Max Martin

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Martin "Max Martin" Sandberg (born February 26, 1971) is a music producer and songwriter. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and is best known by his artistic name Max Martin. As a producer and songwriter, he crafted a string of worldwide hits for pop-artists like the mega boyband Backstreet Boys and the pop princess Britney Spears, among many others, in the late 1990s to mid 2000s. His trademark is a bouncing, piano/synth-heavy pop sound that's taking influence from Europop and Italian house and mixing them in with classic American Bandstand pop arrangements.

Contents

Musical career and personal life

Early life and career

Martin Sandberg grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm. As a teenager he sang in several bands before joining a glam-style metal band called It's Alive in 1985 as their singer and frontman. It's Alive were 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 they participated in the national rock championships and also played as the in-house band at a disco in Cyprus. The band got a breakthrough in 1991, as Dave Constable of Megarock records offered them to make a demo-record. The later debut album was originally pressed in 1000 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 Studios, a BMG affiliate. After recording their second album Earthquake Visions, they released three singles in conjunction with the record (including "I'm Your Man" which featured the bonus cut of a cover of KISS' "Parasite") and toured through Europe in 1994 supporting Kingdom Come. 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. Recognising a talent for writing pop songs in the young rocker, PoP renamed his new charge Max Martin and eventually became Martin’s mentor.

Working at Cheiron

In 1992 Martin was hired by Cheiron Studios as a producer and spent some time learning the basics, before the first production collaboration between PoP and Martin with the Rednex track "Wish You Were Here" in 1995. They both worked on Ace of Base's second album The Bridge shortly thereafter, as well as on albums by 3T, Army of Lovers and Leila K. To date, The Bridge has sold more than six million copies worldwide, including two million in the United States (which still was a far cry from the 21 million copies of the band's previous album, Happy Nation/The Sign). When Martin eventually left his band It's Alive in late 1995, he was replaced by Anders Jansson.

In 1996 Cheiron Studios was hired to work on Backstreet Boys's debut album Backstreet Boys. Martin was part of the production of "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", a single which quickly went platinum and climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the singles "As Long As You Love Me" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (interesting to note, the latter sounds remarkably like classic It's Alive). The album initially flopped in the U.S., but caught on all across Europe eventually selling around 8 million copies. This led to the Backstreet Boys being relaunched in their home country later on, this time more successfully. Later that year Martin also co-produced Robyn’s hit "Show Me Love" which ended up on the Billboard top 10.

In 1998 Cheiron Studios worked on albums by 5ive, *NSYNC, Bryan Adams and Jessica Folcker. Jessica Folcker was engaged as a backing singer for Ace of Base and Dr. Alban when she started working with Martin, 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 summer, Martin took over as director of Cheiron Studios. He soon started working with writer/producer Rami Yacoub, who has been his partner since. A few months after he started working with Rami, he also started to team up with Jay Orpin.

Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears

Image:Millennium cover.jpg 1999 was a very big year for Martin. First off, he co-produced and co-wrote most songs on the albums Millennium by Backstreet Boys and he gave its unique, surreal sound to it. "I Want It That Way", written and co-produced by Martin, became the Backstreet Boys's biggest single to date and it is still popular and timeless today ("I Want It That Way" was voted #10 in the MTV/Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs."). The album 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 the bands next album Black & Blue.

Image:Britney-BOMTSingle.jpgThe same year, Martin also wrote the Britney Spears' international hit ...Baby One More Time for her debut album with the same name (the hit single was originally offered to the group TLC to record, which they passed on because they were 'taking time off'). Both albums Millennium and ...Baby One More Time have sold around 13 million copies each in the U.S. to this date, 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 and the debut hit single with the same name remains to be Spears' biggest U.S. (and international) hit to date.

When working on her own solo album to be released in 2001 on Stockholm Records, Lisa Miskovsky wrote the text for Backstreet Boys new hit single "Shape of My Heart" with Max Martin and Rami. The song, originally written for Miskovsky’s own album, was passed along to Backstreet Boys by Max Martin when Miskovsky determined it didn’t fit her style. The song became the first single off the new album Black & Blue by Backstreet Boys. In the first week of release, "Shape of My Heart" immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland (#5). Black & Blue, containing several songs produced and written by Martin, sold 1.6 million units in its first week in America.

