More than 30 years after first appearing on Billboard’s charts, Max Martin continues to forge his record-breaking legacy.

In February, Taylor Swift’s “Opalite,” co-written and co-produced by Swift, Martin and Shellback, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — becoming Martin’s record-extending 27th leader as a producer, as well as his 29th as a songwriter, second only to Paul McCartney’s 32.

Martin first led the Hot 100 in both roles thanks to Britney Spears’ breakthrough, “…Baby One More Time,” in January 1999, and went on to crown Billboard’s Top Songwriters and Top Producers of the 21st Century retrospectives.

Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Hot 100 hits, recently held a series of master classes, hosted by co-founder David Penn, who led creatives and other music devotees on a deep dive into Martin’s craft, from the ‘90s to today.

Billboard eagerly signed up for more tutoring, following a similar extra lesson five years ago, checking in with Penn on how Martin’s music has continued to evolve, what has remained throughlines and his standing stylistically as compared to other past and contemporary writers and producers.

Billboard: You note that Max Martin has had six distinct eras to his songwriting and production across his Hot 100 top 10 hits since his chart arrival in the mid-‘90s. Can you outline what they are and what defines each?

Penn: Yes, we’ve identified six overarching eras where we’ve noticed commonalities across many, though not all, of his Hot 100 top 10 hits that he co-wrote and produced. The styles evolve alongside shifts in the pop mainstream, as well as the diverse artists he works with.

1 — In the mid-to-late 1990s, at Cheiron Studios and under the mentorship of Denniz PoP, Martin and his collaborators were crafting infectious hits with Swedish pop, Europop, teen pop, dance and R&B influences. Lyrics often centered on teen melodrama and love-relationship themes, with artists including Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Céline Dion, *NSYNC and Robyn.

2 — In the 2000s, following Denniz PoP’s passing and Cheiron’s closure, Martin co-founded Maratone Studios and began fusing his pop sensibility with gritty, energized rock dynamics. While love and relationships remained central, the subject matter expanded to include rebellion and empowerment in songs such as Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and P!nk’s “So What,” as well as more provocative, hookup-driven themes, such as Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and Spears’ “3.”

3 — In the early 2010s, Martin’s top 10 hits began shifting away from edgy pop-rock toward a higher-gloss electropop direction, heard in tracks such as Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” Perry’s “E.T.” and Kesha’s “Blow.”

4 — In the mid-2010s, there was a notable move toward a more streamlined, groove-driven approach with sleeker arrangements, evident in major No. 1s such as Perry’s “Dark Horse” and The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.”

5 — Between 2018 and 2024, Martin’s production leaned more heavily into retro-influenced, rhythmic, groove-based tracks, with collaborations largely driven by Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, who together accounted for eight of Martin’s 10 Hot 100 top 10s during this period. No. 1s among them: Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” and “Yes, And?,” the pair’s “Save Your Tears” and The Weeknd’s historic “Blinding Lights.”

6 — In 2026, the release of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl marked a reunited collaboration between Martin, Swift and Shellback that, after its first week, claimed the top 12 positions on the Hot 100, led by the No. 1 hits “The Fate of Ophelia” and, most recently, “Opalite.”

Despite changes, what are some constants to Martin’s songcraft over his chart history?

The overarching constant across his body of work is how deliberately his songs are built. Every second serves a purpose, with no wasted moments. There is intention behind every decision to maximize listeners’ sonic and emotional experience and ensure that songs remain embedded in their minds long after they conclude.

This is most evident in his melody writing. With Max Martin, it has always been melody first. His toplines are generally rooted in simple, singable melodies that listeners can latch onto quickly and remember long after the track ends. However, this simplicity is often balanced by strategic deviations — a higher range moment or a pronounced leap — that, while harder to sing, are used to spotlight key hooks and lyrics, heighten emotional impact, prevent genericness and accentuate an artist’s signature style.

Another throughline is hook strategy. Hooks are methodically introduced within and across sections — generally one at a time — ensuring that they fully connect with the listener while preventing a messy, distracting mix. In addition, he often uses hook foreshadowing and creative reinforcement techniques, where hooks are presented in fresh and familiar ways throughout a song to ingrain them in the listener’s mind without feeling overly redundant.

How important are intros to Max Martin songs? “…Baby One More Time” sets the tone from its first few classic notes.

Max Martin has said that a song should be immediately recognizable within its first few seconds — a “rule” he learned from Denniz PoP. In our analysis of Martin’s Hot 100 top 10 intros, the average length was 10 seconds, and those opening moments become the song’s ID. “…Baby One More Time” is a perfect case in point.

