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Music News: Bonnie McKee (writer for Katy, Britney) recording album
Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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Bonnie McKee (writer for Katy, Britney) recording album
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101113/..._bonniemckee_1
Quote:
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Is 25 too young for a comeback? For Bonnie McKee, the fire-haired singer/songwriter from Seattle, the transition from troubled 16-year-old pop singer to behind-the-scenes writing star has become a makeshift tale of redemption.
McKee is enjoying prolonged success due to writing credits on smash hits like Katy Perry's Billboard Hot 100-topping singles "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" and Taio Cruz's "Dynamite."
After being kicked out of private school eight weeks before finishing ninth grade, McKee brought her hopes of singing stardom to Los Angeles and triggered a bidding war between the heads of Interscope and Warner Bros.
McKee was touted as a pop star on the rise before her 2004 debut, "Trouble," flamed out and a less-than-amicable label split brought her back to square one.
Feeling heartbroken and barely scraping by, McKee signed a deal with Pulse Recording's publishing arm, Check Your Pulse, and began selling her dream to other artists.
As her writing credits increased and she fell into the same social circle as Perry, McKee began working under the guidance of producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald (Kelly Clarkson, P!nk) and signed a production deal with his Prescription Songs imprint last February.
As she prepares to lend her talents to crafting the next Britney Spears album, McKee is planning on using her songwriting experience to reboot her solo career next year--and this time, she knows what she's doing.
"I've already proven that I'm a real writer and that I'm just not a puppet," she says, "so I'm glad to be coming from this angle."
Billboard: When did you first start writing songs?
McKee: The more I think about it, the more I realize I was always doing it. I was taking songs that already existed and writing my own lyrics to them, or I had melodies in my head and wrote ridiculous songs to them. I still have songs from when I was 8 years old, about leprechauns and fairies and angels.
Billboard: You've also been singing since you were 5. What attracted you to performing?
McKee: It's kind of been the plan since the get-go. As a child I loved to dance and sing, and I would sketch outfits that I wanted to wear. I always wanted to read those little black notes on the page and figure out what it all meant. My parents put me in piano lessons when I was 5, and then I was in the Seattle Girls Choir--we toured all over Europe and sang for the pope. My mom knew from the time I was little that this was what I was going to be doing.
Billboard: What happened that got you kicked out of high school?
McKee: I was going through a lot of personal trauma. I was on drugs, and I was in all kinds of trouble with an older boyfriend. It was just a bad time for me. I wrote a lot of my first record in ninth grade, when all this stuff was going on in my life. I did a school project where we got to spend time in a recording studio. So I went in and recorded four or five songs and made a demo right before I got kicked out.
Billboard: How did that demo lead to a record deal?
McKee: I gave it to everyone I knew, and somebody sent it to someone else in L.A., and I got a phone call from my first manager. My demo was played on [noncommercial KCRW Los Angeles] and a bidding war happened. It came down to Jimmy Iovine and Tom Whalley, and signing with Tom seemed like the best idea.
It was an event signing--since I was Tom's first signing as CEO, it was a big deal, and everyone was talking about it. And being 16, I didn't know what to look for in a label. I was like, "Oh, Madonna was there, and Prince was there, so I like it!" Prince changed his name because he hated his label. I probably should have seen the signs.
Billboard: What went wrong at Warner Bros.?
McKee: I moved to New York when I was 17 and recorded the record with Bob Power over eight months. And then I moved back to L.A. and rerecorded everything with Rob Cavallo. It took a year-and-a-half, even though the songs were already written. We were just taking our sweet time, and I had no idea what was going on.
In retrospect, these were some of my first attempts at songwriting, and I probably could've used some help. They didn't put me in the studio with Linda Perry or Glen Ballard, and I needed that. I didn't have a hit.
Billboard: What was the final straw?
McKee: Tom Whalley said, "I want you to go write some more songs and we'll put it out. We just don't have a single." I wrote about 40 songs and turned them in and got no response. I got so fed up that I recorded three songs that I felt in my bones were hits, and I went over to Tom Whalley's house in the middle of the night with a dagger. I stabbed the CD into a tree in front of his front door, and then I wrote in lipstick on his car, "Platinum, baby!" I wanted to make an impact, and I think I did.
Billboard: Do you think he listened to the CD?
,McKee: I don't know. I don't care. Those three songs are the ones that got me my publishing deal. I wasn't hallucinating. I know when I'm good and when I'm not.
Billboard: How did that deal materialize?
McKee: My friend put me in touch with Josh Abraham at Pulse. They had me come over and play a song, and they wanted to sign me on the spot. Everyone was like, "Don't sell your publishing, because it's not worth anything right now. Get a deal first." And I was like, "What the **** else am I going to do? I'm in the slums of Hollywood, digging through the couch for change and eating at Taco Bell." So I signed with them and that turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
Billboard: Meanwhile, you were doing some acting work. Did you ever consider leaving music and committing to that?
McKee: I'm a better musician than actor. I wanted to make sure I kept the allure of being an artist and not play other people. All of the acting that I've done is related to music. I played Janis Joplin on "American Dreams," and then in "August Rush" I had to play classical piano. I was on "CSI" and played a street musician. I had two weeks to learn how to play guitar for that. Needless to say, my fingers were bleeding, but I pulled it off.
