THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers

This story first appeared in the Feb. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Bonnie McKee's chameleonic hair color her wildly divergent writing styles, which have produced massive pop hits for artists like Katy Perry (“Teenage Dream,” “Last Friday Night,” California Gurls,” “Part of Me,” “Wide Awake”), Britney Spears (“Hold It Against Me”), Rita Ora (“How We Do”) and Ke$ha ("C’Mon") -- and that's just in the last three years. The California native, who's repped by Pulse Management, turned to songwriting after her 2004 debut solo album tanked, and today, mainly partners with producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who helped transform her career. “It kept going up step by step by step where the names kept getting bigger and the sessions started getting more real,” McKee says, noting that Perry’s four million-selling “California Gurls” feels like her first real hit.

Now McKee, 29, has another shot at being a solo artist. LA Reid signed her to Epic Records last spring and she’s nearly finished with a solo album she describes as “what Blondie would do in 2013.” Meanwhile McKee has been working with Cobra Starship, Glee's Lea Michele and is prepping for Perry’s next album. “I’m always writing because I’m always inspired,” she says. “The whole world is full of song titles.”

Click here to read THR's complete Pop's Top 35 Hitmakers list.