However, beyond grabbing the listener’s attention, an intro can serve several other important purposes. It can establish the song’s emotional temperature, set the song’s sonic palette and plant a signature motif or hook in listeners’ ears that becomes central later in the song, enticing them to stay tuned in until they hear it again.

Martin is a master at using the intro to achieve all the above, regardless of scale. Sometimes it’s as minimal as the 3-second solo guitar that sets the tone in Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Other times it’s expansive, like the 28-second, multisegment intro of “Blinding Lights,” which establishes the track’s retro, ‘80s synthpop vibe, emotional undercurrent, core groove and signature synth hook, all while cleverly foreshadowing chorus material in an under-the-radar way before the listener ever reaches the chorus. The concluding segments of the synth hook melodically foreshadow the second and fourth lines of the chorus vocal, while the following verse rhythmically foreshadows the first and third lines of the chorus. Together, they make the first chorus already familiar by the time it arrives.

‘Blinding Lights’ intro characteristics & techniques:

Building upon that, you covered in the recent presentations how Martin songs tend to present melodies throughout in different ways, reinforcing their hooks and often wrapping in what you call a “grand finale hook fest.” Is that a tough blend to achieve, or not if a song is strong enough? It seems similar to how beloved Seinfeld episodes mix seemingly unrelated storylines into a cohesive (and pretty, pretty, pretty good) ending.

Yes, these hook foreshadowing and creative reinforcement techniques are highly common in many of Max Martin’s most successful songs. The way they’re implemented ranges from under-the-radar to overt and obvious, depending on what the stylistic direction of the song warrants.

A recent example of that under-the-radar approach can be found in “Opalite.” Here, a simple, unassuming melody that is repeated throughout the first verse and pre-chorus later becomes central to the chorus, present in both the “but now the sky is opalite” song-title hook and the nonsensical “oh” hook. Where the expertise really shines is that the unique context and fresh manner in which these familiar melodies are presented keeps the song engaging and prevents redundancy.

‘Opalite’ melodic patterns that foreshadow its first chorus:

An example of more pronounced hook foreshadowing is P!nk’s “So What.” Across the intro and verse sections, the same distinctive, infectious melodic idea is presented in an array of ways that keeps it fresh: instrumentally through guitar and bass, and vocally through the nonsensical “na, na,” the “I just want to start a fight” lyric and other narrative developments. Those ideas, along with chorus and bridge hooks, are then recycled and recontextualized in the outro, which reprises the song’s key hooks. While these hooks serve specific roles in the sections where they appear — like the seemingly unrelated storylines in Seinfeld — the outro reinforces the song’s catchiest elements in one unique context that is both fresh, familiar and memorable, bringing the song to an infectious and unforgettable close.

P!nk’s ‘So What’ ‘grande finale hookfest’ outro:

How revolutionary would you say Martin’s songwriting and production is historically? For instance, is he building upon characteristics of songs from, say, the Beatles in the ‘60s, or did he essentially invent many of his techniques?

He is absolutely building on the craft traditions of the Beatles and other greats. He didn’t invent the fundamentals, but he recombined and refined them in modern ways — raising the bar for how consistently that craft can be delivered at the highest level across decades, styles and artists.

He’s part of a best-of-the-best lineage: from the Beatles, as you mentioned, to the Brill Building, Motown, Stax and beyond.

How different are Martin’s song styles from other contemporary songwriters and producers? Are others following his lead?

Max Martin’s style usually reflects the stylistic intent of the song he’s crafting and the artist he’s working with, which is true of virtually every hit songwriter and producer. What feels uniquely “Max” isn’t one fixed sound as much as how smoothly and reliably he gets you where the song is meant to go. His songs guide you from moment to moment with precision. The main hook stays front-and-center, the supporting parts don’t compete for attention and the energy is shaped so the listener is always being pulled forward.

That’s why the payoff feels perfectly set up. The chorus lands like the exact thing you wanted before you even knew you wanted it, because the road to it is engineered to keep momentum rising and attention locked in. You’re not just hearing a strong chorus — you’re feeling the cumulative effect of dozens of small decisions that prevent the listener from drifting, sharpen contrast and keep momentum rising into the payoff.

Many contemporary writers and producers, consciously or not, work within the same underlying framework, because it has shaped much of how modern mainstream pop is crafted.

Harry Styles’ jam-packed album release week has continued with an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge on Thursday (March 12).

The singer hit the BBC’s Maida Vale studio for a five-song set which included tracks from new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally and a special surprise cover of Tears For Fears’ 1985 classic “Everybody Wants to Rule The World”. Listen to the full show here, and watch Style’s performances below.

Styles has appeared in the Radio 1 Live Lounge multiple times before. He last performed on the segment in 2022 to cover Wet Leg’s “Wet Dream,” a song from the English indie band’s self-titled debut. In 2019 he tackled Lizzo’s “Juice” and during his debut album campaign in 2017, he covered Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”

During the five-song performance, Styles performed a number of songs from his new LP, including the singles “Aperture” and “American Girls,” as well as “Carla’s Song” and “Dance No More.” The Tears for Fears smash was released first released by the English synth-pop band as a single in 1985 and hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of that year, notching two weeks at the summit

This coming Saturday (March 14) Styles will pull double-duty on Saturday Night Live as a host and performer. He first hosted the show in 2019 and has appeared as a musical guest four times in his career as a soloist and with his band One Direction. He also popped into the monologue last weekend and became a hilariously annoying distraction to host Ryan Gosling.

Styles also released a One Night Only special on Netflix which featured a performance of Kiss All The Time… in full, giving live debuts to each track aside from “Aperture” which he previewed at the BRIT Awards on Feb. 28.

A global residency tour titled Together, Together will kick off in Amsterdam, Netherlands in May before heading to London, Sao Paolo, Mexico City, New York City, Melbourne and Sydney throughout 2026.

Since he began working with the indie folk band Wilderado, Braden Merrick — partner, president and A&R at Bright Antenna Records — has seen the group’s members build a loyal fan base, quit their day jobs and even buy homes — all without reaching the level of mainstream visibility that’s traditionally associated with music industry success. But they’d never received official industry recognition for their achievements.

That finally changed last summer. In June, the band was awarded a certification from the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) as part of the organization’s recently unveiled Star Certification initiative, an RIAA-style program that awards indie acts for reaching specific consumption thresholds for albums and singles. In Wilderado’s case, the group received the A2IM “One Star” certification — given out for albums and singles that reach more than 50,000 equivalent album units — for its 2021 self-titled debut album. 

“To get the award is a big talking point,” Merrick says. “It allowed us to go to people [who have said], ‘Call me when you’ve sold X,’ or, ‘Call me when you have something to talk about,’ because there are gatekeepers out there, and you’re trying to get to each one at the right time during an artist’s campaign or career. …The award basically validated all the work the team had done. And the band, it made them go, ‘Whoa, this is a recognition of our hard work.’ And it gave us sort of an elevated view within the industry.” 

A2IM’s Star Certification initiative, launched in June in partnership with Luminate, is a response to the lack of recognition available for smaller acts and labels who may not have the reach to hit the RIAA’s traditional thresholds for certification, including Gold (500,000 units), Platinum (1 million units) and Diamond (10 million units). A2IM’s program includes three tiers: One Star, for 50,000 units; Two Star, for 100,000 units; and Three Star, for 300,000 units. According to Richard James Burgess, who served as A2IM CEO for a decade through the end of last year and shepherded the Star Certification project from the very beginning, those thresholds were designed to be “achievable for independents” who have racked up impressive sales and streaming numbers on a smaller scale.

Since launch, a total of 71 albums and singles have been certified under the initiative, including releases from such prominent indie acts as Cigarettes After Sex (Partisan Records), Thundercat (Brainfeeder), Grizzly Bear (Warp Records) and MUNA (Saddest Factory Records).   

To receive a certification, as with RIAA honors, labels and artists can request a review of an album or single’s consumption numbers via the A2IM website. Once a month, the organization goes to Luminate with the requests and certifies those that qualify. The cost for the request itself is $25 for A2IM members and $150 for non-members; if certified, labels and artists can purchase a One Star, Two Star or Three Star plaque for $290. Burgess says “almost all” of that money goes to the manufacturer of the discs that adorn the plaques, with “a small margin” going to A2IM to cover administrative costs. 

For Matt Brinkworth, director of global sales at Omnian Music Group — which has so far received A2IM certifications for releases by DIIV, Wild Nothing and Home Shake — the cost is worth it. 

“I think what I like most about this initiative is the independent music industry measures success differently than the major labels,” he says. “I think it’s valuable to have a certification that can actually reflect what achievement looks and feels like in our part of the industry.” 