Startup of Maratone

Despite the success, Cheiron Studios was closed down in 2000. The reason behind the decision to close it down was, according to the press release on their homepage, that the heart and soul of the studio had been lost with the death of Denniz PoP. Another reason for closing the studio down was for the people at Cheiron Studios to be able to do more experimental music work without the weight of the now infamous name Cheiron upon their shoulders.

Max Martin and Tom Talomaa started a new production company together named Maratone in January 2001. Also, David Kreuger and Per Magnusson started A Side Productions and Kristian Lundin started the production-company The Location and the publishing-company Location Songs together with Jake Schulze at the same location as Cheiron Studios. The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks for Britney Spears´ third album "Britney". The Maratone production crew now consists of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami, Alexandra and Arnthor.

Kelly Clarkson goes to Sweden

Image:SUBG.jpg In 2004 Kelly Clarkson, the former American Idol winner, went to Sweden to collaborate with Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald on songs for her album Breakaway. They decided to make songs that were rockier than anticipated by the fans, as can be heard on the hit singles "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes". "Since U Been Gone" became a huge hit and remains the biggest hit of Clarkson's career, and one of the biggest hits of 2005. The next single "Behind These Hazel Eyes" actually reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100 while the single "Since U Been Gone" was still there.

In 2005 Martin co-produced Swedish singer Darin Zanyar's first album, and worked on another three songs for Backstreet Boys' comeback album Never Gone. In 2006 Martin has written and produced songs for P!nk's fourth album I'm Not Dead, again working together with Lukasz Gottwald.

Songwriting

Written songs (Cheiron)

