RedOne
RedOne |
|---|
Nadir Khayat, known by the stage name RedOne was born in Tétouan, Morocco[1] and is a Moroccan-Swedish producer/songwriter.[2] He has been described as the key to Lady Gaga's musical sound.[3] Khayat is currently based in Los Angeles.
Biography
Early career
At the age of 19, Khayat left Morocco for Sweden in order to pursue a music career.[4] He chose the country because in his words, "There was so much good music coming from there," with three major inspirations being the bands ABBA, Europe and Roxette.[4] Originally he pursued his musical ambitions by singing and playing the guitar in various local rock bands but 1995 saw a change in direction when he opted to move into production and songwriting for other artists.[4] Instrumental in helping him make this change was Rami Yacoub, another fellow ex-rock musician.[5] The successful Swedish songwriter/producer taught Khayat about "programming and how the software works," and the pair also wrote songs together.[4] According to Yacoub, Khayat worked with him in the studio for a year before Yacoub was asked to join Cheiron Studios.[5] Yacoub credits Khayat with helping bring about this turning point in his own career by having introduced Yacoub to Max Martin.[5] Khayat began his career producing in the European pop music scene.
First successes
After years of struggling, 2005 saw Khayat finally begin to achieve significant recognition for his work, firstly with the Darin song "Step Up," which reached #1 in Sweden and later won him and frequent collaborator Bilal Hajji both a Swedish Grammy and Scandinavian Song of the Year award, and then with the Canadian hits "I Wish" and "Little Mama," recorded by Juno Award nominee Carl Henry. RedOne was busy every single day when he began his career and surely is working every single day now. Some of his partners and students which currently are music producers as well are the Duo Manny and Gil "The Latin" The-Latin, Official Website who have a similar style to RedOne's but with their own uniqueness.
In 2006 Khayat entered the global marketplace with "Bamboo," which was named "Official Melody" for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Selected from over one thousand submissions, "Bamboo" was featured for the branding and promotion of the event during television broadcasts and advertising campaigns, branded cross-promotions, and as a part of the World Cup Official Music Program.[2] In addition, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) made him the main producer and songwriter for the 2006 World Cup Official Music Program.[2] Khayat also produced a "mash-up" remix of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" featuring Wyclef Jean and Khayat's "Bamboo." The remix was performed by Shakira and Wyclef Jean at the World Cup's Final in Berlin to an estimated worldwide television audience of more than 1.2 billion.
Although "Bamboo" helped establish the young producer as a notable producer in the global marketplace ,[2] Khayat himself has said that it didn't have the impact he thought it would,
"It was a good thing for me as a personal achievement but in terms of business or attracting labels to get more work, it didn't have a big impact, especially not in the US. It opened a few doors that closed quickly after."[4]
Breakthrough
After the success of Bamboo, Khayat moved to New York with the aim of breaking his career in the USA, believing it to be "now or never".[4] Initially the move proved unsuccessful, as Khayat claims he struggled to secure even a single production and lost all of his money in the process.[4] However, on the brink of giving up and returning to Sweden, his efforts caught the attention of then Epic Records president Charlie Walk, and led to a production role on Kat DeLuna's upcoming debut album 9 Lives. When Walk heard the first songs Khayat produced for DeLuna—one of which was subsequent hit single "Whine Up" featuring Elephant Man—he was impressed enough to ask the producer to finish the whole album.[4]
In 2007, Khayat began writing and producing for New Kids on the Block, MIKA, Akon, Steel Bill, Brandy, Enrique Iglesias, Lionel Richie, The Cheetah Girls, Menudo, Varsity Fanclub, Robyn, Tami Chynn, Flipsyde and RBD.[6]
In addition to his production credits, Khayat has written for Darin, Backstreet Boys, Christina Milian, 3LW, A*Teens and Tiffany Evans, and has worked alongside writers and producers such as Gordon Chambers, Kylie Minogue, Teron Beal, Mary Brown, Desmond Child, Akon, The Clutch, Bilal Hajji, Little Boots, Pixie Lott, Sean Kingston, Sugababes, Cinema Bizarre, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger, Mylène Farmer, Alexandra Burke, Shayne Ward, and Lindsay Lohan.
Many of the songs produced by Khayat or by groups or singers who used to work it , like Lady Gaga, Akon, Sugababes and Alexandra Burke are played regularly in the American Arabic speaking Radio Sawa in frequency which is far greater than in other Pop Radio stations, although he has no apparent connection to the station.
Discography
Notable Productions
- 2005 - Darin - "Step Up"
- 2007 - Kat DeLuna - "Whine Up"
- 2007 - Kat DeLuna - "Run the Show"
- 2008 - Akon - "Sunny Day"
- 2008 - Darin - "Breathing Your Love"
- 2008 - Enrique Iglesias - "Takin' Back My Love"
- 2008 - Lady GaGa - "Just Dance"
- 2008 - Lady GaGa - "LoveGame"
- 2008 - Lady GaGa - "Poker Face"
- 2009 - Lady GaGa - "Bad Romance"
- 2009 - Lady GaGa - "Alejandro"
- 2011 - Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"
References
- ^ "Star Producer RedOne Eyes Michael Jackson Release". abcnews. Retrieved 2010-01-23. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d "RedOne's BMI Artist Roster". BMI. Retrieved 2008-10-15. Cite error: The named reference "BMI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Jurgensen, John (January 28, 2010). "The Man Behind Lady Gaga". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Interview With RedOne", HitQuarters, 23 March 2009
- ^ a b c "Interview with Rami Yacoub". HitQuarters. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ^ "RedOne". TheNext2Shine. Retrieved 2008-10-19.