martin co-wrote and co-produced on Usher's seventh studio album "
Looking 4 Myself ''Looking 4 Myself'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on June 8, 2012, by RCA Records; it is Usher's first album for RCA after the October 2011 merger of the Jive Records group which also included his label, ...
" in 2012 making the
dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song " Scream" that went number-one on the US
Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart and number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA).


Avril Lavigne

Martin worked with
Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
on two songs, "Alone" and "I Will Be", which were released on some deluxe editions of Lavigne's third studio album '' The Best Damn Thing'' (2007). Martin also worked on four songs for Lavigne's fourth studio album '' Goodbye Lullaby'' (2011): the three singles "
What the Hell "What the Hell" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne from her fourth studio album, ''Goodbye Lullaby'' (2011). It was released on 10 January 2011 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album. The song was produced by Max Ma ...
" (2011), " Smile" (2011), and "
Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...
" (2011), and the album track "I Love You".


Jessie J

Max Martin first worked with
Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
on her international hit " Domino". It also achieved top ten success in other countries such as Canada and Australia. Following the success of "Domino", Martin co-produced "
Bang Bang Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang or similar may refer to: Food * Bang bang chicken, a Chinese dish *Bang bang shrimp, a Chinese dish People * Abdul Razzaq (cricketer) (born 1979), nicknamed Bang Bang Razzaq * Bang Bang (Dubliner) (1906–1981), ...
" (2014) for Jessie J,
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
and Nicki Minaj.


Katy Perry

Max Martin is also responsible for some of the songs of
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
on four albums: On her debut album '' One of the Boys'' (2008), including the number-one single " I Kissed a Girl", and top 5 hit single " Hot n Cold", and following-up album ''
Teenage Dream Teenage Dream may refer to: Music Albums * ''Teenage Dream'' (IQU album), 2000 * ''Teenage Dream'' (Katy Perry album), 2010 *''Teenage Dream'', a 1990 EP by Thrilled Skinny *''Teenage Dream'' a 1998 album by Michiyo Heike *''Teenage Dreams'', a 2 ...
'' (2010), including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 numbers-ones hits singles " California Gurls" (2010), "
Teenage Dream Teenage Dream may refer to: Music Albums * ''Teenage Dream'' (IQU album), 2000 * ''Teenage Dream'' (Katy Perry album), 2010 *''Teenage Dream'', a 1990 EP by Thrilled Skinny *''Teenage Dream'' a 1998 album by Michiyo Heike *''Teenage Dreams'', a 2 ...
" (2010), " Firework" (2010), "
E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...
" (2011),"
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream''. The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who also co-wrote the song with Perry and Bonnie McKee. Perry stated that s ...
" (2011) and the Hot 100 top ten hit " The One That Got Away" (2011). Martin also co-wrote the songs " Part of Me" (2012) and "
Wide Awake Wide Awake or Wideawake may refer to: Places *Wide Awake, South Carolina, US *Prestonville, Kentucky, US, formerly Wideawake * Wideawake Airfield or RAF Ascension Island, a British military base Books and publications * ''Wide Awake'' (magazine), ...
" (2012), the former of which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. For her third album '' Prism'' (2013), he co-wrote the No. 1 singles " Roar" (2013) and "
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
" (2013). On her fourth album '' Witness'' (2017), Martin co-wrote numerous songs, including the lead single " Chained to the Rhythm" which peaked at number 4.


Christina Aguilera

Confirmed by RCA Executives on 18 December 2011, Martin worked on Christina Aguilera's seventh studio album ''
Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
'' (2012) and was the producer of her lead single, " Your Body" (2012), as well as another song titled " Let There Be Love". Both songs reached the top of the ''Billboard'' dance/club chart.


