The secrets behind pop king Max Martin’s hit making magic

The songwriter and genius behind blockbuster musical & Juliet has revealed the magic to penning some of the world’s greatest hits.

Nui Te Koha

@nuitekoha

3 min read

March 7, 2023 - 5:44PM

Pop king Max Martin. Picture: Instagram.

Confidential

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Pop king Max Martin has sung the highest praises for the Australian cast of his Broadway and West End hit, & Juliet.

“They’re incredible,” Martin told Confidential.

“I would not be mad if this Australian cast was on Broadway.”

Martin has been in Melbourne for a week to work on the musical ahead of its opening night on Thursday.

His mega-hits, including I Want It That Way, Roar, Teenage Dream, Baby One More Time, and I Can’t Feel My Face are the backbone of & Juliet, a clever reimagining of Shakespeare’s doomed love story, Romeo and Juliet, written by Schitt’s Creek creator David West Read.

Max Martin poses at the opening night of "& Juliet" on Broadway. Picture: WireImage

The Swedish hit maker has written, or co-written, 25 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs.

Martin is the songwriter with the third-most No. 1 singles on the US Billboard chart, behind Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

“To me, a great song sometimes turns out to be a hit song,” Martin said on Tuesday.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about, ‘Oh, it’s mathematical. That’s not true at all.

“Sometimes you come to a place like, ‘Maybe I have figured it out,’” Martin said.

“But that’s when reality slaps you in the face, and nope . you release three songs that don’t work.”

He said the key to his success is internal.

“You need to love pop music,” he said, then added later: “It’s also a little bit of luck.”

The songwriter was raised on Eurovision (“Our country stopped when that show was on”) and ABBA. “I have it n my blood,” he added.

“My taste sometimes seems to be aligned with what the Zeitgeist is.”

Blake Appelqvist and Lorinda May Merrypor star as Romeo and Juliet in the Australian production of “& Juliet”. Picture: David Caird.

Martin will celebrate 30 years as a songwriter this year.

“We were just trying to write good songs for people, and try the best we could,” he said.

“When we started this idea to make a musical, I was insecure about that because I couldn’t see the connections the way David (did). I was, ‘OK, here are the songs, you try and figure that out. When he came back and created this journey, I couldn’t believe it.”

For Martin, story, not songs, is the most important narrative device in & Juliet.

“I felt, being an insecure songwriter, I didn’t expect anyone to know any of the songs. I wanted people to love and feel the story, and be part of its journey,” he said.

“You couldn’t rely on the fact some of these songs are semi famous.”

The Australian cast of “& Juliet” with actor and singer Rob Mills, centre. Picture: Jason Edwards.

Martin’s wife, Jenny Petterson, was the first to suggest he funnel his multi-platinum catalogue into a musical theatre piece. He admits musical theatre wasn’t on his radar.

The only shows he had seen were Mamma Mia and Hamilton.

“The greatest thing is, with this journey … I feel like I know a whole lot more. The art form and knowing how many people it takes to create something, and how long you have to work before it’s actually on stage … these artists are really superheroes to me.

“They have to act, sing, dance, and be on time — which is rare in my world,” Martin said, laughing.

“I have this deep love for this art form.”

The show’s director, Luke Sheppard, said the Australian production of & Juliet will have a distinctly local flavour.

He said: “Being here and being present, and casting all these amazing artists from Australia … and making it with this city, this culture; the fingerprints of Melbourne are all over it.”