Ep. 268: Ilya Salmanzadeh | How The Swedes Cracked Hit Songwriting and Why Most People Won't

Today's guest is the Swedish producer and songwriter behind "Problem," "Into You," "Love Me Like You Do," "No Tears Left To Cry," "Santa Tell Me," and "Unholy,".
He finally sits down with Ross for an And The Writer Is interview ten years in the making.
He taught himself to make music from a demo CD that came in a cereal box.
A radio singing contest got him discovered, and he signed a publishing deal at 17.
It then took him ten years to land his first real hit. He tells Ross how a year of playing FIFA with Shellback led to Wolf Cousins, and what Max Martin's famous "math" actually is.
If you've ever wondered how the biggest pop songs of the last decade actually get finished, this one's for you

And The Writer Is... Ilya Salmanzadeh!

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: what Max Martin's "math" really means
1:32 Welcome Ilya Salmanzadeh
3:12 What MXM is: "like Real Madrid signed me"
4:46 Jantelagen: why Swedes won't brag
9:57 Born in Iran, raised in Denmark
16:22 A cereal-box CD and teaching himself music
19:54 The hits: Problem, Into You, Unholy and more
21:32 Early influences: Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson, hip-hop
24:50 Why the world's biggest pop writers live in Stockholm
27:14 Wanting to be an R&B artist
32:36 The radio singing contest that got him discovered
37:26 Ten years from publishing deal to first hit
39:09 Telemarketing and Apple tech support
43:08 The immigrant drive to prove he belongs
46:21 His first cut: the Bratz album
48:20 A year of FIFA with Shellback and the birth of Wolf Cousins
52:37 The MXM pop family tree
54:21 Competition vs. family inside MXM
58:40 Max Martin: "Why aren't you in LA?"
1:00:41 What Max Martin taught him about songwriting
1:03:13 "Problem": Savan Kotecha's original voice memo
1:08:59 The morning "Problem" hit #1 on iTunes
1:10:57 His father and the number he keeps seeing
1:14:31 Weeks on one pre-chorus: making "Into You"
1:21:55 "Love Me Like You Do" started as a Sunday hang
1:27:08 Producer vs. writer credits: "Bad Blood" and "Bang Bang"
1:31:42 His creative wavelength with Ariana Grande
1:32:23 "No Tears Left To Cry" breaking the pop rules
1:34:00 "God is a woman" was almost for Beyoncé and JAY-Z
1:35:48 Ariana Grande as a producer1:37:27 "Unholy": the hotel staff, Max and his daughter
1:44:20 When a release doesn't hit
1:47:11 14-hour days: how he finishes so much music
1:48:57 Chris Martin, Coldplay and the "mind movie"
1:52:17 Why he keeps working with new artists (Tate McRae, LISA)
1:54:53 "eternal sunshine" vs. "petal": the two-room process
1:56:54 "Santa Tell Me" and chasing a Christmas classic
1:59:24 Has Ilya finally proven his worth to himself?

And The Writer Is, hosted by Ross Golan, is a podcast about the songwriters, producers and artists behind the songs you love.
Instagram: instagram.com/andthewriteris
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
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