Taylor Swift

Martin has collaborated with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift on three of her albums. Their first collaboration was the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 1 hit " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012) for her album '' Red'' (2012). Martin also co-wrote and produced two other singles on the album: " I Knew You Were Trouble" (2012), which peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and " 22" (2013). Martin also contributed to her follow-up record, ''
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
'' (2014). He co-wrote and co-produced the singles " Shake It Off", "
Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. The song was released to US radio stations as the second single from ''1989'' on November 10, 2014, by Republic Records in partners ...
", " Bad Blood", " Wildest Dreams", " Style", and "
New Romantics The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
", among other songs. Three of the songs reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Martin later worked with Swift on '' Reputation'' (2017), co-writing and co-producing eight songs, including the singles " ...Ready for It?", " End Game", and " Delicate". Swift released her second re-recorded album '' Red (Taylor's Version)'' (2021). He co-wrote three re-recorded songs, including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "I Knew You Were Trouble", and "22 ". He didn’t handle the production of the re-recorded songs. He also co-wrote a song called " Message in a Bottle", one of the newly added "From the Vault" tracks.


Ariana Grande

Martin first worked with
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
on her second studio album '' My Everything'' (2014). Martin produced the first single, "
Problem Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
", which peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as No. 1 in the UK, later becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide. Other songs from the album Martin produced include " Break Free" (peaking at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and "
Bang Bang Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang or similar may refer to: Food * Bang bang chicken, a Chinese dish *Bang bang shrimp, a Chinese dish People * Abdul Razzaq (cricketer) (born 1979), nicknamed Bang Bang Razzaq * Bang Bang (Dubliner) (1906–1981), ...
" (peaking at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 in the UK). Martin contributed heavily to her third studio album, '' Dangerous Woman'' (2016), most notably the singles " Dangerous Woman", " Into You", and " Side to Side", all of which peaked within the top twenty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Martin also contributed to her follow-up records ''Sweetener'' (2018) and ''Thank U Next'' (2019), co-writing the singles " No Tears Left to Cry", " God Is a Woman", and "
Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Ariana Grande from her fifth studio album, ''Thank U, Next'' (2019). The song was written by Grande, Savan Kotecha, Kandi Burruss, Kevin Briggs ...
", among other songs.


The Weeknd

Martin co-wrote and produced three songs from The Weeknd's sophomore album, '' Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)'', namely " Can't Feel My Face"—which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—" In the Night" and "Shameless". He co-wrote and produced four songs from The Weeknd's third album, '' Starboy'' (2016). He contributed "
Hardest to Love "Hardest to Love" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his fourth studio album '' After Hours'' (2020). The Weeknd wrote and produced the song alongside Max Martin and Oscar Holter. Background and composition While addressing the inspira ...
", "
Scared to Live "Scared to Live" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his fourth studio album '' After Hours''. He performed the song for the first time on March 8, 2020, with American musician Oneohtrix Point Never, during an episode of ''Saturday Nigh ...
", " Blinding Lights", " In Your Eyes", and " Save Your Tears" to The Weeknd's fourth studio album, '' After Hours'' (2020). The latter album was both a critical and commercial success. Martin also co-wrote and assisted in the production of
Take My Breath "Take My Breath" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on August 6, 2021, through XO and Republic Records, as the lead single from his fifth studio album, '' Dawn FM'' (2022). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd ...
, released in August 2021.


Coldplay

Martin appeared as a keyboardist on two singles from Coldplay's eighth studio album ''
Everyday Life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peop ...
'' (2019): " Orphans" and " Champion of the World". In June 2021, Coldplay announced their ninth studio album ''Music of the Spheres'' (2021), with Martin serving as the album's producer. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, debuting at the top of the UK Albums Chart and becoming the album with most sales in a week in the United Kingdom since Ed Sheeran's
No.6 Collaborations Project ''No.6 Collaborations Project'' is the fourth studio album and first collaboration album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released through Asylum Records and Atlantic Records on 12 July 2019. The album features guest appearances f ...
(2019). '' Music of the Spheres'' (2021) included songs such as " Higher Power", "
Let Somebody Go "Let Somebody Go" is a song by British rock band Coldplay and American singer Selena Gomez, recorded for the band's ninth studio album, ''Music of the Spheres''. The song was produced by Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Rik Simpson, Daniel Green, and Bil ...
", which Selena Gomez appears on, and " My Universe", which BTS appears on. "My Universe" debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, giving Martin his twenty fifth number one as a writer and twenty third number one as a producer on the chart. He is tied only with George Martin for producer with most ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones.


