Who Are The Top GRAMMY Awards Winners Of All Time? Who Has The Most GRAMMYs? | GRAMMY.com (2025)

Updated Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, to reflect the results of the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

With a total of 86 categories celebrating the best of pop, rock, R&B, jazz, rap, Latin, classical, Musical Theater, and more, thousands of music creators have been recognized by the GRAMMYs since its inception in 1957.

The prestige of one GRAMMY win can catapult an artist's career to the next level, but there are some who have amassed more than 10, 20 and even 30 career GRAMMY wins. Ever wonder who these elite GRAMMY winners are? Look no further. We've compiled a list of the top GRAMMY winners of all time.

Beyoncé, 32

Beyoncémade history at the 2023 GRAMMYsby becoming the artist with themost GRAMMY wins — ever — when she won the GRAMMY forBest Dance/Electronic Music Albumfor her2022 album,Renaissance. Beyoncé now counts 32 total GRAMMY wins.

Georg Solti, 31

The late conductor Georg Solti holds the record for the most GRAMMY wins in the Classical Field. Solti's last win was for Best Opera Recording for Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg from 1997.

Quincy Jones, 28

Quincy Jones' GRAMMY career as an artist/arranger/producer spans more than 10 Fields, from Children's to Jazz, Pop, Rap, , and more. He is also one of only 15 artists to receive the GRAMMY Legend Award.

Alison Krauss, 27

Alison Krauss holds the distinction as the woman artist with the most GRAMMY Awards in the Country Field. Krauss shares 14 of her wins with her backing band of nearly 30 years, Union Station.

Chick Corea, 27

Musician/composer Chick Corea is currently the artist with the most jazz GRAMMY wins, counting 27 GRAMMY Awards as a solo artist. Corea's Latin jazz piano stylings, compositions and arrangements have also earned him four Latin GRAMMY Awards.

John Williams, 26

John Williamshas cashed in on cinema soundtrack classics such asJaws,Star WarsandSchindler's Listfor a place among the GRAMMY elite. Of his 26 GRAMMY wins, Williams has earned 12 in the Music For Visual Media Field and six for his work on theStar Warsfranchise. His most recent win came at the 60th GRAMMYs for Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella for "Escapades For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra from Catch Me If You Can.

Pierre Boulez, 26

Pierre Boulez earned his GRAMMYs primarily conducting the work of renowned 20th century composers such as Bela Bartók, Alban Berg and Claude Debussy. Boulez received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Vladimir Horowitz, 25

The late virtuoso pianist/composer Vladimir Horowitz earned GRAMMYs in every decade from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was also awarded a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and has five recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

Stevie Wonder, 25

No stranger to the GRAMMY stage, Stevie Wonder is the only artist in GRAMMY history to win five or more awards on three separate nights. His career and GRAMMY history were celebrated on the television special "Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star GRAMMY Salute" in 2015.

David Frost, 25

A giant in the Classical Field, renowned producer David Frost has won the coveted Classical Producer Of The Year GRAMMY seven times. He's also won four GRAMMYs each in the Best Classical Engineered Recording and Best Opera Recording categories over the years. Most recently, he took home three GRAMMYs at the 2024 GRAMMYs: Best Opera Recording, Best Engineered Album Classical, and Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

Jay-Z, 24

Tied with Kanye West for the most GRAMMY wins by a rap artist, Jay-Z has wins in each of the four Rap Field categories. Hova's blueprint for GRAMMY success includes collaborations with other artists such as Beyoncé ("Drunk In Love"), Rihanna ("Umbrella") and Justin Timberlake ("Holy Grail").

Kanye West, 24

Kanye West is neck-and-neck with Jay Z for top GRAMMY-winning rap artist, but he has often competed against himself. For example, he had two nominations (and a win) each for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for 2012, Best Rap Album for 2011, and Best Rap Song and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group for 2007.

U2, 22

Led by frontman Bono, U2 hold the record for most GRAMMY wins by a rock act. Their most recent wins came in 2005, including Album Of The Year for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Vince Gill, 22

Singer/songwriterVince Gillhas earned 20 of his GRAMMY wins in the Country Field, the most of any artist. He earned his first GRAMMY outside of the Country Field in 2017 for Best American Roots Song for writing the Time Jumpers' "Kid Sister." He also holds the distinction of garnering the most GRAMMYs in the 1990s (14), winning one or more GRAMMYs in every year of the decade.

Serban Ghenea, 21

A leading mix engineer, Serban Ghenea is a 21-time GRAMMY winner and three-time Latin GRAMMY winner. Throughout his extensive career, he’s mixed some of the biggest songs from legendary artists across a vast array of genres, including songs by Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Bjork, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Beck, and many others. As of January 2024, Ghenea has mixed over 225 No. 1 singles and albums, including hits for Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Britney Spears, Black Eyes Peas, and many more.

Henry Mancini, 20

The composer behind TV and film themes such as "Peter Gunn" and "The Pink Panther Theme," the late Henry Mancini made early GRAMMY history with a then-record five wins in one night for 1961. Mancini's popular "Moon River" and later "Days Of Wine And Roses" each won both Record and Song Of The Year.

Pat Metheny, 20

Pat Metheny is all that jazz. The guitarist earned his first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal Or Instrumental for Offramp for 1982. He has earned GRAMMYs in four consecutive decades since, most recently in 2012 as the Pat Metheny Unity Band for Unity Band for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Al Schmitt, 20

Working on projects by artists Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Chick Corea, and Paul McCartney, among others, Al Schmitt won his 20 GRAMMYs as an engineer/mixer. Schmitt has also earned two Latin GRAMMYs and he received the Recording Academy Trustees Award in 2006.

Bruce Springsteen, 20

In addition to GRAMMY wins in every decade from the '80s through '00s, Bruce Springsteen has seen his albums Born To Run and Born In The U.S.A. inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. In 2013 the quintessential rocker was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.

Tony Bennett, 19

An artist who truly seems to get better with age, Tony Bennett has won nine of his 18 career GRAMMYs since 2002. Including his 2015 win with Bill Charlap for The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern, Bennett has earned Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album honors 13 times, the most in the category's history.

Yo-Yo Ma, 19

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has strung together 18 GRAMMY wins, earning his first in 1984 for Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites. Since then he's won GRAMMYs in the Folk and World Music Fields, the latter of which came for 2016 for the Best World Music Album-winning project with his Silk Road Ensemble, Sing Me Home.

Aretha Franklin, 18

Aretha Franklin reigns as the queen of R&B. She has 18 GRAMMY wins to date, five recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994) and a GRAMMY Legend Award (1991).

