The Stems

You're insecure, don't know what for…

You probably recognise those words as The First line of a very popular song. And you might even know The Next bit.

But how do you write songs like 1D's What Makes You Beautiful - with their memorable lyrics good enough to be streamed over a billion times?

Chart-topping writer Savan Kotecha says his secret is " leaving no stone unturned".

" At least in The Way I write, it's really just putting The Time into the songs, " he tells BBC Newsbeat.

Savan's songwriting credits include hits such As One Last Time by Ariana Grande , 2 Be Loved by Lizzo and The Weeknd 's Can't Feel My Face.

You might think What Makes You Beautiful was about a One Direction Crush - But you'd be wrong.

" I wrote that song about meeting My Wife , " says Savan. " So it's been a fun thing in Our House that my kids know that it's about their mom. "

Savan's Big Break happened when music mogul Simon Cowell gave him A Shot at being part of The X Factor.

The TV singing competition launched the careers of 1D, Little Mix and acts such as Cher Lloyd .

" Once you start having hits, you start figuring it Out - it took this [element] to make a song great and I'm going to apply a similar work ethic to the Other Songs . "

Savan, from Texas, credits " a combination of Hard Work and luck" and " focusing on his craft" for getting As Far as he has.

He adds it's important to not " Just Write it quick and leave it".

" It's making sure every part of The Song is as good as myself and collaborators can make it. "

The Process varies from artist to artist, he says.

" Sometimes, somebody already has a sound and you're just trying to help them evolve that.

" Sometimes you're a Best Friend and therapist, helping them express what they want in a way that's digestible. "

So What about his favourite collaborators? Savan thinks long and hard, before pointing to One Direction and Ariana Grande .

Ariana's One Last Time has been streamed over a billion times on Spotify, and Savan says he wrote it " after six months of bad writer's block".

" That was the First Song that I played to Ari. So it started a really special relationship that I cherish. "

He says The Tune has taken on another meaning after the Manchester Arena Terror Attacks - being used " to comfort and heal".

During his Time In the industry, Savan has seen change, with things " really exploding" thanks to TikTok.

" It's no longer record labels telling The Audience 'this is your favourite thing', " he says.

" It's The Audience saying: 'this is what we want to hear and are enjoying'. "

But it can be " a much trickier time" for new artists and writers to break through because it's no longer just about being signed, warns Savan.

" You have to build your fan base, and you have to do all those things yourself. "

So now he wants to help new talent to break through.

He's partnered with TikTok, Simon Cowell and other big names on a project called StemDrop.

It provides creators with individual components of a song such as drums, Bass Guitar , vocal Parts - known as stems - to create and share their own unique versions.

Savan is part of a trio which has released 60 seconds of a new single on TikTok, with musicians able to access The Stems from that song.

" It feels like the evolution of how The Business can work, in which there are no more of these gatekeepers, " he says.

" It also gives us a chance to collaborate with new writers that we normally wouldn't be able to. "

And for those who find success and end up writing a good song, Savan says the Hard Work shouldn't stop.

" Challenge The Song that you're writing, and make sure that it's as good as it can be, " he says.

" Rather than just being happy you wrote a song, Keep Going .

" It takes time. "

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Source of news: bbc.com