Nadir Khayat (, Latn, ar, Nādir Ḵayyāṭ; born 9 April 1972), also known as RedOne, is a Moroccan-Swedish record producer, record executive, singer and songwriter. He has worked in production for high-profile recording artists including

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

, One Direction, and Usher, among others. His credits include several hit songs on '' Billboard'' and international charts; pop, rock, R&B,

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, hip hop, and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

are his frequented musical genres. He established his namesake record label in 2010. RedOne has won three Grammy Awards from eight nominations. He also won Producer of the Year at the 2011 Grammis Award, a Swedish music award instituted as a regional equivalent to the Grammy Awards. In 2009, he was the number one producer on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ranking number three as a songwriter and winning BMI's Songwriter of the Year. Outside of music, he has held the position of Creative Entertainment Executive at

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

since 2021.

Biography

Early life

RedOne was born as Nadir Khayat in Tétouan, Morocco. In an interview, he said he was the ninth and youngest child in his family. In 1991, he immigrated to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

when he was 19, to pursue a career as a musician. In an interview with HitQuarters website, he said his moving to Sweden was because, "there was so much good music coming from there" mentioning

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and Roxette as among the most influential to him.

1991–2006: Career in Sweden

In 1995, he changed directions by opting to produce and write songs for other artists. Instrumental in helping him make this transition was Rami Yacoub, another fellow ex-rock musician. Yacoub, a Palestinian-Swedish songwriter/producer already enjoyed considerable success and was a well-established producer. Inviting RedOne to work with him in the studio, he taught RedOne about "programming and how the software works" and the pair co-wrote a number of songs together. During this period of cooperation, RedOne worked with the successful Swedish girl band Popsie writing their songs "Funky" and "Joyful Life" co-written and co-produced by Yacoub and RedOne (and where RedOne was credited on Popsie's 1998 self-titled album as songwriter and producer Nadir K). He chose the alias 'RedOne', a pseudonym of the name of a friend of his, Redouan. Redouan introduced Rami to Max Martin, Yacoub was asked some time later to join Cheiron Studios and the two parted company with Yacoub working extensively with huge names like Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Westlife and Céline Dion, amongst others. RedOne then moved on to produce various Swedish and European pop acts. In 2001–2002, he co-produced A*Teens, originally an

teen tribute band that already had a huge hit with '' The ABBA Generation''. RedOne co-produced two of their follow-up albums, '' Teen Spirit'' in 2001 and '' Pop 'Til You Drop'' in 2002 with some original songs like "...to the Music", "Slam" co-written with Flame, Hortlund, and J. Boogie and "Singled Out" co-written with AJ Junior, Dhani, Sara, Savan Kotecha, and ShawnDark in a bid to launch them as "more than just a cover band". After years of struggling, RedOne finally began to achieve recognition for his work in 2005. He wrote two songs for Daniel Lindström's self-titled chart-topping album, " Break Free" and "My Love Won't Let You Down". RedOne then had his first number one on

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from IFPI Sverige. It was formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and has been known by its current name si ...

with Darin Zanyar's " Step Up". The song, co-written by RedOne, Darin, and RedOne's frequent collaborator Bilal Hajji, won them a Swedish Grammy and "Scandinavian Song of the Year". He went on to co-produce Darin's two albums '' The Anthem'' and self-titled album '' Darin'' alongside well-known producers like Ghost, Jörgen Elofsson, Arnthor Birgisson and George Samuelson. RedOne had crossover success with the Canadian singer and

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

Carl Henry with hits "I Wish" and "Little Mama". In the ensuing period, he went on to produce a number of Swedish and European pop acts. These included the Dutch pop band Ch!pz (2005), two songs Cariño Mio and Wanna Play by the Mexican teen group RBD for the album Rebels (2006), American Christina Milian in a remix of her track "L.O.V.E." as "L.O.V.E. (RedOne remix)" from her album '' Best Of'', the Dutch singer EliZe in " Itsy Bitsy Spider" and Swedish ''Idol'' contestant and popular singer Ola Svensson in "Cops Come Knocking" and "Go Go Sweden", the latter in support of the Sweden national team, all in 2006. In 2005, he also worked with pop singer Britney Spears and songwriter Michelle Bell on a track titled "Money Love and Happiness" for her scrapped studio album "Original Doll", but the track remained unreleased until 2012, when Bell leaked the track in full online.