Paul McCartney, 18

Winning Best New Artist with the Beatles for 1964, Paul McCartney has gone on to earn 18 career GRAMMYs as an artist, composer and arranger. While most of McCartney's GRAMMY history lies in pop and rock, he earned two 58th GRAMMY nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for Kanye West's "All Day" with Theophilus London and Allan Kingdom.

Jimmy Sturr, 18

Out of the 25 GRAMMYs ever awarded for polka, Jimmy Sturr earned 18 of them, including 13 wins for Best Polka Album. He will likely remain the highest GRAMMY-winning polka artist in history (given the discontinuation of the category), and was "Born To Polka."

Leon Thomas III has had a big year. Following a Best R&B Song win at the 2024 GRAMMYs for "Snooze" and a three-month stint in Florence, Italy to produce Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures series, the R&B singer and songwriter is ready to see his own name atop the marquee.

When he’s not penning chart-topping songs or producing for the likes of Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Drake or Chris Brown, the former child actor is adding notches to his own musical utility belt. Since joining Ty Dolla $ign’s EZMNY Records as the imprint’s first artist in 2022, Thomas has evolved into a R&B fixture. His debut album, 2023's Electric Dusk, showcased his slick lyrics, free-flowing melodies, and anthem-made ballets in full form.

Now, the Brooklyn-born artist is set to build on his newfound momentum with his sophomore release, Mutt. While the project may seem carefully curated, Thomas says the album and his artistic journey is loosely-tailored by design.

"There are parts of this that people may think are calculated, but I’m just flowing," he tells GRAMMY.com. "I’m just glad people are resonating with everything I’m doing naturally. It’s a journey."

Mutt unites Thomas' love of jazz icons like Art Blakey and Miles Davis with neo-soul and rock acts like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to forge sleek jams with a contemporary edge. Album cuts "Vibes Don’t Lie" and "Yes It Is" are a baptism in neo-soul vocals, evoking innovators such as D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, and Maxwell.

The album is as lyrically rich as it is sonically expansive. On the sultry "I Use To," Thomas recounts the sorrow of a lost love that once enriched his soul; "I Do" is a piano-laden tale of the hard-fought lessons that ushered in a new romantic endeavor. Throughout, the singer/songwriter is intensely vulnerable. "God and losing you is the only two things I fear," Thomas sings.

The rock-inspired "Dancing With Demons" is a foot inside the deep end of fame while "How Fast" offers a flash of braggadocio. "Hold on, I’m a visionary. This s– getting kind of scary/ So addicted to the top, it’s always missionary." And "Answer Your Phone" is a crowd-swaying tune set to enliven fans on Thomas’s first solo tour.

Like Thomas’ life, the album shows the "Socialite" artist embark on a one-way ticket to the top of the musical landscape. He’s no longer satisfied with playing the background. Thomas has embraced the weight of being a headlining act on Mutt, and he’s prepared to weather the uncertain storms and visible weeds he’s set to experience on his broader musical pursuits.

Thomas spoke with GRAMMY.com about his studio sessions with Ty Dolla $ign and Ye, the new generation of R&B crooners pushing the genre forward, and how his dog Terry inspired the album title.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How does it feel to release your second album?

It feels special, but I was super nervous. Dropping music in 2024 is an interesting process because you’re fighting the waves of so many social media moments and distractions. But it’s great to see my music cut through and for people to hear me. It feels like some of my best work, and I’m just excited for people to see all of the different ways I’m putting music together. This is going to be a journey.

What inspired the album title?

I got a dog three years ago. His name is Terry and he’s a German Shepherd and Husky mix. He’s such a sweetheart, but he’s always getting into stuff. I recognize the face he makes when he’s in trouble. I make the same face when I’m about to go through a breakup or something.

I felt like that correlation was an interesting process. I wanted to talk about the element of control between men and women when you’re trying to get your partner to act right. It seems to be a common theme in this generation, so I wanted to talk about it.

What sound were you trying to capture on Mutt?

For me, jazz is the root of who I am. My grandfather was really cool with Art Blakey back in the day, and he always played Miles Davis and John Coltrane. I try to find ways to implement some of the chord progressions that I hear in my head into my music. That will always be adjacent to neo soul, but I don’t necessarily want to do a whole live jazz album as a 30-year-old right now.

A lot of decisions that I made are also rock influenced as well. I was listening to a lot of Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin during the making of the album. I’m finding ways to sneak in my influences, even though I know I’ll lock in on these R&B charts.

How did the production come together? Did you handle most of it?

I outsourced. There were a bunch of different guys that worked on the production. I think being around Ye and Ty Dolla $ign for the Vultures I album helped. I spent three months in Florence, Italy before I finished [Mutt]. I came back with a different taste level for how an album can play from top to bottom and how tricky we can get with the production. I started adding little pieces here and there to really elevate the sound of it. It’s definitely my symphony, and I’m trying to put it all together.

How is it working with artists like Ty Dolla $ign, Ye, Chris Brown, and SZA? Are you inspired by their work or studio sessions?

I think I’m inspired by osmosis. I don’t feel like there’s any specific style that I’m using that’s theirs. I’m just putting my neck out there and daring to be different. I’m not doing basic concepts or attacking basic instrumentals. I feel like I’m doing my best to push the genre by taking chances and experimenting. I’m just hoping that it’s received because I genuinely love the R&B genre. I want to see it grow and evolve, and I want to be a part of that process.

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What’s your views on the current state of R&B?

I think we’re in a really amazing place. There are singers that fill that craving for the golden era of the 1990s. There are others with really solid vibes that feel like the '60s. And then there are people like myself who are blending genres and time periods while having fun, not giving a s— about the rules.

I think that’s a positive thing, but it’s abrasive to people who only see R&B as a linear thing. There’s a broad range in what it can be in its true definition, and I’m excited to see where we go in the future. There are so many artists playing instruments and singing their ass off without a lick of autotune. I’m definitely a fan of the genre, and the next generation is going to be nuts.

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Do you feel this album will fill any perceived holes in the genre?

I’ll be honest, I create selfishly. I’m just going into the studio to chase some chills. I don’t really care about the holes in the R&B genre. I just feel like that’s a big boulder to carry on your shoulders. I’m just trying to tell my story. I’m doing my best to put these records together, to get them mixed on time, and to shoot these music videos.

When penning music for artists like SZA, Chris Brown, and other greats, was there a point where you were like, I got to do this for me?

Yes. It’s hard to be selfish, but the more reading I did and the more I learned about myself, it just felt like it was time to prioritize something that means so much to me.

Writing these records and working with these big artists is such a blessing, but I want to hit stages and see the world through my music. I want to collect furniture from all the different countries. I feel like the best way to do that is through my music, so this is me putting my music and my dreams first. And I’m just really excited about it all.

Did you ever have a moment of hesitancy, especially with you starting out as a child actor?

