16-tear-old Lorde wrote the lyrics to "Royals" at home in just half an hour. She was inspired by the "ridiculous, unrelatable, unattainable opulence" that runs through such albums as Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne and Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.
Jay-Z was going to ask Mary J. Blige to duet on "Empire State of Mind," but he decided on Alicia Keys when he heard the piano stabs on the track.
Will.I.am, literally dreamt up "I Gotta Feelin'." Said the Black Eyed Pea: "Have you ever had a dream where there's a melody in your dream? I'll wake up out of my sleep and record that! 'I Gotta Feelin' was one of those songs."
Quincy Jones wanted to change the title of "Billie Jean" to "Not My Lover" so it wouldn't be confused with the tennis star Billie Jean King. Michael Jackson refused.
John Mellencamp considers "Pink Houses" an "anti-American song," laying bare the struggles of the poor and working class.
Cure lead singer Robert Smith originally wrote "Lovesong" as a wedding present for his fiancée, Mary, shortly before their marriage.
Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.
You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.
Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.
