Who Is Max Martin? A Hitmaking 'Beast'

If these sound like heady claims, just ask one of the artists most closely associated with Martin's rise and career. "I've always credited Max with being the godfather, the Berry Gordy of the Backstreet Boys," BSB member Howie Dorough says. "He helped us establish our sound and some of our biggest hits have come from him, so we will always be indebted to Max. He truly could be the sixth Backstreet Boy."



So who is this man with the Midas touch when it comes to writing hits? Born in Stockholm, Martin actually started his music career as the frontman of glam-metal act It's Alive in the mid-'80s. The band was signed to Cherion Records, a label owned by Denniz Pop, who recruited Martin to become a producer/songwriter after It's Alive proved to be the only thing Martin was involved in that didn't top the charts.

Dorough believes Martin's rock background is a big part of the reason for his success. "I always foresee his best stuff along the line of where his heart's at, and that's almost more of pop with a little bit of a rock tinge to it," he says. "Some of his big stuff with Pink or Kelly Clarkson, 'Since U Been Gone,' it's pop-rock."



Martin returned to his rock roots last year when he helmed the L.A.-based alternative band Carolina Liar's debut, 'Coming to Terms,' which spawned the hit single, 'Show Me What I'm Looking For.' In an interview he did last year with Popjustice -- only his second chat with the press in 10 years -- Martin was asked if he thought Carolina Liar frontman Chad Wolf would have a problem working with "Britney producer Max Martin." "I guess in his position he didn't really have a choice," he told the website, laughing. "He sent me his stuff when it was all getting done and he didn't really send it anywhere else, so I got him early!"

Wolf tells PopEater he didn't have a problem working with Martin, but he does admit he had early doubts about listening to Martin's work. "I remember when Britney's 'Baby One More Time' came out. I couldn't listen to it 'cause I was like, 'Oh, it's Britney.' But then I listened to the melody," he says. "His stuff is rock 'n' roll. It's four chords."



In a huge compliment, Wolf likens Martin's songs to "Prince's mid-'80s stuff." Once again, high praise indeed, but artists and industry types continually refer to Martin as having indelible ears. "Max definitely writes hit records like no other," Rani Hancock, an A&R rep at RCA, says. "He has an amazing sense of lyric and melody, and he always comes up with these brilliant lyric concepts that are not only hits, but are very identifiable."

Those words have brought controversy for some, specifically with Spears' 'If U Seek Amy' and '3,' but Martin has remained unscathed, mostly because he keeps such a low profile. For her part, Melissa Henson of the Parents Television Council, who implored radio not to play 'If U Seek Amy' during certain hours, believes that is fair. "The artist tends to be more well-known than the songwriter, so much of the blame is assigned to the artist," she says. "Each artist creates their own brand and they have to be responsible for how it's portrayed, so rightly or wrongly the focus is on them. Our concern is mostly with the recording artists who children look up to as role models. It's their image kids are trying to emulate."

Obviously, Martin is happy to remain in the background, churning out hits. "He's a beast," Wolf says. "He takes his work very seriously. He never stops." Fans shouldn't expect the run to stop anytime soon, as he is collaborating with Adam Lambert and Carrie Underwood. "He definitely has the ability to tailor a song to a specific artist," Hancock says. "When you hear a Max Martin record, you don't necessarily say it's a Max Martin record, you say it's a Kelly Clarkson smash."

Dorough, who worked Martin for multiple songs on the new Backstreet Boys album, 'This Is Us,' agrees. "He's a chameleon," he says. "With us in the very beginning, even from Ace of Base to us to Pink to Britney to Kelly Clarkson, he definitely adapts himself to whatever artist he works with."

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