Yes, it wasn’t always easy. I think internally, I know who I am. I know who God made. I don’t need outside people to validate what I know to be true. Sometimes you have to be patient to allow people to grow with you.

It’s like being a Coca-Cola or a Pepsi. They met me as an actor and they know I make music, but they saw me in a certain light and as a certain brand. It takes time to transfer over and introduce new flavors to the consumer. I’m being patient with my fans, and I’m being patient with myself. I’m working harder to make a product that’s going to be acceptable and will allow me to continue making music I want to make.

You’re a multi-hyphenate. An artist, actor, producer, and songwriter. Do you ever get overwhelmed by it all?

When it comes to scheduling, I get overwhelmed. But I’m doing more to prioritize my mental and physical health without taking anything away from myself or my art. That balance is something I will continue to perfect over time. It’s like a muscle, and I’m still figuring it out. I want to do everything, and I know I can. I just think certain industries I’m involved in are a three-month season, rather than all 12.

How did it feel to win a GRAMMY for SZA’s "Snooze"?

It’s really surreal. I’ve never been one to put too much energy into awards, but that GRAMMY felt different. That was a special thing. I don’t have a college degree or anything, but this is the closest thing I can say to my pops that, "Hey, I’m validated here." He obviously sees the work I do with all these big artists, but him coming to my house and holding my GRAMMY was an interesting moment. Seeing someone who’s always believed in me hold something that validated his belief was such a beautiful moment.

Do you feel like you’ve found your voice, or is something you’re still exploring?

I feel like an artist’s work is never done. There’s always something to explore. I sat in a studio session with Babyface. He’s still exploring new things and he’s a lot older than me. The fact he’s still writing new songs and experiencing the world through his music lets me know it never ends. And I’m cool with that because this is a really awesome job. I feel like my voice is present and my voice is formed. It’s just all about packaging it so people can help me better.

Are there future collaborations or goals you have in mind down the road?

I definitely want to continue to make music, and I want to be rich enough to give back as well. I have a lot of initiatives and nonprofits I want to put together when I hit that $100 million mark, and I think it’s all possible through music. That’s why I fight so hard for my artistic journey because the brand itself can really uplift my own community.

When will your day-one fans see you go back to acting?

I’ve been ignoring self audition tapes for three years because it’s been insane trying to produce big albus and build these albums out in preparation for tours. But I’m looking forward to the release of this album and my tour to get back into acting class. I’m really a fan of the artform, so I want to shake off the cobwebs and really get back into the acting gym. I want to give [my fans] a performance that’s an elevation from everything they have seen from me before.

Whether explaining to his parents that the Commodores would be the "Black Beatles" or writing a mega-smash charity single in a single evening, a young Lionel Richie has something of a mantra: "Everything was possible."

When the now-iconic "We Are the World" first hit the airwaves in 1985, listeners surely were awed at the thought of so many legends in one room. Performing under the banner of USA for Africa, the track featured everyone from Ray Charles to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson to Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper to Tina Turner, and sold more than 20 million physical copies to raise money for African famine relief. The song’s recording was documented and encapsulated in the recently released documentary The Greatest Night in Pop.

Richie is the glowing supernova of musicianship creative wrangling at the core of the song and film. "Part of the whole magic of the song was to know the back side of it," Richie tells GRAMMY.com, hinting at the open, warm tone that has characterized his entire career.

Richie's sterling vocals and immaculate songwriting first rose to international prominence in his time as co-lead singer of Motown heroes the Commodores, for whom he wrote songs like "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." Richie expanded his already endless pop charm as a solo artist, topping charts and winning countless acclaim and listeners’ hearts alike with songs such as "All Night Long (All Night)," "Hello," "Say You, Say Me," and "Dancing on the Ceiling."

When the concept for creating a track to raise funds and awareness for African famine relief was first broached by legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte and manager Ken Kragen, Richie was tapped to write the song with Michael Jackson. The duo pulled an all-nighter to write the track a day before the first recording session — which also happened to be the very same day Richie was to host the American Music Awards, his first hosting gig on television. (Richie has become a fixture on TV, including his recent stint as a judge on "American Idol.")

Throughout his myriad roles and projects, Lionel Richie remains both incredibly professional and one of the warmest personalities in the music industry — not to mention a captivatingly brilliant musician and four-time GRAMMY winner. GRAMMY.com caught up with Richie to discuss the making of "We Are the World," finding himself in the room with every one of the icons he admired, and the continued need for hope and positivity 40 years later.

I have to tell you, I re-watched The Greatest Night in Pop this morning, and it is no less incredible after another watch.

Thank you. It's one of those moments in time. Just to see the positivity, number one, and number two, the impossibility of how we pull this off. Trying to do that today, you would just want to drive yourself crazy. There's no way today you can keep a secret.

Of course you’d have a leak, and is everybody going to show up? There’d be too many egos. "Leave your ego at the door?" You won't even leave your ego at the phone call.

The whole business has changed. But in the documentary, you really feel the weight of the challenge and the massive scope of opportunity. During that time, were you completely confident or or was there a constant worry that it might fall apart? Perhaps you had so many responsibilities that success and failure didn't even cross your mind.

You know what's so brilliant about being young and naïve? Everything has possibilities.

I look back on my career, when I walked in that door that fateful day that I was going to tell my parents that I was going to drop out of my last semester of my senior year and go full time with the Commodores. And I said, "Mom, Dad, we're the Black Beatles. We're going to take over the world." That takes a lot of just innocence and naivety and youth. Everything was possible. With "We Are the World," we were all kind of sitting there going, "What can we do [to make this work]?" And as we started calling up people, it just became "I'm in." "I'm in." "I'm in."

Of course, Ken [Kragen, manager] didn't tell us that he was making all these phone calls. We just thought it was going to be Quincy [Jones], Stevie [Wonder], Michael [Jackson], and myself. And Harry Belafonte. And the next thing we know, we've got all these artists waiting for the song that we haven't written. [Laughs.]

I think that was so wonderful that you didn't have that level of project in mind. Whilst naivety is part of the process, I feel like if you weren't able to be so in the moment, the song may have come out differently.

I always believe that if you have too much time to think about something, you're going to mess it up. I said yes to something that I didn't realize I had no time to do. This is my solo time in life. I've just left the Commodores; I'm hosting the American Music Awards. I've never done that before.

And of course, the pressure was there as well. Who is this kid to host this show alone? Alone, alone, not with two or three hosts. There was a lot of doubt as to whether this kid could do this or not, you know. As time went on, it just became another part of the story. And I've always believed I'm very good at getting myself into crap. And then I have to work my way out of it.

You're a good swimmer.

