Rise to Fame
He produced Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream,' Kesha's 'TiK ToK,' and Ed Sheeran's 'Castle on the Hill' before most listeners could have named him. His path ran through Dr. Luke's production camp in the late 2000s, and he spent years as the invisible hand on pop radio's biggest hits. The 29 number-ones on his production credit didn't translate to face recognition until he started releasing music under his own name around 2018. The back room was good to him. The front room is where things got interesting.
In the Spotlight
The industry gave him five BMI Songwriter of the Year Awards and 11 Grammy nominations. The internet gave him a relationship with Selena Gomez. One of those made him a public figure. Their collaborative album I Said I Love You First debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in March 2025, the same year they married. A producer becoming tabloid fodder is almost always a sign something has shifted. The back-room legacy was built over 15 years. The front-room chapter started with a wedding announcement.
Side Notes
In high school, he cold-called the offices of Jimmy Iovine and Polow da Don and told their secretaries he was an attorney. He wasn't. He was a teenager in Reston, Virginia, with a Myspace page and no credits. That lie got him further than a resume would have. He grew up Jewish, has ADHD, and took guitar, piano, and drum lessons from age four. His stage name comes from a character in the country film Pure Country, which is an absurd fact nobody brings up enough.