Conversations about starting a certification program for independents began “pretty soon” after Burgess began at A2IM a decade ago, he says, but it started to solidify once Luminate came aboard. For about a year and a half prior to announcing Star Certifications, Burgess says A2IM also conducted “a lot of test runs” for the initiative. 

As A2IM was working on the program, Burgess notes he “had a conversation with the RIAA” to ensure it was “comfortable” with the idea of a similar initiative to its gold and platinum program being introduced. Turns out, he needn’t have worried.

“Every chance to acknowledge achievements across the music community is something to celebrate, and ​we’re supportive of A2IM’s Star Certification to recognize the accomplishments of independent artists and their label partners,” RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier says in a statement sent to Billboard. “Programs that shine a light on milestones like these help underscore how music continues to reach fans in new ways, shaping culture and strengthening connections across our entire ecosystem.”

Notably, Star Certifications are open to artists from all eras, even if they hit one of the benchmarks decades in the past. Case in point: Cymande’s self-titled album, released in 1972 on Janus Records and reissued by Partisan Records in 2022, received a One Star certification last July. Other older titles certified thus far include Beenie Man’s 1997 album Many Moods of Moses, released by VP Records (Two Star); Pharoahe Monch’s 1999 single “Simon Says,” released by Trescadecaphobia Music (Three Star); and The Magnetic Fields’ 1999 album 69 Love Songs, released by Merge Records (Two Star). 

The certifications are also open to major label artists, including those who have far exceeded the Star certification thresholds. Those certified so far include T.I. (Three Star certification for the 2008 single “Live Your Life,” released by Atlantic Records); Calle 24, Chino Pacas & Fuerza Regida (Three Star for the 2023 single “QUE ONDA,” released by Warner Records); and Diplo & Morgan Wallen, who received a Three Star certification for their hit single “Heartless,” released by Columbia Records, which peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has also been certified diamond by the RIAA for more than 10 million equivalent album units.

Now, A2IM is hoping to encourage more indie labels to realize the benefits of certification — which Burgess admits can be a challenge. “I think one of the big problems we face in the independent sector is people are so busy, nose to the grindstone, just trying to get the next record out, with usually not enough people, that it takes them a while to kind of catch on to something new like this,” he says. One possible benefit of the certification process, according to Burgess, is that it can uncover registration errors, allowing artists and labels to tap uncollected royalties. “It’s kind of a nice double check,” he says. 

Another obstacle to getting buy-in to the initiative is that indie artists also tend to be less comfortable with touting themselves and their achievements. “I think it’s one of those things that sometimes people [aren’t] used to being told, ‘Hey, you can be excited about something that might come across as bragging,’” says Brinkworth. “I guess it depends on the type of person you are, but I know that in indie music in particular, people are a lot more humble. And so the idea of getting a big plaque…maybe they never thought they ever would.” 

Sebastian Bach is helping youth of all ages go wild as he tours around the United States. But he’s also getting ready for what’s coming next.

Last week the former Skid Row singer was announced as the fill-in frontman for Twisted Sister‘s upcoming 50th anniversary tour after Dee Snider withdrew due to health concerns. Bach has now included Twisted Sister’s 1984 anthem “I Wanna Rock” in his shows and tells Billboard he’s stoked about being part of the celebration — though dates have yet to be announced.

“I am a fan,” Bach explains via Zoom from a day off in St. Cloud, Minn. “They had the tour booked and (Snider’s) doctors told him he couldn’t do it. They had a choice to either try to get another singer or cancel the whole tour. I just look at it in the same way as when Brian Johnson couldn’t do the AC/DC shows (in 2016) and Axl Rose stepped in, or when Queen wanted to tour and Paul Rodgers came in.

“And, I am a fan. I love the (1983) album You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll. I Love (1982’s) Under the Blade. I love ‘I Wanna Rock,’ ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It.’ I like their version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll;’ it’s like punk/thrash/metal. My album I put out (in 2024) was called Child Within the Man; a band like Twisted Sister 100 percent makes me feel like a child within the man. That music is very youthful and fun.”

Bach says he had a 45-minute conversation with Snider the morning that the announcement was made (March 4). “He gave me his blessing,” Bach recounts. “He just explained that he was very, very happy being a grandpa, and the doctors told him he can’t do it…I’m S.M.F. No. 2 — that’s what Dee named me a couple of years ago. He’s S.M.F. No. 1. If you can’t have S.M.F. No. 1, you’ve got S.M.F. No. 2” (“S.M.F.” is a track from Twisted Sister’s 1984 breakthrough album Stay Hungry and an abbreviation for Sick Mother F***er — also the band’s designation for its fans.)