[Laughs.] Yeah. And so this thing just started evolving. "Okay, Lionel, what about the rehearsal for the American Music Awards?" And I go, "Oh, that's right. We have to rehearse."

The rehearsal time was also the time we had to cut the track for "We Are the World." And then we have to write the lyrics. Meanwhile, I have to rehearse [for the AMAs]. But, you know, I look back on it, honestly, and it was just divinely guided. Sometimes if you just have a chance to sit back and think about the intricate parts of it, everyone showed up at the right time to do the right thing.

It was astonishing to think about how many roles you had in that record coming to life. You were a writer, a singer, a producer, a coach, a psychiatrist, a guide. And you continue taking on so many different types of projects and roles to this day.

Well, let me tell you what makes things like "We Are the World" happen. I won’t just sit here and talk about, you know, how I did it. That was a room full of pros, you follow me? Quincy Jones, master producer, master arranger. I asked Quincy a very important question one time. I said, "How in the world did you deal with all of those various personalities and stuff?" He said, "What do you think an arranger does?" I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "What do you think I do for a living? My job is to organize chaos." In other words, the woodwinds are playing one thing. The brass are playing something else. The violins are playing something else. And all together it sounds like a song. Well, he was the master of that.

When you bring in artists from all different genres, each one of those artists, A, had their own sound, and B, knew how to deliver it. So all we had to do was kind of set the stage for them to do that half a line and pull it off. But behind the scenes, look at Humberto Gatica. He is a great engineer. How many tracks can you mess up? He had 99 million tracks and all of a sudden we couldn't have a delay [in the schedule]. There was no delay possible. I think what made my part of this whole thing, I was just putting out fires. Wherever there was a fire, like, "Okay, Bob Dylan, you need to go see Stevie Wonder. [Laughs.] And Huey Lewis, you just need to calm down." He thought he was just going to come and hang out.

Oh, Huey is such a fun guy!

Huey was going, "I'm going to sing whose part?" [Laughs.] It made everybody honest. I said, "Okay, Quincy, how are we going to pull this off? Is everybody going to go in the vocal booth one by one to do their parts?" He said, "No, no, no, no. We're going to put them in a circle and let them sing to each other." And I said, "What?"

He said, "I promise you, they'll be perfect on every round." Because when you're facing each other, there is no "Give me another take" or "Give me two more takes" or "Let me warm up." Just the fear factor of facing every artist you've ever admired in your whole life. There's Ray Charles over there. There's Kenny Rogers over here. There’s Diana Ross.

And Tina Turner!

And Bruce. And Billy Joel. We were, basically, the youngsters in the room. There's Michael. We'd all been around in the business a long time, but we'd never just been in a room to face each other.

So I think what was so amazing is when we went around one time at that piano, just to hear how it was all going to sound, that's when we knew we've got something. It was going to be a good sound.

Fitting all those different sounds and voices is such a beautiful achievement. It really makes you stand out, that ability to guide people and projects so naturally. It really makes sense that you have this continued role as a statesman of the industry, even down to your work on "American Idol."

You know what was so great? What we all heard back then, and what still rings true today, there's a word that the world needs right now. It's called hope. [When] that song came out 40 years ago; it was this amazing light, this beacon of hope. People started going, "Ah, okay, you're right. We need to care about each other."

It's one of those aha moments when you realize that a group of us got together and actually made that statement. As world-famous artists, we took all of our light as celebrities and entertainers and songwriters and shined it on hunger and starvation in the world. It was just a great statement.

I’m sure you have countless admirers who come up to you and talk about your work, but can you share some things that listeners have told you about that song in particular?

What I loved is when you start getting the 7- to 12-year-olds [saying] "We sing ‘We Are the World’ in our school!" Then that segues over to "American Idol."

When I first met Bao [Nguyen], the director [of The Greatest Night in Pop], he scared me to absolute death because I'm thinking that we're going to bring in a well-seasoned director from 1983 or 1984. He says, "I was two years old when that song came out in Vietnam." [Laughs.]

A lot of people just heard the song, but they didn't know the background [or my role in it]. So they didn't know that Michael and I wrote the song together. They knew I was maybe in the song, but they didn't know to what degree. I’m having a lot of people just come up to me with the sheer discovery. "Oh, my God, I didn't even know you did it."

"Where have you been?"

It really tells how blessed we were, because think about this now. All of us [working on the song] went on to have careers, major careers; that was the beginning of our big explosion.

What I love the most, I think, is just the fact that what Michael and I set out to do with that song was we wanted not a song, not a hit record. We wanted an anthem. We wanted a song that will stay around generation after generation, year after year. When people ask me right now, "God, Lionel, you need to write another song, because we need it so much today." And I go, "Play the song again."

It's so relevant. Absolutely.

Everything I wanted to say 40 years ago, I would write today. In other words, history just keeps repeating itself over and over again. And everyone keeps thinking you need something new. No, the whole song said everything.

But then when was your last all-nighter? Because that was a pretty epic all-nighter that you had that night.

[Laughs.] That was an "all-two-dayer"! That was the day before rehearsing for the American Music Awards. You then wake up and then actually start rehearsing from 7 in the morning at the Shrine Auditorium 'til the show started, and then to leave there at 11 o'clock at night, 12 o'clock at night. I forgot to also mention [that] I was not quite prepared for hosting, because this was my first time doing it. But also, I wasn't ready to win. [Editor's note: Richie won six times at the AMAs the year, including Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.]

It was a lot of moving parts. But the beautiful part about it was, I think the dedication and the hearts of each of those artists. Everybody came to shine their light on this issue. And the brilliance of it is, it worked.

What's something positive that you've been feeling about music lately?

Well, here's what's happening. I went into "American Idol" thinking, There is no possible next level of artistry. Because I've been there, done it, I've seen it. This is my eighth year coming up on "American Idol" and talent keeps showing up. Unique talent keeps showing up. Writers keep showing up. And I think what I'm looking forward to is when the industry can now keep up with the talent. Because we're overflowing with talent.

The problem now is, how do we get all of this talent recognized around the world? I mean, when I get to the top 20 on "American Idol" literally, I could start a record company on the top 20. We're throwing off such amazing talent. You constantly have to think, Okay, what are we doing?

For example, Jennifer Hudson did "American Idol," and she was let go at number nine, and then went on to become a massive star. This year coming up, Carrie Underwood won "American Idol" and here she is now coming back as a judge and mentor.

My situation now is, how do we get more of this talent recognized to the world? We were very fortunate back then because everything back then was global. There were only basically four different networks you could deal with. And then if you want to go outside of that, it's called BBC. What the internet did was great in terms of everybody's on it, but it also made it a big soup. You've got so many different angles and avenues. How do you focus your audience?

