Max Martin

Max Martin
Martin in 2023
Born	Karl Martin Sandberg (1971-02-26)26 February 1971 Stockholm,Sweden
Other names	Martin White
Occupations	Record producer songwriter singer
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Jenny Petersson ​ (m.2011)​
Children	1
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Pop dance R&B rock
Labels	Jive Cheiron RCA Capitol LaFace Island Location Songs Bertelsmann Atlantic Maratone MxM
Formerly of	It's Alive

Karl Martin Sandberg(born 26 February 1971),known professionally asMax Martin,is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such asBritney Spears's "...Baby One More Time"(1998), theBackstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way"(1999),Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is"(1999) andNSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me"(2000).

Martin has written or co-written 27BillboardHot 100number-one singles; 25 of which he has produced or co-produced, an all-time record for the chart as of March 2024. His credits includeKaty Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"(2008) and"Roar"(2013),Maroon 5's "One More Night"(2012),Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off"and"Blank Space"(2014), andthe Weeknd's "Blinding Lights"(2019) and"Save Your Tears"(2020)." Blinding Lights "is thebest performing song of all timeaccording to the chart.Martin has written the second-most number-one singles on the chart,behind onlyPaul McCartney(32), having surpassedJohn Lennon(26) with his 27th number one in March 2024.Many of Martin's hits were used in the 2019 jukebox musical& Juliet.

In early 2019,The Hollywood Reportertallied his singles sales at over 135 million copies.

According toVariety,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 theASCAPSongwriter of the Year award for a record of 11 times.He has also won fiveGrammy Awards,includingProducer of the Year,and nominations for anAcademy Awardand twoGolden Globe Awards.

Life and career

Early career and It's Alive

Sandberg was born and grew up inStenhamra,Ekerö Municipality,Stockholm County.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 aglam-stylemetal band calledIt's Alivein 1985 as their singer and frontman.It's Alive was formed by Peter Kahm and ex-Lazy membersPer Aldeheimand 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 (English: Swedish Rock Championship), a nationwidebattle of the bands,and had a residency at a nightclub inCyprus.The band got a breakthrough in 1991, as Dave Constable ofMegarock Recordsoffered 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 theMetal Forcesmagazine.

The decision to focus on a music career paid off as they landed a record deal on producerDenniz Pop's labelCheiron Records,aBMGaffiliate. After recording their second albumEarthquake Visions,they released three singles in conjunction with the record and toured through Europe in 1994 supportingKingdom Come.Earthquake Visionseventually sold a disappointing 30,000 copies, despite being released in as many as 30 countries. More importantly though, Martin also began collaborating on songs withDenniz Pop.Recognizing a talent for writing pop songs in the young rocker, Denniz Pop renamed his new protégé Max Martin and eventually became Martin's mentor.

Working with Cheiron and Denniz PoP

I didn't even know what a producer did, I spent two years–day and night–in that studio trying to learn what the hell was going on.

—Max Martin, 19 March 2001.

In 1993, Martin was hired byCheiron Studiosand spent some time learning the basics, before the first production collaboration between PoP and Martin: theRednexsong "Wish You Were Here"in 1994. When Martin produced the intro toE-Typessong "This Is the Way"E-Type and PoP credited it to the made up producer alias" Max Martin ", thus inventing his artist name. Martin was informed after-the-fact, when the printed records came back.They both worked onAce of Base's second album,The Bridge(1995), shortly thereafter, as well as on albums by3T,Army of LoversandLeila K.To date,The Bridgehas sold more than six million copies worldwide, including one million in the United States.When Martin eventually left his bandIt's Alivein late 1995, he was replaced by Anders Hansson.

In 1995, Cheiron Studios was hired byZombato work on Backstreet Boys' self-titled debut albumBackstreet Boys(1996).Zombabecame 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 withHerbie Crichlow,a single which quickly wentplatinumand climbed to No. 2 on theBillboardHot 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-producedRobyn's hits "Show Me Love"and"Do You Know (What It Takes)"which ended up on theBillboardHot 100 top 10.

In 1998,Cheiron Productionsworked on albums byFiveandJessica Folcker.Jessica Folcker had first been hired as a backing singer for tracks with Ace of Base andDr. Alban,and her debut albumJessicabecame an instant hit with singles like "Tell Me What You Like" and "How Will I Know Who You Are" which both soldplatinum.After Denniz PoP died of cancer that same summer, Martin took over as director of Cheiron Studios. He soon started working with writer/producerRami Yacoub,who continued to be his partner for many years. Martin also wrote two songs withBryan Adamsduring this time, "Cloud Number Nine" and "Before The Night Is Over".