Others

Martin co-wrote " It's My Life" with fellow Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees
Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
and
Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...
. It was released on 8 May 2000 as the lead single from
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
's seventh studio album, '' Crush'' (2000). The song was certified 2× platinum in the United States; platinum in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; and gold in France, Japan, and the Netherlands. Fourth runner-up of the eighth season of '' American Idol'', Allison Iraheta has collaborated with Martin on her debut album. Her first single, "
Friday I'll Be Over U "Friday I'll Be Over U" is a song by American recording artist and ''American Idol'' season eight finalist Allison Iraheta from her debut album, '' Just Like You''. The song was written by Max Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha and Tiffany Amber. ...
" was written by Martin. On 17 August 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 "Whataya Want from Me" is a song by American recording artist and ''American Idol'' eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert from his debut studio album, '' For Your Entertainment''. It was released as the second single from the album. The song pea ...
", that was also written by P!nk. Martin also co-wrote "
Into the Nightlife "Into the Nightlife" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper for her tenth studio album '' Bring Ya to the Brink'' (2008). It was written by Lauper, Peer Åström, Johan Bobäck and Max Martin, and produced by Lauper, Åström and Bobäck. It p ...
", a popular club track recorded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008 and produced, alongside Zedd, and co-wrote " Beauty and a Beat", on Justin Bieber's 2012 album ''
Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...
''. Martin also produced several albums for
Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
act E-type. In 2005, Max Martin wrote the first single-song for pop punk duo The Veronicas, " 4ever", with Lukasz " Dr. Luke" Gottwald for their debut studio album '' The Secret Life Of...'' (2005). Also he wrote "
Everything I'm Not "Everything I'm Not" is the second single released from Australian musical duo the Veronicas' debut album, '' The Secret Life of...'' (2005). It reached number seven on the ARIA Singles Charts and has been certified gold over 35,000 units shipp ...
", the second single-song of The Veronicas, the same year, again with Gottwald, Rami,
Jessica Origliasso Jessica Origliasso (born 25 December 1984) is an Australian singer-songwriter and producer. She and her twin sister formed the pop band The Veronicas. Biography 1984–2003: Early life and career beginnings Jessica Louise Origliasso was born ...
and
Lisa Origliasso Lisa Marie Huffman (née Origliasso; born 25 December 1984) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Albany Creek, Queensland, Lisa and her identical twin sister, Jessica Origliasso, performed in show business at a young age. Ori ...
for the same album ''The Secret Life Of....'' In January 2014, Martin produced a two-minute advertisement entitled "Volvo XC70: Made By Sweden", featuring soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović. The video of the advertisement received several million views on YouTube. 2008 saw him collaborate with Daughtry (band) for one of their singles from their 2006 debut album Daughtry (album): their 2008 single
Feels Like Tonight "Feels Like Tonight" is the fourth main single (sixth overall) from American rock band Daughtry's debut album. The song is a power ballad in the vein of the band's previous hit, "Home". The official release date for the track in the U.S. was Janu ...
written with Dr. Luke. In early 2014, Martin co-wrote the song "Dare (La La La)" for Shakira's self-titled album. In April–May 2014, Martin produced
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
's song " First Love", alongside Ilya, Shellback and
Savan Kotecha Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...
. Between 2014 and 2015, Martin executive-produced " Ghost Town" by Adam Lambert. In January 2015, he co-wrote and co-produced
Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
's " Love Me like You Do", which reached number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while also producing several songs from her album
Delirium Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
including the hit single " On My Mind", which was released on 17 September 2015. In July 2015, Martin produced
Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...
's song "
Cool for the Summer "Cool for the Summer" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released as the lead single from her fifth studio album ''Confident (album), Confident'' (2015) on July 1, 2015, by Hollywood Records and Island Records, and premiered on ra ...
" which reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also contributed to "
Confident Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...
" and "For You" from their fifth studio album ''
Confident Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...
''. Martin also worked with Selena Gomez on her second studio album, '' Revival'', producing its third single " Hands to Myself" which became her third consecutive top 10 hit from the album. In November 2015, Adele's album '' 25'' was released and Martin co-wrote and co-produced the record's third single " Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" with Shellback, and would eventually become a top 10 hit in the US and the UK. 2016 saw Martin being heavily involved in the making of Ariana Grande's third album '' Dangerous Woman'', with half of its songs (including both singles) being produced by him. The same year, he produced the 10th track for Nick Jonas' third studio album, while also co-producing standalone songs for American singers Pink (" Just Like Fire") and
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
( "Rise"). In 2016, he co-wrote the song " Can't Stop the Feeling!" by
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
which is also the title song for the film ''
Trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
'' with Shellback. The song became Timberlake's fifth and Martin's twenty-second number-one hit in the US. It reached the top spot in 16 other countries. The song gave Timberlake and Martin their first nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
. In 2019, Max Martin co-produced and co-wrote Ed Sheeran's and Justin Bieber's hit single " I Don't Care". In 2020, Max Martin co-produced and co-wrote " Stupid Love", the first single extracted from Lady Gaga's sixth studio album Chromatica. This marks the first time the two have worked together. In 2022, Max Martin co-produced and co-wrote Måneskin's single " Supermodel". He also co-produced and co-wrote Lizzo's song "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)", off of her fourth studio album, ''Special''.