I think what's going to happen in the next couple of years is technology is going to be able to help us in a lot of ways. Because there has to be a new model that's going to be able to showcase not only the artists, but then there's the writers, the producers, the engineers, the musicians.

Yes! More focus on the collective who create the art. Where are the credits? I want my liner notes.

Exactly! I don't want to be the guy who’s like, "Bring back the good old days," but…

I think a lot of people are saying the same thing, no matter what age they are.

I couldn't wait to read the liner notes. Who's on that record? Oh my God, that writer was on there. Oh my God, that musician was on there. So-and-so sat in on the session. Part of the whole magic of the song was to know the back side of it, what was really happening. There's a lot that we can discover going forward, but there's a lot that we are losing from the past that I would like to bring up. Because we're not really giving credit where credit is due.

We need time. But we also need the advocate, the voice behind a message, which you are so clearly great at. You saw darkness in the world and put out a song. We know that song is not going to fix whatever the problem is, but the music becomes a comfort. What is that song for you that brings you to the place where you're feeling downright comfort?

I don't want to be the one to go that route, but my go-to for calm is "Easy Like Sunday Morning" ["Easy", from the Commodores’ 1977 self-titled album]. I know that it's always best when you use somebody else's song, but I wrote that song in a state of just that. I wasn't quite sure. I wasn't aware. The other song would be "Zoom" [from the same album]. The lyrics to that song basically sums up exactly where we all are. There's a place we'd all like to go and just hide for a moment to get away from all this craziness. I use those two songs as my mantras just because of the message that it gives.

That duality of "I'm telling you my story, but also we're all sharing this." I love it.

I think the entry of that was, "I may be just a foolish dreamer, but I don't care. All I know is my happiness is out there somewhere." We're all looking for that silver lining, that horizon that we've never seen before. When I wrote those lyrics, I must tell you, it was exactly the feeling of where we are now as a world. Because it was confusing. Think about it. This is the early ‘70s, coming out of the ‘60s, the craziness of Vietnam, and as a kid, what's out there for us? I don't know. What's the possibilities? We're not sure. And so here we are again, yet again faced with this survival of how do we stay sane in this world of insanity?

And how do we feed each other with things that feel nourishing?

What I love about the music business is that what determines a real hit record is when people walk up to you and go, "Lionel, I felt the same way." Now, that means you start realizing that, "Yes, I wrote a love song, but those words helped everybody else. That feeling that I felt is the feeling that everybody else felt."

So it's a confirmation that we're all human. We're all feeling. There are moments of happiness. There are moments of tragedy. And we're all doing this in the same world of trying to cope. And so I always say at the end of the day, there's got to be this common bond of humanity and mankind. There's got to be a thread of hope. Otherwise, we've lost the plot completely.

Before Afrobeats icons Burna Boy, WizKid, and Tyla became globally recognized household names, Yemi Alade was the continent’s biggest pop star. On July 26, she will release her sixth studio album, Rebel Queen, which expands her repertoire with a world of adventurous pop sounds.

The Nigerian singer/songwriter burst onto the African pop music scene in 2014 with "Johnny," a now-classic tune that gained acclaim by its iconic video featuring a TV news reporter tracking the titular womanizer. The video made her the first Nigerian female artist to hit 100 million views on YouTube.

Since then, Alade has had an illustrious career, collaborating with artists including Rick Ross, earning another 100 million-view video for "Oh My Gosh," and featuring alongside fellow Africans Mr. Eazi and Tekno on the Beyoncé-curated soundtrack for The Lion King.

Her latest album, Rebel Queen, includes high-profile collaborations with Angélique Kidjo, Ziggy Marley, and dancehall star Konshens. The album promises a genre-jumping journey across the globe, incorporating amapiano ("Soweto to Ibiza"), highlife ("Chairman"), and even reggae ("Peace and Love") and dancehall ("Bop’).

Ahead of Rebel Queen’s release, GRAMMY.com caught up with Alade about her progression as an artist, what it was like to work with Beyoncé and her team, and bridging international success.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Your new album, 'Rebel Queen', contains influences from all over Africa and beyond. Was that intentional?

Yes, you're correct that I wanted to make sure that the album had sounds that I actually genuinely love, from the amapiano influence to dancehall. And also, I personally wanted to go back to the foundation of Afrobeats, which are sounds and genres that I listened to growing up as a kid. When my parents took me to family parties, there were certain melodies and guitar strums that I fell in love with. And I wanted to revisit those nostalgic moments and put it all in this album.

There are a lot of high-profile collaborations on this record, such as Anjélique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley. How did you decide who to work with on 'Rebel Queen'?

Honestly my life is a roller coaster, same for every touring artist. We try to gather as much as we can while being in motion. Anjélique Kidjo is like my music mum, I love her. And when I made the record, "African Woman," who else would I feature on such a song if not Anjélique? And as for Ziggy, he and I have a song that we did previously ("Look Who’s Dancing Now"), which was his song, and he featured me. And I wanted a tit-for-tat moment. So I sent the song to him. I felt like, who else but him? Every feature was necessary to complete the melody for each song, they are such a huge part of each one, not just in the fresh vibe that they bring.

Learn more: Watch Yemi Alade's Enchanting Performance Of "Tomorrow" | Global Spin

It’s been ten years since you broke out with the massive hit "Johnny." Back then, African pop music was relatively unknown in America. Since then, African artists have gained global recognition. Do you see yourself as a pioneer for the current Afropop movement?

I agree with you 100 percent, there is no way you authentically go through the history of, you know, building a bridge between Africa and the rest of the world via music without mentioning a song like "Johnny." It's definitely an honor for me to be the vessel that delivers such amazing music to the world. Of course, there were people way before me who also did the same thing. We're talking about Fela [Kuti]. We're talking about King Sunny Ade. At the end of the day, yes, music is metamorphosing into so much more. And definitely, I'm a pioneer [laughs].

You have a strong sense of storytelling, especially in your music videos. "Johnny" has an entire storyline about a news reporter investigating a womanizer. How important is that kind of storytelling to your music?

Storytelling is a big part of my artistry, because I feel everybody loves a good story. I find that even when I'm writing most times in the studio, there's always a picture I'm trying to paint, and it only makes sense for the visuals to kind of match that most of the time. Except sometimes we decide to make it a performance video because I just feel like dancing.

What’s the most memorable video you’ve ever done?

Every one of my videos has taken a lot of pain, sweat, and even some tears. But I think "Johnny" is such a masterpiece, because it resonated with the entire world, and Africa especially. And it pretty much helped me to stay on my way through the industry, because it became my identity. That song and that video was the platform for the brand and everything that I am today. you know, so that is definitely the most memorable, in a good way.

You've traveled to and performed in America several times in your career. What's your overall impression?

