On Saturday, February 11 Broadcast Music, Inc. ® (BMI®) celebrated the 10th anniversary of How I Wrote That Song® at 1 Oak Los Angeles. The popular pre-GRAMMY event, sponsored by Swisher Sweets, brought together some of the hottest hitmakers in the industry. DJ’d by Mannie Fresh and moderated by BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Catherine Brewton, this year’s panel featured rap superstar Fat Joe, GRAMMY Award-winning music producer Alex Da Kid, country songwriting sensation Dallas Davidson and prolific singer-songwriter Lauren Christy.
Fans had the chance to listen as the panelists discussed everything from their creative process and biggest inspirations to collaborating with artists and producers of different genres. Alex Da Kid talked about his work with Imagine Dragons on the smash hit “Demons” and X Ambassadors on the catchy single “Renegades,” which peaked in the top ten in ten countries. Lauren Christy discussed her work on Enrique Iglesias’ “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You),” and Iggy Azalea’s “Team” before treating the audience to a performance of “Complicated,” her hit song with Avril Lavigne. Dallas Davidson also got in on the action with an acoustic version of the number one single “Gimmie That Girl” written by his songwriting team, The Peach Pickers and recorded by country singer Joe Nichols. Davidson also opened up about collaborating with Blake Shelton on “Boys ‘Round Here” and penning Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss,” which debuted and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Fat Joe kept the crowd entertained with witty insight on working with producer Scott Storch on his smash hit and first number one record, “Lean Back” and also spoke about the making of the GRAMMY-nominated single, “All The Way Up.”
For ten years BMI’s How I Wrote That Song ® has provided aspiring songwriters with the unique opportunity to learn about the art of songwriting, producing and performing straight from the industry’s hottest GRAMMY-nominated and award-winning artists.Previous participants have included Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Nas, will.i.am, RedOne, Zac Brown, Cee Lo Green, B.o.B, Kara DioGuardi, Seal, Luke Laird, Claude Kelly, John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Wilson, Common, Colbie Caillat, Linda Perry, Salaam Remi, Rev Run, RZA, The Madden Brothers and more.
Check out the visual recaps below.
Individual Interviews: