"I'll Melt With You" by Modern English is about a couple who melt together because a nuclear bomb drops.
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.
"(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay," released a month after Otis Redding died, was the first song to hit #1 in America after the artist died.
Meghan Trainor wrote "Lips Are Movin" in just eight minutes with her writing partner Kevin Kadish.
The horn flourish at the beginning of "Jump Around" comes from Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle"; the squeal throughout the song might be a Prince sample.
"All Star" was written as a confidence builder for fans who were bullied for liking Smash Mouth.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.