I think I've done four or five American tours. And yo, America is so big [laughs]. My first American tour had me in shambles, because of the flights. I didn't realize that to go from one city to another, I might have to connect once or twice depending on how far I'm going. So the flights had me in shambles, but the energy of the people? Oh my days, lit! America is definitely one of my favorite places. I’m always reminding my agents to make sure that they include American cities on my tours, which is why even for the album listening parties for Rebel Queen, we did the first one in Paris, then London, and then we had to come to New York as well. And then just yesterday, we had one in Lagos as well.

Since you first became popular, a lot of Afrobeats artists have gained a following abroad like Burna Boy and WizKid. It seems as though, at least looking at the artists that break outside of Africa, that the genre is still very male-dominated. Do you agree with that? And do you think there’s potential for more female artists to break out internationally?

Honestly, when I started out, the odds were really way more against women than they are right now, in that, there were female artists sprouting maybe once every two years, or once every year, and barely hanging around long enough. But now, the story is different. And I give kudos to all the women before me and all the women with me. Yes, in a male dominated society, it seems as though my male counterparts get their roses and their flowers for a second. And you know, once in a while someone comes back and remembers, "Oh, there's Yemi Alade." Do you know what I mean?

I was speaking to someone earlier today and I was saying, I think what surprises me the most is that, I feel like there are no expectations of female artists. So like, if we do or we don't, people are just moving on. But I'm not the one to play victim, never. Despite the odds, you see that the females continue to be resilient, because we know. I know deep within that my existence is definitely of value to so many people out there.

What do you think of the upcoming generation of talent like Tems and Ayra Starr and Tyla, who recently won the first GRAMMY Award for Best African Music Performance for "Water?"

Exceptional, exceptional artists. As you just mentioned, they're doing amazingly well. And, you know, these women are unique in their own ways. And I want to just say that I believe it's just the starting point for them. There's so much to come. And there's so many other females that are still en route to greatness.

How have you seen the music industry in Africa evolve? And what sorts of challenges do you think African musicians face today?

I personally feel like, with all the momentum that Afrobeats has got, we need authentic platforms that can actually check the streaming numbers that are coming in for music, especially within Africa. Because at the moment it’s mostly Apple, Spotify, etc. But there are other platforms here in Africa that most Africans use, and they have more of a database compared to Apple and Spotify. We've come to a point where we need to have more credible numbers, because there's millions of people streaming music in Africa that are not on those platforms.

So you think that these local platforms need to be counted alongside Apple and Spotify?

100 percent. In Nigeria there’s two: Audiomack and Boomplay. Boomplay is a big deal.

You’re going on a decade in the industry. In all that time, what's one moment or one achievement that gives you the greatest sense of accomplishment? What are you most proud of in your career?

That’s a big question…I think I have an idea, because there've been so many moments in my life and in my career that have aligned with my dreams coming true. Number one is each time that I'm approached by a complete stranger and the stranger tells me "Oh my God, Yemi. You don't know what your music has done for me. Your music has gotten me through so much grief." Some people walk up to me and tell me that they just had the biggest struggle in their life and they listen to my music, and it always sends them into a realm of joy and happiness. Honestly, I feel accomplished in those moments, because when I record my music, I always say, the thing I'm trying to spread through my music the most is love, joy and happiness. So to have people testify to that, it means to me that the magic is complete, that my job is actually effective. So that makes me feel very accomplished.

On a personal note, an accomplishment that I am most grateful to is the fact that I'm always able to comfortably take care of my family. It's something that I would never play down. You know, I'm just grateful to God for that.

And lastly, aside from winning a GRAMMY through Angelique Kidjo — you know, I've met a lot of amazing people, and Beyoncé is one of them. So at the end of the day, it's a full circle moment for me. I'm just enjoying the ride.

You know, it’s funny you mentioned Beyoncé, I was just about to ask you what it was like to work with her.

Oh my days — wow, working with her, it was such an experience for myself and my team. It was like, we're literally awake, walking in the dreams that we have dreamt for so long.The process of her team contacting us was a bit weird, because my management didn't realize that Parkwood [Entertainment] was a real company, that they were emailing them and talking about Beyoncé. They assumed that it was some kind of scam artist. But when they had sent it to me, I was like "What? Parkwood? Who doesn’t know Parkwood is Beyoncé?"

So it turned out that it was for real, and we went to L.A. where the studio was, and I lost my voice for 24 hours — I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t sing. I just soaked up all the vitamin C's and hot teas and Throat Coats I could get. I managed to regain a little bit of my voice back and that's what I was able to record that day. That was a miracle for me. But one of the most memorable moments was actually meeting her in person. After the album, Lion King, came out, the movie was being premiered in London, and I happened to be in London at that time. We had met her in person, we met Jay Z. It was such a full circle moment. Honestly, that lady has really touched my life in a way that I will never forget. Because she could have lived her life without doing what she did, but she decided to reach out to people she felt were pillars of African music and pay homage to Africa. And I'm happy to have been part of that moment.

Three months after OneRepublic began promoting their sixth album, Artificial Paradise, in February 2022, the band unexpectedly had their biggest release in nearly a decade. The pop-rock band's carefree jam, "I Ain't Worried," soundtracked Top Gun: Maverick's most memeable scene and quickly became a global smash — ultimately delaying album plans in favor of promoting their latest hit.

Two years later, "I Ain't Worried" is one of 16 tracks on Artificial Paradise, which arrived July 12. It's a seamless blend of songs that will resonate with longtime and newer fans alike. From the layered production of "Hurt," to the feel-good vibes of "Serotonin," to the evocative lyrics of "Last Holiday," Artificial Paradise shows that OneRepublic's sound is as dialed-in as it is ever-evolving.

The album also marks the end of an era for OneRepublic, as it's the last in their contract with Interscope Records. But for the group's singer, Ryan Tedder, that means the future is even more exciting than it's been in their entire 15-year career.

"I've never been more motivated to write the best material of my life than this very moment," he asserts. "I'm taking it as a challenge. We've had a lot of fun, and a lot of uplifting records for the last seven or eight years, but I also want to tap back into some deeper material with the band."

As he's been prepping Artificial Paradise with his OneRepublic cohorts, Tedder has also been as busy as he's ever been working with other artists. His career as a songwriter/producer took off almost simultaneously with OneRepublic's 2007 breakthrough, "Apologize" (his first major behind-the-board hit was Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love"); to this day he's one of the go-to guys for pop's biggest names, from BLACKPINK to Tate McRae.

Tedder sat down with GRAMMY.com to share some of his most prominent memories of OneRepublic's biggest songs, as well as some of the hits he's written with Beyoncé, Adele, Taylor Swift and more.

