Songwriting is an integral part of making music. While music as a whole has the power to make us dance and feel different emotions, lyrics can make us nostalgic, inspire us, and evoke moments of happiness or sadness based on the storytelling in a track. Many artists write their own songs, and others write or co-write songs for other artists. From ‘Sorry’ by Justin Bieber to Ariana Grande’s ‘7 Rings,’ below are some popular songs you didn’t know were written by other artists –
Pretty Hurts by Beyoncé and Diamonds by Rihanna (Sia)
‘Pretty Hurts,’ one of Beyoncé’s most notable songs, was co-written by Sia and Ammo. Sia, who boasts several popular songs like ‘Cheap Thrills,’ ‘Titanium,’ and ‘Chandelier’ under her belt, also wrote this beautiful song for Beyoncé, which was her eponymous album’s opening track.
The singer also has songwriting credits on one of Rihanna’s biggest hits, ‘Diamonds.’ The song stayed atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks and has surpassed 956 million streams on Spotify! Stargate, composed of producers Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor E. Hermansen, told Fader that Sia penned the vocals for this song in “about 12 minutes.”
Ice Cream by BLACKPINK (Ariana Grande)
Over two years ago, K-pop sensation girl group BLACKPINK joined forces with pop star Selena Gomez for their collaboration, ‘Ice Cream.’ It served as the group’s second single from their debut album, ‘THE ALBUM.’ Gomez also starred in the music video of the song alongside the quartet.
‘Ice Cream’ went on to become one of their most successful songs, with its music video spawning over 817 million views on YouTube. The Grammy-winning singer Ariana Grande has been credited as a songwriter on the track, along with Tommy Brown (‘positions’), Bekuh Boom (‘Kill This Love’), Selena Gomez, 24, Mr. Franks (‘34+35’), TEDDY, and Victoria Monét (‘thank u, next’).
Following the release of ‘Ice Cream,’ Ariana even sent Selena Gomez an ice cream cone-shaped flower arrangement with a note that read: “Selena, Congratulations Ice Queen! Love & Gratitude, – Ari.” “Thank you so much for everything. Your support means the world,” Selena wrote as the caption on her story of Ariana’s note to her.
Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus (Jessie J)
‘Party In The USA’ is one of Miley Cyrus’ most well-known songs. While ‘Wrecking Ball’ remains to be her biggest hit, ‘Party In The USA’ is a gem that still hits the same, 13 years later! English singer Jessie J co-wrote the track with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly at the time and said to Glamour UK that it paid her rent “for, like, three years. Actually it was longer than that. That’s where I get most of my money. I write songs. I’m a singer.”
The massive royalties that the ‘Flashlight’ singer received for penning ‘Party In The USA’ were due to its instant popularity. The track was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 28 weeks, peaking at number 2. ‘Party In The USA’ is among Miley’s popular songs on Spotify, with over 1.1 BILLION streams on the platform.
Little Things by One Direction and Love Yourself by Justin Beiber (Ed Sheeran)
Ed Sheeran is known for his enormous hit love songs! Despite being released years ago, ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Perfect, and ‘Photograph’ continue to be the perfect wedding soundtracks. Many admire his songs and lyrics, but did you know he has also penned tracks for other artists? The ‘Bad Habits’ singer co-wrote ‘Moments’ with producer and songwriter Si Hulbert for the popular boy band One Direction’s debut studio album, ‘Up All Night.’ He was also heavily involved in the songwriting process and is credited as a songwriter on the group’s chart-topping single ‘Little Things’ with Fiona Bevan (‘Tough’ – Lewis Capaldi).
Sheeran has also co-written one of Justin Bieber’s greatest tracks, ‘Love Yourself.’ Justin earned two Grammy nominations for the song for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year. It has gained 1.6 billion views on YouTube and has over 1.9 billion streams on Spotify. Sheeran also penned Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, and MØ’s collaboration ‘Cold Water’ with other artists and songwriters. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was on the chart for 27 weeks. With over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify, it is one of the most popular songs to come from Major Lazer.
7 Rings and thank u, next by Ariana Grande (Victoria Monét)
Victoria Monét and Ariana Grande are frequent collaborators, with Monét having writing credits on some of Grande’s biggest hits! She has even penned the fifteen-time Grammy-nominated artist’s chart-topping tunes ‘7 Rings’ and ‘thank u, next.’
Apart from these, Victoria is also behind the tracks ‘34+35’ (which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100), ‘motive’ a collaboration with Doja Cat, ‘needy,’ and ‘Monopoly,’ among many of Ariana’s songs.
Sorry by Justin Bieber (Julia Michaels)
Julia Michaels is behind the lyrics of many popular songs from a vairety of artists, including Anne-Marie (‘2002’), Ed Sheeran (‘Dive’), ‘FRIENDS’ (Marshmello, Anne-Marie), ‘Close’ (Nick Jonas, Tove Lo), ‘Heavy’ (Linkin Park, Kiiara), ‘All in My Head (Flex)’ (Fifth Harmony, Fetty Wap), and ‘Love Myself’ (Hailee Steinfeld), among others.
She also co-wrote one of Justin Bieber’s chart-toppers ‘Sorry’ (its music video has surpassed 3.6 billion views on YouTube), ‘Youngblood’ by 5 Seconds of Summer (their most successful and popular song that has more than 1.5 billion streams on Spotify), as well as Selena Gomez’s ‘Lose You To Love Me,’ which was her first song to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
