Max Martin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Max Martin
Martin in 2023
Born	Karl Martin Sandberg (1971-02-26) 26 February 1971 (age 54) Stockholm, Sweden
Other names	Martin White
Occupation	Record producer songwriter singer
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Jenny Petersson ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	1
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Pop dance R&B rock
Labels	Jive Cheiron RCA Capitol LaFace Island Location Songs Bertelsmann Atlantic Maratone MxM

Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971), known as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He became very famous in the late 1990s. He wrote or co-wrote many hit songs. These include Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).

Max Martin has written or helped write 27 songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He also produced or co-produced 25 of these hits. This is a record for the chart as of March 2024! His hit songs include Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (2008) and "Roar" (2013). He also worked on Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" (2014) and "Blank Space" (2014). The song "Blinding Lights" by the Weeknd (2019), which Martin worked on, is the best performing song of all time on the Billboard Hot 100.

Max Martin has won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award 11 times. This is also a record! He has also won five Grammy Awards. These include Producer of the Year.

Max Martin's Journey in Music

Starting Out with It's Alive

Karl Martin Sandberg grew up in Stenhamra, Sweden. His mother was a teacher and his father was a police officer. As a child, he learned music through Sweden's public music education. He often said he owed "everything" to this education.

As a teenager, he sang in different bands. In 1985, he joined a glam metal band called It's Alive. He was their singer and frontman. Martin left high school to focus on music with his band. He used the nickname "Martin White."

In 1991, It's Alive got a chance to make a demo record. Their first album was printed in 1,000 copies. It was also given away for free with a music magazine in the UK.

Joining Cheiron Studios

The band then signed a record deal with Denniz PoP's label, Cheiron Records. After recording their second album, Earthquake Visions, they released three singles. They also toured Europe in 1994. However, Earthquake Visions only sold 30,000 copies.

More importantly, Martin started working on songs with Denniz PoP. PoP saw that Martin was good at writing pop songs. He renamed his new student Max Martin. Denniz PoP became Martin's teacher and guide.

Working with Denniz PoP and Cheiron

In 1993, Martin was hired by Cheiron Studios. He spent time learning the basics of music production. His first big project with Denniz PoP was the Rednex song "Wish You Were Here" in 1994.

When Martin produced the start of E-Type's song "This Is the Way", E-Type and PoP gave him the made-up name "Max Martin." That's how his artist name was created! Martin found out about it after the records were printed.

They both worked on Ace of Base's second album, The Bridge (1995). This album sold over six million copies worldwide. Martin left his band It's Alive in late 1995.

In 1995, Cheiron Studios started working with Zomba on the Backstreet Boys' first album. Martin helped produce "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (1996). This song quickly sold a lot and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also worked on "As Long As You Love Me" (1997) and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (1997). The Backstreet Boys' album sold about 8 million copies worldwide.

Later that year, Martin co-wrote and co-produced Robyn's hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)". Both songs reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1998, Cheiron Productions worked on albums for Five and Jessica Folcker. Jessica Folcker's first album, Jessica, became a hit. After Denniz PoP passed away from cancer that summer, Martin became the director of Cheiron Studios. He started working with writer/producer Rami Yacoub, who became his long-time partner.

In late 1999, Celine Dion released "That's the Way It Is." Max Martin helped write this song. It became a big hit, reaching number 1 on adult contemporary charts in the US and Canada. It also reached the top 10 around the world.

Working with the Backstreet Boys

Max Martin wrote, co-wrote, and co-produced 7 of the 12 songs on the Backstreet Boys' third album, Millennium (1999). This included all the singles. "I Want It That Way" became the group's biggest song. It is still popular today. MTV and Rolling Stone voted it No. 10 on their list of "100 Greatest Pop Songs."

Millennium sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week in the United States. This set a record for the most albums sold in a debut week. It was also the best-selling album in the world.

Martin also worked on the Backstreet Boys' song "Shape of My Heart" (2000). This song quickly reached the Top Five in many countries. Their album Black & Blue (2000), which had many songs by Martin, sold 1.6 million copies in its first week in America. Martin won the ASCAP "Songwriter of the Year" award in 2000 and 2001.

