Meet the Songwriters Behind Today’s Top Hits

When you think of your favorite songs, you picture the artist who is in the forefront of the works. All of your favorite hits have brains behind the operation, and though many of today’s top artists are co-writers, they could not have achieved success without the help of these top songwriters

Kevin Kadish: The Baltimore, MD native first picked up the guitar at age 13. After mastering the guitar, he learned seven other instruments. Upon completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music, Kevin began his career in the early 2000s when met producer Matt Serletic.

For years, Kadish worked as a Staff Writer for Serletic, which gave him the opportunity to write countless songs for great artists. In 2005, Kevin Kadish was responsible for writing both singles “Wordplay” and “Geek In The Pink” for Jason Mraz. He later went on to write for major pop stars such as Miley Cyrus and Joe Jonas. He even teamed up with famous songwriters like American Idol’s Kara DioGuardi. Today Kevin Kadish is responsible for such hits as “All About that Bass” by Meghan Trainor. Kadish co-wrote and produced the song with David Bacon. “All About that Bass” is currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Max Martin: Max Martin is an exceptional man that didn’t begin his childhood like the average kid. Growing up in Stenhamra, Ekera Sweden, he studied in Sweden’s public music education program. Martin has often admitted that it is the reason he is successful today.  After years of playing in a Metal band called Its Alive, Martin met producer Denniz PoP and quickly became his protégé. Max Martin worked under him for seven years before he finally got his big break. 

In 1998, Martin had the opportunity to write for pop sensation Britney Spears’ debut album. The result was Britney’s smash hit “…Baby One More Time”, which Martin wrote and produced along with an esteemed team of other writers. The list included David Kreuger and The All Seeing I. Just one year later, Max Martin went on to write seven songs on The Backstreet Boys’ twelve-track album, Millennium. This project included Backstreet’s “I Want it That Way”. Currently, Max Martin is responsible for two of today’s top pop songs, “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift and “Bang Bang” by Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. Both songs are currently in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Benny Blanco: Born and bred in Virginia, Benny Blanco didn’t exactly start off on the music path. At the young age of six Benny snagged the attention of The Source Magazine after he began rapping to Nas’ single “The World Is Yours.” Years later in 2008, Blanco met producer Dr. Luke, and his career immediately took off. 

Since then, Benny Blanco has worked with many of music’s major artists in countless genres. He is responsible for hits like “Payphone” by Maroon 5,  “No Sleep” by Wiz Khalifa and “Heart Attack” by Trey Songz. Today Benny Blanco is known on many platforms as a rapper, musician, record producer and songwriter. As a co-creator of current top songs like Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” and Maroon 5’s “Animals”, Benny Blanco has reached a point in his career in which he is unstoppable.