Artistry


Influences

When accepting the Polar Music Prize, Martin highlighted ABBA, Kiss, Prince and Lasse Holm as inspirations.


Creative process

The traditional division of work in the record industry often has the artist or songwriter writing the songs and then hiring a producer to help shape the sound. But at Cheiron, it was the other way around; the producers wrote the songs, played the instruments, and 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'' (2000), 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:


Impact and legacy

Martin's influence on the music field is also seen in the effect he has had on co-producers. The music site ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' singles out three people as his "disciples",
Savan Kotecha Savan Harish Kotecha is an American songwriter and record producer from Austin, Texas. Kotecha is of Indian (Gujarati) descent. He was also the executive music producer of the 2020 film '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'', for ...
, Dr. Luke, and Shellback. '' Time'' magazine reported that "There's a cluster of high-powered songwriters who are based in Sweden, and the grandmaster is Max Martin and that when Kotecha worked with One Direction he credited Martin's influence 'We work melody first. That's Max Martin's school. We’ll spend days, sometimes weeks, challenging the melody. The goal is to make it sound like anyone can do this, but it's actually very difficult. In Sweden, you don’t do anything until you do it right.'" '' The New Yorker'' reported that Martin was Dr. Luke's "Swedish mentor and frequent collaborator. If Luke is the Skywalker of pop songcraft, Max is the Obi-Wan: the reclusive master. ...The vital spark in the musical emergence of Dr. Luke was meeting Max Martin". Dr. Luke himself says of the chemistry between him and Martin "'It happened really fast. It was magical. … artin taught me thatInstead of making tracks for five thousand people, why not make tracks for a million?'" The magazine for Sweden's
collection society Copyrights can either be licensed or assigned by the owner of the copyright. A copyright collective (also known as a copyright society, copyright collecting agency, licensing agency or copyright collecting society or collective management organiz ...
STIM STIM, ''Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå'' (Swedish Performing Rights Society), is a Swedish collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distribu ...
reported that Shellback became an "apprentice" with Martin acting as "his mentor" at Maratone Studios after 2006 when "Max Martin saw something special in the young man from Karlshamn. Judging by the incredible success Shellback has had since, Martin's A&R skills are some of the best in the music business". Martin's song catalog was used in the stage musical ''
& Juliet ''& Juliet'' is a 2019 coming-of-age stage musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet does not die at the end of Shakespeare's '' ...
'', which opened on the West End in 2019.