OneRepublic — "Apologize," 'Dreaming Out Loud' (2007)

I was producing and writing other songs for different artists on Epic and Atlantic — I was just cutting my teeth as a songwriter in L.A. This is like 2004. I was at my lowest mentally and financially. I was completely broke. Creditors chasing me, literally dodging the taxman and getting my car repoed, everything.

I had that song in my back pocket for four years. A buddy of mine just reminded me last month, a songwriter from Nashville — Ashley Gorley, actually. We had a session last month, me, him and Amy Allen, and he brought it up. He was like, "Is it true, the story about 'Apologize'? You were completely broke living in L.A. and Epic Records offered you like 100 grand or something just for the right to record the song on one of their artists?"

And that is true. It was, like, 20 [grand], then 50, then 100. And I was salivating. I was, like, I need this money so bad. And I give so many songs to other people, but with that song, I drew a line in the sand and said, "No one will sing this song but me. I will die with this song."

It was my story, and I just didn't want anyone else to sing it. It was really that simple. It was a song about my past relationships, it was deeply personal. And it was also the song that — I spent two years trying to figure out what my sound was gonna be. I was a solo artist… and I wasn't landing on anything compelling. Then I landed on "Apologize" and a couple of other songs, and I was like, These songs make me think of a band, not solo artist material. So it was the song that led me to the sound of OneRepublic, and it also led me to the idea that I should start a band and not be a solo artist.

We do it every night. I'll never not do it. I've never gotten sick of it once. Every night that we do it, whether I'm in Houston or Hong Kong, I look out at the crowd and look at the band, and I'm like, Wow. This is the song that got us here.

Beyoncé — "Halo," 'I Am…Sacha Fierce' (2008)

We were halfway through promoting Dreaming Out Loud, our first album. I played basketball every day on tour, and I snapped my Achilles. The tour got canceled. The doctor told me not to even write. And I had this one sliver of an afternoon where my wife had to run an errand. And because I'm sadistic and crazy, I texted [songwriter] Evan Bogart, "I got a three-hour window, race over here. Beyoncé called me and asked me to write her a song. I want to do it with you." He had just come off his huge Rihanna No. 1, and we had an Ashley Tisdale single together.

When you write enough songs, not every day do the clouds part and God looks down on you and goes, "Here." But that's what happened on that day. I turn on the keyboard, the first sound that I play is the opening sound of the song. Sounds like angels singing. And we wrote the song pretty quick, as I recall.

I didn't get a response [from Beyoncé after sending "Halo" over], which I've now learned is very, very typical of her. I did Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé "II MOST WANTED" [from COWBOY CARTER] — I didn't know that was coming out 'til five days before it came out. And when I did "XO" [from 2013's Beyoncé], I found out that "XO" was coming out 12 hours before it came out. That's how she operates.

OneRepublic — "Good Life," 'Waking Up' (2009)

["Good Life"] was kind of a Hail Mary. We already knew that "All the Right Moves" would be the first single [from Waking Up]. We knew that "Secrets" was the second single. And in the 11th hour, our engineer at the time — who I ended up signing as a songwriter, Noel Zancanella — had this drum loop that he had made, and he played it for Brent [Kutzle] in our band. Brent said, "You gotta hear this drum loop that Noel made. It's incredible."

He played it for me the next morning, and I was like, "Yo throw some chords to this. I'm writing to this today." They threw some chords down, and the first thing out of my mouth was, [sings] "Oh, this has gotta be the good life."

It's the perfect example of, oftentimes, the chord I've tried to strike with this band with some of our bigger records, [which] is happy sad. Where you feel nostalgic and kind of melancholic, but at the same time, euphoric. That's what those chords and that melody did for me.

I was like, "Hey guys, would it be weird if I made the hook a whistle?" And everyone was like, "No! Do not whistle!" They're like, "Name the last hit song that had a whistle." And the only one I could think of was, like, Scorpion from like, 1988. [Laughs.] So I thought, To hell with it, man, it's been long enough, who cares? Let's try it. And the whistle kind of made the record. It became such a signature thing.

Adele — "Rumour Has It," '21' (2011)

"Rumour Has It" was the first song I did in probably a four year period, with any artist, that wasn't a ballad. All any artist ever wanted me to write with them or for them, was ballads, because of "Halo," and "Apologize" and "Bleeding Love."

I begged [Adele] to do a [song with] tempo, because we did "Turning Tables," another ballad. She was in a feisty mood [that day], so I was like, "Okay, we're doing a tempo today!"

Rick Rubin was originally producing the whole album. I was determined to produce Adele, not just write — because I wanted a shot to show her that I could, and to show myself. I stayed later after she left, and I remember thinking, What can I do in this record in this song that could be so difficult to reproduce that it might land me the gig?

So I intentionally muted the click track, changed the tempo, and [created that] whole piano bridge. I was making it up as I went. When she got in that morning. I said, "I have a crazy idea for a bridge. It's a movie." She listens and she says, "This is really different, I like this! How do we write to this?"

I mean, it was very difficult. [But] we finished the song. She recorded the entire song that day. She recorded the whole song in one take. I've never seen anyone do that in my life — before or since.

Then I didn't hear from her for six months. Because I handed over the files, and Rick Rubin's doing it, so I don't need to check on it. I randomly check on the status of the song — and at this point, if you're a songwriter or producer, you're assuming that they're not keeping the songs. Her manager emails my manager, "Hey, good news — she's keeping both songs they did, and she wants Ryan to finish 'Rumour Has It' production and mix it."

When I finally asked her, months later — probably at the GRAMMYs — I said, "Why didn't [Rick] do it?" She said, "Oh he did. It's that damn bridge! Nobody could figure out what the hell you were doing…It was so problematic that we just gave up on it."

OneRepublic — "Counting Stars," 'Native' (2013)

I was in a Beyoncé camp in the Hamptons writing for the self-titled album. [There were] a bunch of people in the house — me, Greg Kurstin, Sia — it was a fun group of people. I had four days there, and every morning I'd get up an hour and a half before I had to leave, make a coffee, and start prepping for the day. On the third day, I got up, I'm in the basement of this house at like 7 in the morning, and I'm coming up with ideas. I stumble across that chord progression, the guitar and the melody. It was instant shivers up my spine.

"Lately I've been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be" is the only line that I had. [My] first thought was, I should play this for Beyoncé, and then I'm listening to it and going, This is not Beyoncé, not even remotely. It'd be a waste. So I tabled it, and I texted the guys in my band, "Hey, I think I have a potentially really big record. I'm going to finish it when I get back to Denver."

I got back the next week, started recording it, did four or five versions of the chorus, bouncing all the versions off my wife, and then eventually landed it. And when I played it for the band, they were like, "This is our favorite song."