In late 1999,Celine Dionreleased "That's the Way It Is",a song co-written by Max Martin to promote hergreatest hitsalbumAll 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 albumOne Heart.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 wroteWestlife's song "I Need You" for the first Westlife albumWestlife(1999). Martin, Nick Jarl, Steve Mac, and Patric Jonsson wrote Westlife's song "You Make Me Feel"for their second albumCoast to Coast(2000). Max Martin,Rami Yacoub,and Andreas Carlsson also wrote one of Westlife's hits, "When You're Looking Like That",for their second albumCoast to Coast(2000).

Backstreet Boys

Martin wrote, co-wrote, and co-produced 7 out of the 12 songs on the Backstreet Boys' third albumMillennium(1999), including all the singles."I Want It That Way",a hit song Martin co-wrote withAndreas Carlssonand co-produced withKristian Lundin,became the group's biggest single to date and it is still popular today, being voted No. 10 in the MTV/Rolling Stonelist of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs".100 Greatest Songs of the '90s,a VH1 special, ranked the song at number 3, making it the highest ranked boy-band single and pop song.Millenniumsold 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 byNSYNC's2000 albumNo Strings Attached), and was the best-selling album in the world.

When working on her own solo album, to be released in 2001 onStockholm Records,Lisa Miskovskywrote 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 albumBlack & 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 receivedASCAP's award "Songwriter of the Year" both in 2000 and 2001.In April 2013 the Backstreet Boys memberBrian Littrellinvited Martin to collaborate on their single "In A World Like This".The single peaked atNo.6in theOriconchart and performed well in the rest of the world. Martin collaborated on theNever Gonesongs "Climbing the Walls", "Just Want You to Know","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

[Martin] gets exactly what I am saying when I tell him what I want and don't want musically. His melodies are incredible and he is always coming up with weird sounds, which I love... There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio

Spears on working with Martin

In 1998, Martin wrote and co-producedSpears' debut single, "...Baby One More Time",for her debut album of thesame name.The single was originally offered to theBackstreet BoysandTLC,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 Timehad sold over 15 million copies in the U.S., certifyingDiamond Status.Also, within a year of its release,...Baby One More Timehad become the best-sellingLPby 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 recordsOops!... I Did It Again(2000) andBritney(2001). He co-wrote and co-produced the singles "Oops!... I Did It Again"(2000),"Lucky"(2000),"Stronger"(2000),"Overprotected"(2001), and"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"(2002). The duo ended up parting ways when Spears distanced herself fromteen pop.Spears recordedIn the Zone(2003) andBlackout(2007). At the request of Spears, Martin produced and wrote for Spears' sixth studio albumCircus(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 albumThe Singles Collection(2009).

Martin was one of the executive producers of Spears's seventh album,Femme Fatale(2011) alongsideDr. Luke.He produced several songs for the album, including the successful singles "Hold It Against Me","Till the World Ends","I Wanna Go",and"Criminal".

Startup of Maratone

Following the death ofDenniz PoP,Cheiron Studioswas closed down in 2000. Martin and Tom Talomaa then started a new production company namedMaratonein January 2001 and moved into the famousCosmos Studiosbuilding. The first songs to be written and produced at Maratone were four tracks forBritney Spears's albumBritney(2001). The Maratone production crew initially consisted of producers/songwriters Max Martin, Rami, Alexandra,Arnthor BirgissonandShellback.Following the work withCeline Dionon the albumOne Heartin 2003, few new hits appeared from Maratone until 2005.

In 2004,Kelly Clarksontraveled to Sweden to collaborate with Martin andDr. Lukeon her second studio album,Breakaway.These collaborations resulted in the rock-influenced singles "Since U Been Gone"(2004) and"Behind These Hazel Eyes"(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 singerMarion Ravenfor the release of her debut album, titledHere I Am,writing and co-writing the songs "Break You","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 onPink's platinum-selling albumI'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"(2008), plus the singles"Please Don't Leave Me"(2009) and"I Don't Believe You"(2009). The duo wrote"Whataya Want From Me"during the sessions forFunhouse,but ultimately the song was recorded and released as a single byAdam 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(2017), he co-wrote "Revenge","Whatever You Want","For Now ", and" Secrets ". In 2019, for her eighth studio album,Hurts 2B Human(2019), he co-wrote "(Hey Why) Miss You Sometime".

