Max
Martin

The Swedish Martin, arguably the most media-shy super-producer of all time, continues to hide in plain sight with the streak of massive singles that have made him ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year for the last seven years running. He’ll surely dominate the end of the pop year with an ongoing collaboration with Taylor Swift on “Reputation,” following up on the co-productions and co-writes on two prior albums that lifted her out of the country and into global ubiquity.

But he’s already had a reputable 2017, thanks to picking up his first Oscar nomination, for Justin Timberlake’s animated movie theme “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” and an album of the year Grammy for his contribution to Adele’s “25.”

Historically, as a producer, he trails only George Martin for the biggest number of No. 1 singles, and the next run of Taylor singles could help him swiftly catch up. Not everything he touches turns to gold and platinum: The Swede gets his hands dirty by working on plenty of tunes that never become anything but album tracks, but even his lesser entries have an unmistakably sugary magic. And when he and his cohorts fire up on all cylinders, the results stick around pop culture for years — from his breakouts with Britney, the Backstreet Boys, and Kelly Clarkson to the Weeknd’s “I Can’t Feel My Face.”

Sometimes it seems that behind every great woman in pop, there is a great man, and that man more often than not is Martin, when it comes to the most notable successes of Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Pink, Demi Lovato, Ellie Goulding, Tori Kelley, and, of course, Spears and Swift. Not to negate how welcome he’d be re-teaming with Timberlake (rumored to be working on an album slated for release in early 2018), but his greatest gift is as the diva whisperer.