In the music industry, it is often frowned upon when singers do not write their own songs because it threatens the authenticity of the song’s meaning. It is rare to see singers who individually write their own songs (alone), so I bet you’re wondering if New Rules singer Dua Lipa writes her own songs.
While Dua is credited on all of her songs, the famous singer doesn’t write her songs alone. She will often write her songs with the help of other songwriters in the industry. It turns out that Lipa didn’t write the song New Rules that grabbed her a lot of attention.
Some singers weren’t born to be singers and songwriters; some were just born to fulfill their dream to be center stage with the spotlight on them while they perform their great songs. But is this true for rising star Lipa? Read on to learn more!
Singer or Songwriter or Both?
It might come as a shock to you that the many famous faces you’re likely to be familiar with, such as Elton John, Elvis Presley, and Rihanna, don’t write their own songs. It appears that some singers either just don’t have the time to write songs in their busy lives, or they just weren’t made to be songwriters as well as performing singers.
Often, self-written material is preferred over material written by other songwriters. But why? Well, there are elements of a singer’s identity that can be revealed when they write their own songs. When compared with other singers who don’t write their own songs, those who do can be seen by their fans for who they really are, rather than some famous persona they have created because more of their identity shines through in the lyrics of their songs; this authenticity is essential to audiences who listen to a singer’s music.
Self-written material is also preferred because singers are more actively involved in the creative process behind the writing of their songs, this means that further authenticity can be added and indicates that the singer is serious about their career and that they wish to command control over what is put out into the world under their stage name.
Bad Romance singer Lady Gaga has released her views on singers who don’t write their own songs in a conversation with Yahoo. Here’s what she said:
“But then you think about artists that can’t really sing, that have songs written for them, and it’s like, well, why are they artists? […] Because they’re beautiful and look good on camera and are kinda-sorta singing along? When you’re a singer-songwriter, it doesn’t really matter if you’re beautiful. What matters is that you create a relationship with your fans, and they care what you have to say.”
Just because some singers don’t write their own songs, that’s not to say there aren’t still solo singer-songwriters. Some well-known singers that have produced chart-topping hits are solo songwriters; this includes the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele, and Ed Sheeran, to name a few, but even these singers rely on other writers to help them.
How Many People Does It Take To Produce Chart-Topping Hits?
It might shock you to find out that it usually takes at least four people to produce a hit that tops the charts. That’s according to this publication by Music Week. The publication revealed that 13% of 2016’s biggest hits were credited to eight or more artists. You might wonder why, and the short answer to this is that the music industry is fast-paced, which means that musicians have to produce songs in record time to maintain their fame and popularity.
Concluding Notes
While many singers opt to work with other artists to write their songs, this is similar to what happens in other workplaces, so we needn’t be concerned about authenticity. Just because other artists are credited in songs, authenticity isn’t compromised, and that’s great for everyone!