Usher

In 2010, Martin co-wrote and co-producedUsher's song "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love"that went number-one on the USRhythmiccharts 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"in 2012 making thedance-popsong "Scream"that went number-one on the USDance Club Songschart and number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA).

Avril Lavigne

Martin worked withAvril Lavigneon two songs, "Alone" and "I Will Be", which were released on some deluxe editions of Lavigne's third studio albumThe Best Damn Thing(2007). Martin also worked on four songs for Lavigne's fourth studio albumGoodbye Lullaby(2011): the three singles "What the Hell"(2011),"Smile"(2011), and"Wish You Were Here"(2011), and the album track" I Love You ".

Jessie J

Max Martin first worked withJessie Jon her international hit "Domino",which achieved top ten success in countries including Canada and Australia. Following the success of "Domino", Martin co-produced "Bang Bang"(2014) for Jessie J,Ariana GrandeandNicki Minaj.

Katy Perry

Max Martin is also responsible for some of the songs ofKaty Perryon four albums: On her debut albumOne of the Boys(2008), including the number-one single "I Kissed a Girl",and top 5 hit single"Hot n Cold",and following-up albumTeenage Dream(2010), including theBillboardHot 100 numbers-one hit singles "California Gurls"(2010),"Teenage Dream"(2010),"E.T."(2011),"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"(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"(2012), the former of which topped theBillboardHot 100. For her third albumPrism(2013), he co-wrote the No. 1 singles "Roar"(2013) and"Dark Horse"(2013). On her fourth albumWitness(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 onChristina Aguilera's seventh studio albumLotus(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 theBillboarddance/club chart.

Taylor Swift

Martin has collaborated withTaylor Swifton three of her albums. Their first collaboration was theBillboardHot 100 number 1 hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"(2012) for her albumRed(2012). Martin also co-wrote and co-produced two other singles on the album: "I Knew You Were Trouble"(2012), which peaked at number 2 on theBillboardHot 100, and "22"(2013).

Martin also contributed to her follow-up record,1989(2014). He co-wrote and co-produced ten songs, including the singles "Shake It Off","Blank Space","Bad Blood","Wildest Dreams","Style",and"New Romantics".The former three songs reached number one on theBillboardHot 100.Martin later worked with Swift onReputation(2017), co-writing and co-producing eight songs, including the singles "...Ready for It?","End Game",and"Delicate".Swift released her re-recorded albumsRed (Taylor's Version)(2021) and1989 (Taylor's Version)(2023), which Martin co-produced multiple songs from these albums in 2012 and 2014. He didn't handle the production of the re-recorded songs. He co-wrote a song called "Message in a Bottle",one of the newly added" From the Vault "tracks fromRed (Taylor's Version).

Ariana Grande

Martin first worked withAriana Grandeon her second studio albumMy Everything(2014). Martin produced the first single, "Problem",which peaked at No. 2 on theBillboardHot 100 as well as No. 1 in the UK, later becoming one of thelist of best-selling singles.Other songs from the album Martin produced include "Break Free"(peaking at No. 4 on theBillboardHot 100) and "Bang Bang"(peaking at No. 3 on theBillboardHot 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 theBillboardHot 100. Martin also contributed to her follow-up recordsSweetener(2018) andThank 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",among other songs.

Grande released her lead single "Yes, And?"from her seventh studio albumEternal Sunshineon 12 January 2024. She wrote and produced the song with Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. Martin also co-wrote and co-produced 10 other tracks from the album, including "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)".

The Weeknd

Martin co-wrote and produced three songs fromthe Weeknd's sophomore album,Beauty Behind the Madness(2015),namely "Can't Feel My Face"—which peaked at number one on theBillboardHot 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","Scared to Live","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",released in August 2021. He also produced or co produced the majority of the songs on the Weeknd's fifth studio albumDawn FM(2022).

Martin is also allegedly set to appear on The Weeknd's sixth studio albumHurry Up Tomorrow(2024) producing the lead single from the albumDancing in the Flameswhich is set to be released on September 13 2024.

Coldplay

Martin appeared as a keyboardist on two singles fromColdplay's eighth studio albumEveryday Life(2019): "Orphans"and"Champion of the World".In June 2021, Coldplay announced their ninth studio albumMusic 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 theUK Albums Chartand becoming the album with most sales in a week in the United Kingdom sinceEd Sheeran'sNo.6 Collaborations Project(2019).

