Who is Max Martin? The mastermind behind Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Taylor Swift just confirmed that her 12th studio album will be called The Life of a Showgirl.
The star, 35, shared the news during a preview clip of boyfriend Travis Kelce 's New Heights podcast on Tuesday, where she also revealed a partial look at the album's cover art.
The new record will include a collaboration with Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, who has worked with Swift on many of her past biggest projects - but who exactly is he?
Max Martin, whose real name is Karl Martin Sandberg, was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1971.
He began his career as the lead singer of glam-metal band It's Alive before he began to focus on songwriting and production.
His big break came after meeting producer Denniz PoP, who invited him to work at Cheiron Studios and gave him the professional name Max Martin.
There, he honed his skills and developed his personal sound - one that would later dominate international pop charts.
Martin's first major success came in 1998 when he co-wrote and produced Britney Spears' iconic debut single …Baby One More Time - which remains a global hit today.
He went on to create chart-topping songs for the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Celine Dion in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Over the course of his career, Martin has written or co-written more than two dozen Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
His collaborations span a wide range of artists.
He has worked on Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Roar, Ariana Grande's No Tears Left to Cry and God Is a Woman, and The Weeknd's Blinding Lights and Can't Feel My Face.
His production credits also include work for Pink, Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5, and Coldplay.
Martin's marker in the industry is his ability to adapt his songwriting style to each artist - which is why he has been able to work with so many.
Martin doesn't give interviews very often, but in a rare conversation with Variety, he explained how this collaboration works.
'If you're working with someone whose point of view is really far from yourself, like a young girl in her twenties, the story needs to come from them,' Martin said.
'I like being around people who keep me curious. Experience might be one part of the puzzle, but beat-making and trendsetting, it's a young person's game.'
He's also expressed that he thinks collaboration is the key to a great song.
'In the whole history of pop, from Elvis to Motown to Whitney Houston, great artists have had songs written for them by teams,' he said.
Martin's work with Taylor began on her 2012 album Red, where he co-wrote and co-produced hits like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble.
Their partnership continued on 1989 in 2014, with Martin contributing to some of Taylor's biggest singles including Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Bad Blood.
Ryan Tedder - another big name in producing - recalled a conversation he and Martin had about Taylor where Martin said: '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.'
He also collaborated with Swift on her 2017 album Reputation, producing tracks including ...Ready for It? and Delicate.
The Life of a Showgirl will be the first Taylor studio album since Reputation to feature new work with Martin.
The announcement has excited Swifties - even more than they already were - especially because of the duo's history of creating some of her biggest pop hits.
While Swift has not yet shared a tracklist or release date, her decision to reunite with Martin suggests a possible pop style - similar to work they've done together before.
The full episode of Kelce's podcast will be out on Wednesday, August 13 at 7pm EST - potentially with more details about Taylor's album.