Personal life

Martin met his wife, Jenny (née Petersson) from Mörrum, around 2000 and they married in 2011. The couple have a daughter, born around 2001. Martin lives in Los Angeles and in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.


Songwriting and production


''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles

Since 1998, Martin has written or co-written 25 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one hit songs (most of which he has also produced or co-produced). Six of these songs debuted at number one on the chart. # 1998 – " ...Baby One More Time" by
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
# 2000 – " It's Gonna Be Me" by
NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...
# 2008 – " I Kissed a Girl" by
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
# 2008 – "
So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * '' So What?: Early Demos and Live Abuse'', by Anti-Nowhere League, ...
" by Pink # 2009 – " My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson # 2009 – " 3" by Britney Spears # 2010 – " California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
# 2010 – "
Teenage Dream Teenage Dream may refer to: Music Albums * ''Teenage Dream'' (IQU album), 2000 * ''Teenage Dream'' (Katy Perry album), 2010 *''Teenage Dream'', a 1990 EP by Thrilled Skinny *''Teenage Dream'' a 1998 album by Michiyo Heike *''Teenage Dreams'', a 2 ...
" by Katy Perry # 2010 – " Raise Your Glass" by Pink # 2011 – " Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears # 2011 – "
E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...
" by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West # 2011 – "
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream''. The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who also co-wrote the song with Perry and Bonnie McKee. Perry stated that s ...
" by Katy Perry # 2012 – " Part of Me" by Katy Perry # 2012 – " One More Night" by
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
# 2012 – " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift # 2013 – " Roar" by Katy Perry # 2013 – "
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J # 2014 – " Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift # 2014 – "
Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. The song was released to US radio stations as the second single from ''1989'' on November 10, 2014, by Republic Records in partners ...
" by Taylor Swift # 2015 – " Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar # 2015 – " Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd # 2016 – " Can't Stop the Feeling!" by
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
# 2019 – " Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd # 2021 – " Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd and
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
# 2021 – " My Universe" by Coldplay and BTS


Awards and nominations


Academy Awards

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ASCAP Pop Music Awards


Golden Globe Awards

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Grammy Awards

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Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...
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Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...
, , - ,
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, ''
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'' , , - ,
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'' , , - , Best Pop Vocal Album , , - , " Love Me like You Do" , rowspan=3,
Best Song Written for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked t ...
, , - , rowspan=4,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, " Can't Stop the Feeling!" , , - , " Just like Fire" , , - , '' 25'' , Album of the Year , , - , Self , Producer of the Year, Non-Classical , , - ,
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, '' Thank U, Next'' , rowspan=4, Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,
2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
, '' 30'' , , - , '' Special'' , , - , '' Music of the Spheres'' ,


Polar Music Prize

!Ref. , - , 2016 , Self , Polar Music Prize , Honoree , , - , style="text-align:center;", 1996 , Denniz PoP & Max Martin , Swedish Dance Music Awards 1996 – Best Producers , , - , style="text-align:center;", 1997 , Denniz PoP & Max Martin , Grammis Awards – Special Jury Prize , , - , style="text-align:center;", 2010 , Max Martin ,
STIM STIM, ''Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå'' (Swedish Performing Rights Society), is a Swedish collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distribu ...
Platinum Guitar , , - , style="text-align:center;", 2016 , Max Martin , Polar Music Prize , , -


See also

* Swedish pop music


References


External links


Maratone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Max 1971 births Living people Musicians from Stockholm Swedish record producers Swedish songwriters Grammy Award winners 21st-century Swedish musicians People from Ekerö Municipality Swedish expatriates in the United States Musikförläggarnas pris winners