Music of the Spheres(2021) included songs such as "Higher Power","Let Somebody Go",whichSelena Gomezappears on, and "My Universe",whichBTSappears on. "My Universe" debuted at number one on theBillboardHot 100, giving Martin his twenty fifth number one as a writer and twenty third number one as a producer on the chart.With that song, he tied withGeorge Martinfor producer with mostBillboardHot 100 number ones. (He would later pass Martin.)

Others

Martin co-wrote "It's My Life"with fellowSongwriters Hall of Fame inducteesJon Bon JoviandRichie Sambora.It was released on 8 May 2000 as the lead single fromBon Jovi'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 ofAmerican IdolAllison Irahetacollaborated with Martin on her debut album. Her first single, "Friday I'll Be Over U"was written by Martin. On 17 August 2009,American Idolrunner-upAdam Lambertannounced viaTwitterthat 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";that was also written byP!nk.

Martin also co-wrote "Into the Nightlife",a popular club track recorded byCyndi Lauperin 2008 and produced, alongside Zedd, and co-wrote "Beauty and a Beat",onJustin Bieber's 2012 albumBelieve.

Martin also produced several albums forEurodanceactE-type.

In 2005, Max Martin wrote the first single-song forpop-punkduothe Veronicas,"4ever",with Lukasz"Dr. Luke"Gottwald, for their debut studio albumThe Secret Life Of...(2005). Also he wrote "Everything I'm Not",the second single-song of the Veronicas, the same year, again with Gottwald,Rami,Jessica OrigliassoandLisa Origliassofor the same album.

In January 2014, Martin produced a two-minute advertisement entitled "Volvo XC70: Made By Sweden",featuring soccer playerZlatan Ibrahimović.The video of the advertisement received several million views on YouTube.

2008 saw him collaborate withDaughtryfor one of their singles from their 2006 debut albumDaughtry:the song "Feels Like Tonight"written withDr. Luke.

In early 2014, Martin co-wrote the song "Dare (La La La)" forShakira'sself-titled album.

In April–May 2014, Martin producedJennifer Lopez's song "First Love",alongsideIlya,ShellbackandSavan Kotecha.

Between 2014 and 2015, Martin executive-produced "Ghost Town"byAdam Lambert.

In January 2015, he co-wrote and co-producedEllie Goulding's "Love Me like You Do",which reached number 3 on theBillboardHot 100,while also producing several songs from her albumDeliriumincluding the hit single "On My Mind",which was released on 17 September 2015.

In July 2015, Martin producedDemi Lovato's song "Cool for the Summer"which reached number 11 on theBillboardHot 100.He also contributed to "Confident"and" For You "from their fifth studio albumConfident.

Martin also worked withSelena Gomezon 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 album25was released and Martin co-wrote and co-produced the record's third single "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"with Shellback; it 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 tenth track forNick Jonas'third studio album,while also co-producing standalone songs for American singersPink( "Just Like Fire") andKaty Perry("Rise").

In 2016, he co-wrote the song "Can't Stop the Feeling!"byJustin Timberlakewhich is also the title song for the filmTrollswith 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 anAcademy Award for Best Original Song.

In 2019, Martin co-produced and co-wroteEd Sheeran's andJustin Bieber's hit single "I Don't Care".

In 2020, Martin co-produced and co-wrote "Stupid Love",the first single fromLady Gaga's sixth studio album,Chromatica.This marks the first time the two have worked together.

In 2021, Martin co-wrote and co-produced "Can I Get It"by Adele from her fourth studio album,30.

In 2022, Martin co-produced and co-wroteMåneskin's single "Supermodel".He also co-produced and co-wroteLizzo's song "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)", from her fourth studio album,Special.

In 2023, Martin co-wrote and co-producedConan Gray's singles "Never Ending Song" and "Killing Me". He also co-wrote and co-produced Ed Sheeran's single "Eyes Closed"from his fifth studio album,−.

Artistry

Influences

When accepting thePolar Music Prize,Martin highlightedABBA,Kiss,PrinceandLasse Holmas 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 albumOops!… 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:

I want to be part of every note, every single moment going on in the studio. I want nothing forgotten, I want nothing missed. I'm a perfectionist. The producer should decide what kind of music is being made, what it's going to sound like–all of it, the why, when and how.–LA Times,6/05/00

Impact and legacy

Martin's influence on the music field is also seen in the effect he has had on co-producers. The music siteStereogumsingles out three people as his "disciples",Savan Kotecha,Dr. Luke,andShellback.Timemagazine 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 withOne Directionhe 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 Yorkerreported 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.…[Martin taught me that] Instead of making tracks for five thousand people, why not make tracks for a million?'"The magazine for Sweden'scollection societySTIMreported 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 fromKarlshamn.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,which opened on theWest Endin 2019.

