Even if you don't know Bonnie McKee's name, you've almost certainly heard her work.
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The Grammy-nominated songwriter is the powerhouse behind some of the 21st century's most recognizable pop hits, including Katy Perry's Roar, Teenage Dream, and California Gurls; Britney Spears' Hold It Against Me; and Taio Cruz's Dynamite.
Often dubbed the "founding mother of recession pop," McKee's fingerprints are all over the genre-defining hits of the early 2010s. She's collaborated with pop icons such as Kesha, Cher, and Christina Aguilera, and now she's stepping back into the spotlight.
Songwriter Emerges via TikTok
McKee's self-directed music video for "Forever 21," a track off her long-lost Hot City album, was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival. She produced, edited, cast, and starred in the video.
During the pandemic, McKee found new life on TikTok, where fans gravitated to her candid behind-the-scenes storytelling. She pulled out "old-school notebooks" filled with lyrics and memories from her years writing for the biggest names in pop. "I kept relics from the past," she said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail. "Fans really responded to that."
Her writing process? Deeply personal. "I'd ask artists about their love life, what was keeping them up at night," McKee said. "Usually, I had something half-written that would match their energy."
With artists like Kesha and Katy Perry, she described the sessions as "truly collaborative."
Writing with Perry came with high expectations. "We had a really high standard," she said. "We wanted to make the best pop music ever -- and on some songs, I feel like we did."
Inspired by Taylor Swift
McKee originally recorded Hot City over a decade ago while signed to Epic Records. When the label dropped her and shelved the project, she lost the masters, but not the passion.
"So I pulled a Taylor Swift and re-recorded the entire thing," she said.
After gaining momentum on TikTok, she noticed fans clamoring for Hot City. Some had even tattooed her unreleased lyrics. That enthusiasm drove her to re-release the project and breathe new life into the recession pop genre.
What makes a recession pop anthem? According to McKee: "It needs escapism, hope, and heart, something danceable, but real."
She points to Dynamite as a prime example. While it sounds like a party anthem, she wrote it during a personal turning point. "It's actually about surrender," she revealed. Now 13 years sober after battling crystal meth addiction, McKee says the song marked her decision to embrace a new life.
Lorde once famously mocked the genre in her hit Team, referencing "throw my hands up in the air." McKee didn't take offense. "It's totally fair," she said. "But when I wrote that line, it came from a different place."
Fight for Fair Pay
McKee has seen the music industry transform, and not always for the better. While streaming dominates, songwriter compensation has plummeted. "We get 0.0003 percent of a penny per stream," she said. "It's not a livable wage. That has to change."
She recalls a time when even a B-side cut on a major album could buy a house. "That's just not the case anymore," she said.
Now fully independent, McKee self-finances her projects and dreams of working with investors instead of "record labels that are going to steal your soul."