In 2013, Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell asked Martin to work on their song "In A World Like This." Martin also helped with songs like "Climbing the Walls" and "Just Want You to Know" for their album Never Gone.

Working with Britney Spears

In 1998, Martin wrote and co-produced Britney Spears' first song, "...Baby One More Time." This song was for her first album of the same name. The song was first offered to the Backstreet Boys and TLC, but they didn't take it. That same year, Martin also helped write and produce the song "(You Drive Me) Crazy".

By 1999, the album ...Baby One More Time had sold over 15 million copies in the US. It became the best-selling album by a teenager in history, selling over 30 million copies. Martin was the first non-American to win ASCAP's "Songwriter of the Year" award in 1999. He also won it in 2000 and 2001.

Martin worked on Spears' next albums, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) and Britney (2001). He helped write and produce songs like "Oops!... I Did It Again" (2000) and "Stronger" (2000).

Later, Spears asked Martin to produce and write for her sixth album, Circus (2008). Martin co-wrote and produced "If U Seek Amy." He also produced the number one hit "3" for her album The Singles Collection (2009).

Martin was one of the main producers for Spears' seventh album, Femme Fatale (2011). He produced several successful songs for the album, including "Hold It Against Me" and "Till the World Ends".

Starting Maratone Studios

After Denniz PoP passed away, Cheiron Studios closed in 2000. Max Martin and Tom Talomaa then started a new company called Maratone in January 2001. They moved into the famous Cosmos Studios building. The first songs made at Maratone were four tracks for Britney Spears' album Britney (2001).

In 2004, Kelly Clarkson went to Sweden to work with Martin and Dr. Luke. This led to the rock-style songs "Since U Been Gone" (2004) and "Behind These Hazel Eyes" (2005). In 2009, Martin co-wrote Clarkson's number one hit "My Life Would Suck Without You".

Working with Pink

Martin co-wrote and produced three songs on Pink's album I'm Not Dead. These included the singles "U + Ur Hand" (2006) and "Who Knew" (2006). Martin also worked with Pink on her next album, Funhouse (2008). He co-wrote the big hit "So What" (2008).

Working with Katy Perry

Max Martin has also created many songs for Katy Perry. On her album One of the Boys (2008), he worked on the number one song "I Kissed a Girl" and the top 5 hit "Hot n Cold".

For her album Teenage Dream (2010), he worked on several Billboard Hot 100 number one hits. These include "California Gurls" (2010), "Teenage Dream" (2010), and "E.T." (2011).

For her album Prism (2013), he co-wrote the No. 1 songs "Roar" (2013) and "Dark Horse" (2013).

Working with Taylor Swift

Martin has worked with Taylor Swift on three of her albums. Their first collaboration was the Billboard Hot 100 number 1 hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012) for her album Red (2012). He also co-wrote and co-produced "I Knew You Were Trouble" (2012) and "22" (2013).

Martin also helped with her next album, 1989 (2014). He co-wrote and co-produced ten songs. These included the singles "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood". The first three songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Martin later worked with Swift on Reputation (2017). He co-wrote and co-produced eight songs, including "...Ready for It?" and "Delicate".

Working with Ariana Grande

Martin first worked with Ariana Grande on her second album My Everything (2014). Martin produced the first single, "Problem", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs he produced from the album include "Break Free" and "Bang Bang".

Martin also worked a lot on her third album, Dangerous Woman (2016). He produced singles like "Dangerous Woman" and "Side to Side". All of these songs reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.

Martin also helped with her albums Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019). He co-wrote songs like "No Tears Left to Cry" and "God Is a Woman".

In 2024, Grande released her song "Yes, And?" from her album Eternal Sunshine. She wrote and produced this song with Martin.

Working with The Weeknd

Martin co-wrote and produced three songs from the Weeknd's album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). These included "Can't Feel My Face", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

He also worked on four songs from the Weeknd's album After Hours (2020). This album was very successful. Martin also helped write and produce "Take My Breath" in 2021. He produced most of the songs on the Weeknd's album Dawn FM (2022).

Working with Coldplay

Martin played keyboards on two songs from Coldplay's album Everyday Life (2019): "Orphans" and "Champion of the World".