Personal life

Martin met his wife, Jenny (née Petersson) fromMörrum,around 2000 and they married in 2011.The couple have a daughter, born around 2001.

Martin lives inLos Angelesand inStockholm.

Songwriting and production

Main article:Max Martin production discography

BillboardHot 100 number-one singles

Since 1998, Martin has written or co-written 27BillboardHot 100number-one hit songs (most of which he has also produced or co-produced). Eight of these songsdebuted at number one on the chart.

1. 1998 – "...Baby One More Time"byBritney Spears
2. 2000 – "It's Gonna Be Me"byNSYNC
3. 2008 – "I Kissed a Girl"byKaty Perry
4. 2008 – "So What"byPink
5. 2009 – "My Life Would Suck Without You"byKelly Clarkson
6. 2009 – "3"by Britney Spears
7. 2010 – "California Gurls"by Katy Perry featuringSnoop Dogg
8. 2010 – "Teenage Dream"by Katy Perry
9. 2010 – "Raise Your Glass"by Pink
10. 2011 – "Hold It Against Me"by Britney Spears
11. 2011 – "E.T."by Katy Perry featuringKanye West
12. 2011 – "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"by Katy Perry
13. 2012 – "Part of Me"by Katy Perry
14. 2012 – "One More Night"byMaroon 5
15. 2012 – "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"byTaylor Swift
16. 2013 – "Roar"by Katy Perry
17. 2013 – "Dark Horse"by Katy Perry featuringJuicy J
18. 2014 – "Shake It Off"by Taylor Swift
19. 2014 – "Blank Space"by Taylor Swift
20. 2015 – "Bad Blood"by Taylor Swift featuringKendrick Lamar
21. 2015 – "Can't Feel My Face"byThe Weeknd
22. 2016 – "Can't Stop the Feeling!"byJustin Timberlake
23. 2019 – "Blinding Lights"by The Weeknd
24. 2021 – "Save Your Tears"by The Weeknd andAriana Grande
25. 2021 – "My Universe"byColdplayandBTS
26. 2024 – "Yes, And?"by Ariana Grande
27. 2024 – "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)"by Ariana Grande

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2017	"Can't Stop the Feeling!"	Best Original Song	Nominated

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

Year	Award	Result
1999	Songwriter of the Year	Won
2000		Won
2001		Won
2011		Won
2012		Won
2013		Won
2014		Won
2015		Won
2016		Won
2017		Won
2018		Won

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2016	"Love Me Like You Do"	Best Original Song	Nominated
2017	"Can't Stop the Feeling!"		Nominated

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2000	"I Want It That Way"	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
	Millennium	Album of the Year	Nominated
2011	Teenage Dream		Nominated
2013	"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"	Record of the Year	Nominated
2014	Red	Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Roar"	Song of the Year	Nominated
2015	"Shake It Off"	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
	Self	Producer of the Year, Non-Classical	Won
2016	"Can't Feel My Face"	Record of the Year	Nominated
	"Blank Space"		Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
	Beauty Behind the Madness	Album of the Year	Nominated
	1989		Won
		Best Pop Vocal Album	Won
	"Love Me like You Do"	Best Song Written for Visual Media	Nominated
2017	"Can't Stop the Feeling!"		Won
	"Just like Fire"		Nominated
	25	Album of the Year	Won
	Self	Producer of the Year, Non-Classical	Nominated
2020	Thank U, Next	Album of the Year	Nominated
2023	30		Nominated
	Special		Nominated
	Music of the Spheres		Nominated

Polar Music Prize

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2016	Self	Polar Music Prize	Honoree

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2023	"So Long, Farewell / Song Title: A Beautiful Game"(fromTed Lasso)	Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics	Won

Tony Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2023	& Juliet	Best Musical	Nominated

Miscellaneous awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1996	Denniz PoP& Max Martin	Swedish Dance Music Awards 1996 – Best Producers	Won
1997	Denniz PoP& Max Martin	GrammisAwards – Special Jury Prize	Won
2010	Max Martin	STIMPlatinum Guitar	Won
2016	Max Martin	Polar Music Prize	Won

See also

• Swedish pop music

External links

• Maratone