Billboard: How did you meet Dr. Luke?
McKee: I had known Luke socially, because I was friends with Katy Perry, when we were poor. I met her in a thrift store. She approached me and was like, "Oh, you're Bonnie McKee, right? Your album just came out. Your song, 'Confessions of a Teenage Girl,' inspired my song, 'One of the Boys.' " I was like, "Oh, awesome!"
We were homies, and she was hanging out with Luke. I kind of ignored him, and then I realized who he was, and I decided to keep ignoring him because playing hard to get always seems to do the trick. And then I started getting cuts at Pulse: I got some Leighton Meester stuff, and I got an Elliott Yamin cut. Josh and had a little talk, and Luke was interested in what I was working on.
Billboard: What was the first thing you worked on with him?
McKee: He had me come in and work with Ammo, and he tested me a little and said, "Write a song. Let me see what you can do." He pushes me to do my best work, and he's meticulous, and sometimes it drives me crazy but it's always for the better. And then the Katy thing happened and he called me in to do "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" in February. We wrote about five different versions of "Teenage Dream" together.
Billboard: How did "Dynamite" come together?
McKee: Luke and Max Martin had written this melody, and Luke called me in to do a lyric on it. I had never met Taio until about a week ago, although I've seen him perform, and it was so exciting to see an audience responding live to it.
Billboard: Is it weird to watch someone else use your idea, since you are still a performer?
McKee: In the beginning, I would have a hard time giving songs away, but now it's really exciting. If it's something that wouldn't work for me, it's good that my words get to be heard. "Teenage Dream" was a hard one to give up, because that's something I would definitely sing and I'm really proud of, but Katy killed it. I'm glad it was someone who deserves it and has the chops to back it up.
Billboard: How will your songwriting experiences influence your solo career?
McKee: I'm picking up little tips along the way and honing my craft. I've written with so many people that it's made me rethink what songwriting is. My first record was very instinctual, but I understand the importance of repetition and how to write a hook now, which is something I thought I knew about before but I didn't.
Billboard: When are you planning to record your next album?
McKee: I'm going to work on the Britney Spears record with Luke, probably until the end of the year, and then I'll get pretty heavy into my own stuff. I'm just carving out what exactly it's going to be. Luke is producing half of my album and executive-producing the whole thing. I'm hoping to have something by springtime. There are a few other projects, but I don't want to jinx anything.
Billboard: Do you see yourself working outside of pop music?
McKee: Absolutely. I listen to pop music, but I draw a lot from alternative and indie music, like Lykke Li and Peter Bjorn & John. With pop, it's a fun word puzzle, because you have to write inside of a certain formula. But with other stuff, anything goes. I like to have that kind of freedom sometimes.
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Ugh, it's finally happening for my girl!
After working with all these artists, appearing in Katy's "I Kissed A Girl" and Teenage Dream" videos, then Ke$ha "Take It Off 2.0." She's finally getting it all together.
She's got a better voice than either of those 2 and commercial appeal with her look. I think this might be IT for Bonnie.
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Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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Member Since: 10/17/2010
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Cool I'm interested
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Member Since: 6/30/2010
Posts: 22,080
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She wrote Dynamite? Ahahaha I love Taio but who'd want to take credit for that?
However, based off this interview, I really like this girl. hope we get something from her soon.
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Member Since: 6/28/2010
Posts: 5,647
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Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 19,703
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I'm literally shaking and crying I love her
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Member Since: 5/11/2010
Posts: 19,489
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I want!!
And OMG she met Katy when they were poor in a thrift store.
They've come so far.
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Member Since: 9/23/2009
Posts: 26,796
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all i saw is that she's working with queen spears!!!!!!!!!!!
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Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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She's doing a live interview this week with Pulse recordings.
She did a little teaser for it, looking gorgeous as always.
http://pulserecordings.com/
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Member Since: 8/10/2010
Posts: 14,634
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Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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Pulse Recording interview here...
http://pulserecordings.com/2010/puls...mckee-q-a.html
She looks so hot, like a flame-haired vixen who takes style cues from Peg Bundy and Cher. She clearly rubs off on Katy and Ke$ha. Only a matter of time before Dr. Luke turns her into the next big thing.
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Member Since: 7/22/2010
Posts: 9,145
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Yes!
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Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 19,703
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Quote:
Originally posted by .Chad.
Only a matter of time before Dr. Luke turns her into the next big thing.
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She's already the Best New Artist of 2011
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Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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^She'll forever be the Best New Artist of 2004 in my mind... I'm a longtime stan for Ms. McKee.
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Member Since: 10/3/2010
Posts: 50,276
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I hope she can do this......
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Member Since: 1/22/2005
Posts: 13,429
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"And that's how I left Warner Bros..."
That story has me dying.
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Member Since: 11/13/2009
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Quote:
Originally posted by MrVulps
She wrote Dynamite? Ahahaha I love Taio but who'd want to take credit for that?
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I would. I love that song to death still 35236 months later! It never got old for me!
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Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 19,703
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Quote:
Originally posted by .Chad.
^She'll forever be the Best New Artist of 2004 in my mind... I'm a longtime stan for Ms. McKee.
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Really? Since 2004?
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Banned
Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 998
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