"10 Global #1 Hits — Including Katy Perry's Biggest — songwriter Bonnie McKee".

Send us Fan Mail You’ve sung these songs in your car, at weddings, and at the top of your lungs—now you can hear from the songwriter who wrote them. In this episode of She Creates Noise, Sarah sits down with Grammy-nominated songwriter and pop artist Bonnie McKee, the songwriter behind many of Katy Perry’s biggest hits, as well as Taio Cruz, for a candid conversation about what pop success really looks like behind the scenes. Bonnie takes us from a teenage major-label deal and an early crash course in the business to being dropped, rebuilding through demo work, and eventually writing era-defining songs that reached number one around the world. She shares what it actually feels like when a song explodes, why she still writes lyrics by hand in notebooks, and the craft lessons she learned the hard way about simplicity, collaboration, and not getting too precious about what a pop song “should” be. We also go deeper than chart stories. Bonnie speaks openly about safety in studio spaces, the shift after Me Too, and why women still have to guard their boundaries in intimate writing rooms. She makes a powerful case for creator economics too: production credit, master points, and why every songwriter should learn engineering and production tools like Pro Tools, Logic, or Ableton to become more self-sufficient. The conversation closes with her expansion into filmmaking, the victory of re-recording shelved music to independently release Hot City, and a mindset shift earned through experience: don’t make success your higher power. If you want to know more about: writing 10 #1 major pop hits working with Katy Perry how hit songs are really made songwriting craft and collaboration women’s safety in studio rooms producer credit and songwriter income the value of learning Pro Tools, Logic, and Ableton reinventing your career independently A smart, funny, and revealing conversation with one of pop music’s most important modern hitmakers. https://www.instagram.com/bonniemckee/ Support the show If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, rate and share. Many thanks to Anne Tello for her vocals on the theme song and to our sponsor 'Heard City'. Check out https://www.shecreatesnoisepodcast.com for more episodes featuring women who power the music industry. https://www.shecreatesnoise.com/ https://www.sarahnagourney.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shecreatesnoise/ https://www.instagram.com/glassbeatmusic/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheCreatesNoise Email: [email protected]