Behind every great hit song is… as it turns out often a team of unsung writers known as “Hitmakers” and the new Netflix docuseries of the same name is shoving them into the spotlight. Set against a songwriting camp, twelve hit songwriters who you may or may never have heard of are thrown together to write songs for some of the biggest talent out there today.
The series is a fascinating (if oh so slightly dramatized) look into these real intensives that exist. Record labels will fly these artisans out to fabulous locations… only to lock them in studios to have them work on collaborating on attempting to write a song for a specific musical artist or act.
What is so impressive about the series, at least to those outside the world of recorded music, is that while the drama between the hitmakers might feel slightly exacerbated by the format of the show, their talent is not. Trey Campbell, Tommy Brown, Stephen Kirk, Jenna Andrews,
Ben Johnson, Sevyn Streeter, Nova Wav (Brittany “Chi” Coney and Denisia “Blu June” Andrews), Harv, Ferras, JHart, and Whitney Phillips are thrown together to produce potential songs for John Legend, Shaboozey, Usher, and Lisa.
Watching them come up with what feel like real ready to release songs in a matter of a day or two is mind boggling. These are writers and producers for the likes of Beyoncé, BTS, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and most importantly – “KPop Demon Hunters” so it technically shouldn’t come as a surprise, and yet to see it play out is both educational and entertaining.
We had the opportunity to sit down with several of the hitmakers to discuss what it’s like being thrown into new collaborations, coming in with preconceived ideas vs attending a songwriting camp clean slate, and some of their most unexpected successes.
“Hitmakers” is streaming now on Netflix.