Bach, 57, expects to bring comparatively youthful energy to Twisted Sister as well; remaining original members Jay Jay French and Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda are both in their 70s. “It’s like how the guys in my solo band are  younger than me,” says Bach, whose son Paris plays drums. The same way those guys give me an extra shot of energy, I’m kind of like the same thing to Twisted Sister.”

That wasn’t the only news surrounding Bach last week.

On the same day, reports surfaced about a revelation in Christina Applegate’s new memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, that she had relationship with Bach when she was 17 — which began when she ditched a pre-fame Brad Pitt for the singer at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. Pitt, she writes, was “not surprisingly…very mad at me,” though the two settled their differences some years later. “Eventually, we agreed that I’d been a child, and though he deserved much better, it was time to forgive the child who dumped him for the lead singer of Skid Row.”

Bach, who had a girlfriend and children at the time, says he “was very surprised when that all hit. I was a single guy on tour, in a band, and I met a lot of girls and I apologize if I hurt her…if I hurt anybody. When you’re young you get thrown into the whirlwind of rock ‘n’ roll, meeting a lot of people and you better hold on tight. It’s like being on a roller coaster…It was a long time ago. If I hurt anybody, I apologize for it.”

Bach next plays on Friday, March 13 in Des Plaines, Ill., and has dates booked with his band into October. In addition to his own and Skid Row material, the shows also feature tributes to the late Ozzy Osbourne (“I Don’t Know”) and Gordon Lightfoot (“Carefree Highway,” while Skid Row’s “I Remember You” is dedicated to Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul from Pantera.

“It’s the same reason I’m gonna be the lead singer of Twisted Sister — because I’m a fan,” Bach explains. “I’m just a fan of rock ‘n’ roll. We’re losing guys like Neil Peart, like Eddie Van Halen, like Ace (Frehley), like Ozzy. We’re losing our real heroes. I’m loving singing (‘I Don’t Know’); in the middle part, where it goes, ‘Nobody ever told me, I found out for myself,’ that’s really emotional. It’s really meaningful for the fans.”

Meanwhile, Bach added that he currently has no plans to follow up Child Within the Man — his first album in 10 years, with guest appearances by guitarists John 5, Steve Stevens and Orianthi. His focus, instead, is on playing live. “At this point people are clamoring to come to live shows,” he says. “I think as a society we all spend so much time staring at our screens, our phones, our computers; going to a live rock show is one of the last bastions of primal human contact. It goes back to the cavemen around the fire, beating the drum and the tribe is going (chants) around the fire. That’s how primal music is. And I’m the guy beating the drum.”

Linkin Park won’t hit the stage in Adelaide tonight (March 12) as planned, after a bandmate was struck down with an unidentified illness.

The nu-metal favorites had just one show booked for South Australia on their current tour Down Under. Fans will have to wait, however, with the date at Adelaide Entertainment Centre now scrapped. And a make-up show won’t be added to the itinerary.

“We have made the extremely difficult decision to cancel tonight’s show due to an illness in the band,” reads a statement posted to Instagram Stories.

“The Australian tour has been incredible so far and we are devastated that we’re unable to perform for our fans in Adelaide. Unfortunately, the show will not be rescheduled. Please know that cancelling a show is not a decision we take lightly. We are sorry to those fans who were planning to attend.”

Linkin Park’s eight-date Australasian tour is scheduled to continue Saturday, March 14 with the first of two nights at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. Live Nation is producing the trek, which halts next Wednesday, March 18 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

The last time Linkin Park toured these parts was 13 years ago, for their spot on the now-defunct 2013 Soundwave Festival.

Having visited the country in support of every album up to 2012’s Living Things, the band did not include Australia in their plans for 2014’s The Hunting Party tour, and no Aussie dates were scheduled for their One More Light world tour at the time of vocalist Chester Bennington‘s passing in July 2017.

The current Australia dates are part of the band’s From Zero World Tour, which launched in September 2024, featuring new vocalist Emily Armstrong. The touring lineup is Mike Shinoda, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, Joe Hahn, Colin Brittain and Armstrong.

Sydney-based rock band POLARIS is the support on all Australia shows, while Anaheim, California-raised, NZ-based artist VANA will open in Auckland.