In 2021, Coldplay announced their album Music of the Spheres. Martin was the producer for this album. The album did very well, reaching the top of the UK Albums Chart.

Music of the Spheres (2021) included songs like "Higher Power" and "My Universe" with BTS. "My Universe" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This gave Martin his twenty-fifth number one as a writer and twenty-third as a producer.

Other Notable Collaborations

Martin co-wrote "It's My Life" with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. This song was released in 2000 and became very popular worldwide.

He also produced and co-wrote "Beauty and a Beat" for Justin Bieber's 2012 album Believe.

In 2014, Martin produced Jennifer Lopez's song "First Love". In 2015, he co-wrote and co-produced Ellie Goulding's "Love Me like You Do", which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2015, Martin produced Demi Lovato's song "Cool for the Summer". He also worked with Selena Gomez on her album Revival, producing "Hands to Myself".

In 2015, Adele's album 25 was released. Martin co-wrote and co-produced the song "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)".

In 2016, he co-wrote the song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" by Justin Timberlake. This song was for the movie Trolls. It became Timberlake's fifth and Martin's twenty-second number one hit in the US. The song also earned Timberlake and Martin their first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

In 2019, Martin co-produced and co-wrote Ed Sheeran's and Justin Bieber's hit song "I Don't Care". In 2020, he co-produced and co-wrote "Stupid Love" for Lady Gaga.

How Max Martin Creates Music

His Inspirations

When Max Martin received the Polar Music Prize, he mentioned that ABBA, Kiss, Prince, and Lasse Holm were some of his biggest inspirations.

His Creative Process

Usually, artists or songwriters write songs, and then a producer helps shape the sound. But at Cheiron Studios, it was different. The producers wrote the songs, played the instruments, and mixed the recordings. The artist would only come in near the end to sing the vocals.

For example, for Britney Spears' second album Oops!… I Did It Again (2000), Cheiron had already written seven songs. They had also recorded the music parts before Britney even arrived. She only needed one week to record her singing. Martin and his team worked more like a band that changed singers.

Max Martin's Impact on Music

Max Martin has had a huge influence on the music world. Many other producers and songwriters have learned from him. People often call Savan Kotecha, Dr. Luke, and Shellback his "disciples" or students.

Time magazine reported that many powerful songwriters in Sweden look up to Max Martin as their "grandmaster." When Savan Kotecha worked with One Direction, he said he was influenced by Martin. He explained, "We work melody first. That's Max Martin's school."

The New Yorker magazine said that Martin was Dr. Luke's "Swedish mentor." Dr. Luke himself said that working with Martin was "magical." Martin taught him to "make tracks for a million people" instead of just a few.

Martin's songs are used in the stage musical & Juliet, which started in 2019.

Max Martin's Personal Life

Max Martin met his wife, Jenny Petersson, around 2000. They got married in 2011. They have one daughter, who was born around 2001.

Max Martin lives in Los Angeles and in Stockholm, Sweden.

Songs That Hit Number One on Billboard Hot 100

Since 1998, Max Martin has written or co-written 27 songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Most of these he also produced or co-produced. Eight of these songs started at number one on the chart.

• 1998 – "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears
• 2000 – "It's Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC
• 2008 – "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
• 2008 – "So What" by Pink
• 2009 – "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson
• 2009 – "3" by Britney Spears
• 2010 – "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
• 2010 – "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry
• 2010 – "Raise Your Glass" by Pink
• 2011 – "Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears
• 2011 – "E.T." by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West
• 2011 – "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry
• 2012 – "Part of Me" by Katy Perry
• 2012 – "One More Night" by Maroon 5
• 2012 – "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
• 2013 – "Roar" by Katy Perry
• 2013 – "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J
• 2014 – "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift
• 2014 – "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift
• 2015 – "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
• 2015 – "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd
• 2016 – "Can't Stop the Feeling!" by Justin Timberlake
• 2019 – "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd
• 2021 – "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande
• 2021 – "My Universe" by Coldplay and BTS
• 2024 – "Yes, And?" by Ariana Grande
• 2024 – "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" by Ariana Grande

Awards and Nominations

Academy Awards

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Grammy Awards

Polar Music Prize

Primetime Emmy Awards

Tony Awards

Miscellaneous Awards