A multi-platinum, two-time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter who will be honored next month at the 11th annual She Rocks Awards in California. She has written for and with the likes of The Pretenders, Keith Urban, Britney Spears, Brandy, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Celine Dion, Michelle Branch, Natasha Bedingfield, Bebe Rexha, and more. Her songs have appeared in hundreds of films and TV shows, including “Glee,” “Orange is the New Black,” “30 Rock,” among others. She is also an educator and is a founding member of the Songwriters of North America, advocating for creators’ rights. In addition, she is the author of a book titled, “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” Stick around for the really cool story that she tells about Carly Simon.
“I have always just jotted things down as I think about them – titles, concepts – and I call it my arsenal and my toolbox.”
“A really great singer like a Christina (Aguilera), you have to expect them to take certain liberties ‘cause they have so much more territory to explore with their vocal range than I might have imagined when I wrote the song.”
“This was… in 2000… where regard for the songwriter as artists – because we are and I was – was different than it is now… I think that writers would just be more desperate right now or do anything to be on records.”
“I need to remember that. I need to live by that more often, like, not wait for things you’re hoping would happen and just see what else happens.”
“I teach a class in songwriting and they’re all college kids and I learn as much from the younger generation as they learn from me.”
“You never retire your creativity.”
“If you find your joy from being creative there’s an endless road of pivots of where you could look.”
“I feel like I have my freedom back because I’m not writing thinking about an algorithm.”
“As time moved forward and digital streaming changed the way that everybody got paid, there are more and more artists that want to participate in the writing of a song for their record.”
“If you’re making demos or recording videos and you’re putting them on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube, just really hashtag them correctly and broadly so they can be discovered.”
“A (GRAMMY) nomination is an honor. It’s a win. And when I speak about it, I feel like it was a win. I don’t feel like, oh I lost.”
“What a Girl Wants”
“Notebook”