2006–2009: International breakthrough and move to the United States

In 2006, RedOne produced the single "Bamboo" that was named an "Official Melody" for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. "Bamboo" was featured for the branding and promotion of the event during television broadcasts and advertising campaigns, branded cross-promotions, and as a part of the World Cup Official Music Program, gaining him much audio exposure. In addition, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) made him the main producer and songwriter for the 2006 World Cup Official Music Program. RedOne also produced a "mash-up" remix of

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

's " Hips Don't Lie" featuring Wyclef Jean and RedOne's "Bamboo". The remix was performed by Shakira and Wyclef Jean ahead of the World Cup final in Berlin to an estimated worldwide television audience of more than 1.2 billion. Although "Bamboo" helped establish him as a notable producer in the global marketplace, RedOne himself claimed that the song didn't have the impact he thought it would, saying: "It was a good thing for me as a personal achievement but in terms of business or attracting labels to get more work, it didn't have a big impact, especially not in the US. It opened a few doors that closed quickly after." It was then that he decided to move to the United States with the aim of breaking his career there. In 2007, RedOne decided to move to

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

with his wife for better career opportunities, believing this to be his "now or never opportunity". Initially the move proved unsuccessful; he struggled to secure even a single production and lost all of his money in the process. Penniless and sleeping on an air mattress with his wife, he was ready to move back to Sweden. He says in an interview with ''Global Post'': "I was really depressed, I told my wife, 'We gotta go back'. She said we should borrow money and try for a few more months and then really give up if nothing good happens". His American breakthrough came when he met with Epic Records to present a song for Kat DeLuna, on an upcoming debut album of hers. RedOne started playing songs in front of the marketing team and label president Charlie Walk. After playing the song " Whine Up", RedOne says, "Walk interrupted me and said, "Stop, you're a genius!" I couldn't believe it. We spent the rest of the time playing music and dancing, it was surreal". A subsequent meeting led to RedOne being given a

song to

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

followed by a couple of demos for Menudo. RedOne was also entrusted the production role on Kat DeLuna's debut album '' 9 Lives'' (2007). In 2007, Alan Melina and Laurent Besencon, of New Heights Entertainment, the management company for Lady Gaga and RedOne, were introduced to each other. RedOne co-wrote and co-produced Gaga's debut studio album '' The Fame'' (2008), and its reissue '' The Fame Monster'' (2009), including the top five singles " Just Dance", " Poker Face", " LoveGame", and " Bad Romance".

2010–present: Continued success and RedOne Records

RedOne penned many of the songs sung by Alexey Vorobyov (also known as Alex Sparrow), who represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest of 2011 and eventually recruited the singer to his record label. In 2010, RedOne founded 2101 Records, a record label, as a joint venture with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. 2101 Songs on the other hand is a publishing company affiliated with 2101 Records and administered by Sony ATV Songs (BMI). Main acts signed to the label are

, Mohombi, Havana Brown, Midnight Red, Porcelain Black and 7Lions. RedOne continued to work with Gaga on her second studio album, '' Born This Way'' (2011). RedOne produced and co-wrote four songs for

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

's second album, '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012), including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top-20 hits " Starships" and " Pound the Alarm". In the beginning of 2014, RedOne decided to change his record label 2101 Records into RedOne Records. Main acts signed to the label are Midnight Red, Porcelain Black, Ahmed Chawki, Sophia Del Carmen, Kika and Wayne Beckford. RedOne Records also promotes SuperMartXé events productions. In 2015, RedOne announced that he is working on his debut album entitled ''RedOne Presents''. He declared that he would like to collaborate with Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

for the album. Also in 2015, he started working in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

by co-writing and co-producing The Band Perry's song " Live Forever", the first single off their upcoming third studio album. RedOne signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records in January 2016. His first single with Warner Bros., " Don't You Need Somebody" was released on 20 May 2016 and features

, R. City, Serayah, and Shaggy. On his transition from producer to being an artist RedOne has said: "I thought that to be a performer, you had to stick to a single sound, and I loved too many kinds of music to do that. But now I find myself wanting to get back to singing and playing, and friends like Enrique have encouraged me to do so. I want to be an artist in a new way, rather than the traditional one. I'm going to do it the RedOne way, which is creating different sounds with different people, doing the records I want to do". On 15 May 2018, Social Media Sensation Saad Abid helped RedOne Support Morocco's bid for the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

under the #Maymkench2026. In the same year, he produced the song "Festival" where he collaborated with the Mexican

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

group Los Polinesios. In December 2021, he was appointed Creative Entertainment Executive of FIFA, producing the official soundtrack for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar. He also went on to produce the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup official song entitled "Welcome to Morocco", that took place in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He wrote and produced the official anthem for the COP28 Summit that took place in Dubai in December 2023.

Production and songwriting

RedOne continued writing and producing with Gaga and a host of other artists. His international production credits include

, Britney Spears, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Nicki Minaj, and through his own label 2101 Records

, Porcelain Black, Havana Brown, Mohombi, 7Lions. In addition, he has written for and produced for various artists, in alphabetical order: Akon, Marc Anthony,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, Birdman, Zander Bleck, Mary J. Blige,

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

, Alexandra Burke, Cassie, Cheb Khaled,

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, Cross Gene,

Taio Cruz Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( ), is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joinin ...

, Kat DeLuna, Jason Derulo,

Jade Ewen Jade Louise Ewen (born 24 January 1988) is a British singer, actress and a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She began her singing career in a girl group named Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG in 2005 but disbanded in 2007 wit ...

Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...

, Livvi Franc, Sirusho,

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

, Ayumi Hamasaki,

, Inna, Jean-Roch, K'naan, Katia, Kika, Sean Kingston, KMC, Little Boots, Cher Lloyd, Pixie Lott, Austin Mahone, MIKA,

, Mohombi, Nayer, Orianthi,

, Kelly Rowland,

Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and television personality. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successf ...

, Nicole Scherzinger, Space Cowboy, Usher, and Lil Wayne. Bands include: RBD, Backstreet Boys, Cheetah Girls, Dive Bella Dive, Far East Movement, Flipsyde, Jada, JLS, Love Generation, Midnight Red, New Kids on the Block, One Direction, Sugababes, Now United, Talkback, Ying Yang Twins, amongst others.

Philanthropy

In 2011, RedOne created 2101 Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to helping disadvantaged youth and to inspire and motivate young people to pursue their passion in life through music, arts and education. He is also involved with A Place Called Home, a safe haven in South Central Los Angeles where underserved youth are empowered to take ownership of the quality and direction of their lives through programs in education, arts, and well-being and are inspired to make a meaningful difference in their community and the world.

Discography

Singles

Other appearances

Honors and awards

;Moroccan Royal Award After the Grammy Awards, RedOne was awarded the Moroccan Royal Award for "Intellectual Excellence" and was decorated officially by King Mohamed VI of Morocco in an official ceremony held in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

in 2011. ;Grammy Awards , - , - , 2009 , , " Just Dance" , , Best Dance Recording , , , - , - , 2010 , , '' The Fame'' , , Best Dance/Electronic Album , , , - , - , 2010 , , '' The Fame'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , - , 2010 , , " Poker Face" , , Best Dance Recording , , , - , - , 2010 , , " Poker Face" , ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, , , - , - , 2010 , , " Poker Face" , , Song of the Year , , , - , - , 2011 , , '' The Fame Monster'' , , Best Pop Vocal Album , , , - , - , 2011 , , '' The Fame Monster'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , 2011 , , RedOne , , Producer of the Year, Non-Classical , , , - , - , 2012 , , '' Born This Way'' , , Album of the Year , , , - ;Latin Grammy Awards , - , style="text-align:center;", 2011 , , style="text-align:left;", '' Euphoria'' , , Album of the Year , , ;Swedish Music Publishers Association In 2010 the Swedish Music Publishers Association awarded RedOne composer of the year, song of the year (for '' Bad Romance''), and most played song of the year (also for ''Bad Romance'').

Personal life

Khayat is married to Laila Aziz, currently a creative designer at Kayat, a brand jointly owned by both.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redone People from Tétouan Living people 1972 births Swedish songwriters Swedish record producers Moroccan record producers Moroccan expatriates in the United States Swedish expatriates in the United States Moroccan emigrants to Sweden Grammy Award winners Rotana Records artists Universal Music Group artists 20th-century Moroccan male singers Moroccan male actors Moroccan male film actors Moroccan male television actors Swedish emigrants to the United Arab Emirates Arabic-language singers of Morocco Singers who perform in Classical Arabic