Taylor Swift — "Welcome to New York," '1989' (2014)

It was my second session with Taylor. The first one was [1989's] "I Know Places," and she sent me a voice memo. I was looking for a house in Venice [California], because we were spending so much time in L.A. So that whole memory is attached to me migrating back to Los Angeles.

But I knew what she was talking about, because I lived in New York, and I remember the feeling — endless possibilities, all the different people and races and sexes and loves. That was her New York chapter. She was so excited to be there. If you never lived there, and especially if you get there and you've got a little money in the pocket, it is so exhilarating.

It was me just kind of witnessing her brilliant, fast-paced, lyrical wizardry. [Co-producer] Max [Martin] and I had a conversation nine months later at the GRAMMYs, when we had literally just won for 1989. He kind of laughed, he pointed to all the other producers on the album, and he's like, "If she had, like, three more hours in the day, she would just figure out what we do and she would do it. And she wouldn't need any of us."

And I still think that's true. Some people are just forces of nature in and among themselves, and she's one of them. She just blew me away. She's the most talented top liner I've ever been in a room with, bar none. If you're talking lyric and melody, I've never been in a room with anyone faster, more adept, knows more what they want to say, focused, efficient, and just talented.

Jonas Brothers — "Sucker," 'Happiness Begins' (2019)

I had gone through a pretty dry spell mentally, emotionally. I had just burned it at both ends and tapped out, call it end of 2016. So, really, all of 2017 for me was a blur and a wash. I did a bunch of sessions in the first three months of the year, and then I just couldn't get a song out. I kept having, song after song, artists telling me it's the first single, [then] the song was not even on the album. I had never experienced that in my career.

I went six to nine months without finishing a song, which for me is unheard of. Andrew Watt kind of roped me back into working with him. We did "Easier" for 5 Seconds of Summer, and we did some Sam Smith and some Miley Cyrus, and right in that same window, I did this song "Sucker." Two [or] three months later, Wendy Goldstein from Republic [Records] heard the record, I had sent it to her. She'd said, very quietly, "We're relaunching the Jonas Brothers. They want you to be involved in a major way. Do you have anything?"

She calls me, she goes, "Ryan, do not play this for anybody else. This is their comeback single. It's a No. 1 record. Watch what we're gonna do." And she delivered.

OneRepublic — "I Ain't Worried," 'Top Gun: Maverick' Soundtrack (2022)

My memory is, being in lockdown in COVID, and just being like, Who knows when this is going to end, working out of my Airstream at my house. I had done a lot of songs for movies over the years, and [for] that particular [song] Randy Spendlove, who runs [music at] Paramount, called me.

I end up Zooming with Tom Cruise [and Top Gun: Maverick director] Jerry Bruckheimer — everybody's in lockdown during post-production. The overarching memory was, Holy cow, I'm doing the scene, I'm doing the song for Top Gun. I can't believe this is happening. But the only way I knew how to approach it, rather than to, like, overreact and s— the bed, was, It's just another day.

I do prescription songs for movies, TV, film all the time. I love a brief. It's so antithetical to most writers. I'm either uncontrollably lazy or the most productive person you've ever met. And the dividing line between the two is, if I'm chasing some directive, some motivation, some endpoint, then I can be wildly productive.

I just thought, I'm going to do the absolute best thing I can do for this scene and serve the film. OneRepublic being the performing artist was not on the menu in my mind. I just told them, "I think you need a cool indie band sounding, like, breakbeat." I used adjectives to describe what I heard when I saw the scene, and Tom got really ramped and excited.

You could argue [it's the biggest song] since the band started. The thing about it is, it's kind of become one of those every summer [hits]. And when it blew up, that's what Tom said. He said, "Mark my words, dude. You're gonna have a hit with this every summer for, like, the next 20 years or more."

And that's what happened. The moment Memorial Day happened, "I Ain't Worried" got defrosted and marched itself back into the top 100.

Tate McRae — "Greedy," 'THINK LATER' (2023)

We had "10:35" [with Tiësto] the previous year that had been, like, a No. 1 in the UK and across Europe and Australia. So we were coming off the back of that, and the one thing she was clear about was, "That is not the direction of what I want to do."

If my memory serves me correct, "greedy" was the next to last session we had. Everything we had done up to that point was kind of dark, midtempo, emotional. So "greedy" was the weirdo outlier. I kept pushing her to do a dance record. I was like, "Tate, there's a lot of people that have great voices, and there's a lot of people who can write, but none of those people are professional dancers like you are. Your secret weapon is the thing you're not using. In this game and this career, you've got to use every asset that you have and exploit it."

There was a lot of cajoling. On that day, we did it, and I thought it was badass, and loved it. And she was like, "Ugh, what do we just do? What is this?"

So then it was just, like, months, months and months of me constantly bringing that song back up, and playing it for her, and annoying the s— out of her. And she came around on it.

She has very specific taste. So much of the music with Tate, it really is her steering. I'll do what I think is like a finished version of a song, and then she will push everyone for weeks, if not months, to extract every ounce of everything out of them, to push the song harder, further, edgier — 19 versions of a song, until finally she goes, "Okay, this is the one." She's a perfectionist.

OneRepublic — "Last Holiday," 'Artificial Paradise' (2024)

I love [our latest single] "Hurt," but my favorite song on the album is called "Last Holiday." I probably started the beginning of that lyric, I'm not joking, seven, eight years ago. But I didn't finish it 'til this past year.

The verses are little maxims and words of advice that I've been given throughout the years. It's almost cynical in a way, the song. When I wrote the chorus, I was definitely in kind of a down place. So the opening line is, "So I don't believe in the stars anymore/ They never gave me what I wished for." And it's, obviously, a very not-so-slight reference to "Counting Stars." But it's also hopeful — "We've got some problems, okay, but this isn't our last holiday."

It's very simple sentiments. Press pause. Take some moments. Find God before it all ends. All these things with this big, soaring chorus. Musically and emotionally and sonically, that song — and "Hurt," for sure — but "Last Holiday" is extremely us-sounding.

The biggest enemy that we've had over the course of 18 years, I'll be the first to volunteer, is, this ever-evolving, undulating sound. No one's gonna accuse me of making these super complex concept albums, because that's just not how my brain's wired. I grew up listening to the radio. I didn't grow up hanging out in the Bowery in CBGBs listening to Nick Cave. So for us, the downside to that, and for me doing all these songs for all these other people, is the constant push and pull of "What is their sound? What genre is it?"

I couldn't put a pin in exactly what the sound is, but what I would say is, if you look at the last 18 years, a song like "Last Holiday" really encompasses, sonically, what this band is about. It's very moving, and emotional, and dynamic. It takes me to a place — that's the best way for me to put it. And hopefully the listener finds the same.