Year Artist Album Song Co-written with
1994 E-Type Made In Sweden "Me No Want Miseria" E-Type, Herbie Crichlow
1995 3T Brotherhood "It's Gotta Be You" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Big Funky Dealer" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Change" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Come Together" Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Gangs To The Max" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Rainbow Child" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1995 Herbie Fingers "Right Type Of Mood" Herbie Crichlow
1996 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys "I Wanna Be With You" Denniz PoP
1996 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" Herbie Crichlow
1996 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys "Nobody But You" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1996 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys "We've Got It Going On" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1997 Backstreet Boys Backstreet's Back "Everybody (Backstreets Back)" Denniz PoP
1997 Backstreet Boys Backstreet's Back "As Long As You Love Me"
1997 Backstreet Boys Backstreet's Back "That's The Way I Like It" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1997 Backstreet Boys Backstreet's Back "10,000 Promises"
1997 DeDe I Do "Get To You" Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Kristian Lundin
1997 DeDe I Do "My Lover" Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, DeDe Lopez
1997 Robyn Robyn Is Here "Do You Know (What It Takes)" Robyn, Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1997 Robyn Robyn Is Here "Show Me Love" Robyn
1997 Solid HarmoniE Solid HarmoniE "I'll Be There For You" Kristian Lundin
1997 Solid HarmoniE Solid HarmoniE "I Want You To Want Me" Jake Schulze
1997 Solid HarmoniE Solid HarmoniE "To Love Once Again" Kristian Lundin
1998 5ive 5ive "It's The Things You Do" G Shahin, Herbie Crichlow
1998 5ive 5ive "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)" Denniz PoP, Jake, Herbie Crichlow
1998 5ive 5ive "Until The Time Is Through" Andreas Carlsson
1998 5ive 5ive "Don't You Want It" Denniz PoP, 5ive
1998 Bryan Adams On a Day Like Today "Before The Night Is Over" Bryan Adams
1998 Bryan Adams On a Day Like Today "Cloud Number Nine" Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters
1998 Gary Barlow Open Road "Superhero" Kristian Lundin, Gary Barlow
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "A Little Bit Longer" Denniz PoP
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "Falling In Love" Andreas Carlsson
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "How Will I Know (Who You Are)" Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "Private Eye" Denniz PoP
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "Tell Me What You Like" Denniz PoP, Herbie Crichlow
1998 Jessica Folcker Jessica "Turned And Walked Away" Jake Schulze
1998 N'Sync *NSYNC "I Want You Back" Denniz PoP
1998 N'Sync *NSYNC "Tearing Up My Heart" Kristian Lundin
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "Larger Than Life" Kristian Lundin, Brian Littrell
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "I Want It That Way" Andreas Carlsson
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" Herbie Crichlow
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "It's Gotta Be You" Rami Yacoub
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "Don't Want You Back"
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "Don't Wanna Lose You Now"
1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium "The One" Brian Littrell
1999 Britney Spears ...Baby One More Time "...Baby One More Time"
1999 Britney Spears ...Baby One More Time "(You Drive Me) Crazy" Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger
1999 Britney Spears ...Baby One More Time "I Will Be There" Andreas Carlsson
1999 Celine Dion All The Way...A Decade Of Song "That's The Way It Is" Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson
1999 Drain STH Freaks Of Nature "Right Through You" Maria Sjöholm
1999 Drain STH Freaks Of Nature "Simon Says" Martina Axén, Maria Sjöholm, Herbie Crichlow
1999 Gary Barlow Twelve Months, Eleven Days "For All That You Want" Gary Barlow, Kristian Lundin
2000 Artister för Amnesty "Tusen Röster" Mauro Scocco
2000 Backstreet Boys Black & Blue "The Call" Rami Yacoub
2000 Backstreet Boys Black & Blue "Shape Of My Heart" Rami Yacoub, Lisa Miskovsky
2000 Backstreet Boys Black & Blue "Get Another Boyfriend" Rami Yacoub
2000 Backstreet Boys Black & Blue "It's True" Andreas Carlsson, K Richardson
2000 Bon Jovi Crush "It's My Life" J Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Oops!... I Did It Again" Rami Yacoub
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Stronger" Rami Yacoub
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Don't Go Knocking On My Door" Rami Yacoub, Alexander Kronlund, Jake
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Lucky" Rami Yacoub, Alexander Kronlund
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Where Are You Now" Rami Yacoub, A Karlsson
2000 Britney Spears Oops!... I Did It Again "Can't Make You Love Me" Kristian Lundin, A Karlsson
2000 Jessica Folker Dino "Missing You Crazy" J Skinner
2000 N'Sync No Strings Attached "It's Gonna Be Me" Rami Yacoub, Andreas Carlsson
2000 N'Sync No Strings Attached "I'll Never Stop" Kristian Lundin, Alexander Kronlund
2000 Westlife Coast To Coast "When You're Looking Like That" Rami Yacoub, Andreas Carlsson
2000 Westlife Coast To Coast "You Make Me Feel" N Jarl, P Jonsson
2001 Lambretta Lambretta "Bimbo" Per Aldeheim, Alexander Kronlund
2001 Lambretta Lambretta "Creep" Per Aldeheim, Alexander Kronlund
2001 N'Sync Celebrity "Tell Me, Tell Me...Baby" Rami Yacoub
2001 Prime STH Underneath The Surface "I'm Stupid (Don't Worry 'Bout Me)" Noa Modén
2002 Def Leppard X "Unbelievable" Andreas Carlsson, Per Aldeheim
2002 Nick Carter Now Or Never "I Got You" Rami Yacoub
2002 Nick Carter Now Or Never "Blow Your Mind" Rami Yacoub, Per Aldeheim
2002 Nick Carter Now Or Never "I Just Wanna Take You Home" Rami Yacoub, Per Aldeheim
2002 Play Play "Is It Love" Jörgen Elofsson

Written songs (Maratone)

2001

2003

2004

2005

2006

Productions and co-productions

Productions and co-productions (Cheiron)

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Productions and co-productions (Maratone)

2001

2003

2004

2005

Charts

Top-selling singles

  • Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time - "...Baby One More Time" (written by Max Martin), WW Sales: 16.2 million
  • Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys - "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" (written by Max Martin, Herbie Crichlow), WW Sales: 2.4 million
  • Backstreet Boys - Backstreet's Back - "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (written by Max Martin, Denniz PoP), WW Sales: 2.1 million

Awards

Awards

  • Swedish Grammis Award in 1998
  • ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 1999
  • ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2000
  • ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 2001

Razzie Awards

Worst Original Song for the movie Crossroads (2002) Shared with: Rami Yacoub, Dido (Result: Won) For the song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".

Worst Original Song for the movie Crossroads (2002) Shared with: Rami Yacoub (Result: Nominated) For the song "Overprotected"

External links

es:Max Martin fr:Max Martin ja:マックス・マーティン sv:Max Martin