Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Songcraft celebrates ten years with a look back at episode highlights and behind-the-scenes stories from our first decade! Plus, a few announcements about what's new in 2025. 

Six-time Grammy winner, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, and Kennedy Center honoree Amy Grant joins us to chat about the pursuit of honesty in songwriting, the stories behind some of her songs, and her catalog of modern day Christmas classics. PART ONEPaul and Scott chat about the idea of a "definitive" version of a Christmas song, discuss their favorites, debate about Christmas songs they love and hate, and delve into Scott's elementary school crush on Amy Grant. PART TWOOur in-depth interview with Amy GrantABOUT AMY GRANTPerhaps the most influential pioneer of the Contemporary Christian Music genre, Amy Grant released her first album while still in high school. Her fourth album, 1982’s Age to Age, found unprecedented success with hit singles such as “Sing Your Praise to the Lord” and “El Shaddai.” Age to Age topped the Christian album chart for 85 weeks, earned Amy her first Grammy award, and became the first Christian album to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. Her 1984 album Straight Ahead spawned hits with Amy’s original compositions “Thy Word” and “Angels,” and became the first Christian album to land on the Billboard 200. By the mid-1980s, she further crossed over to mainstream success when “Find a Way,” which she wrote with Michael W. Smith, hit the Top 40 on Billboard’s pop chart. The following year, Amy reached the top of the pop chart with “The Next Time I Fall,” a duet with Peter Cetera. Her 1991 album Heart in Motion sold 5 million copies and spawned four Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including the self-penned hits “Baby Baby” and “Every Heartbeat.” That same year, she enjoyed another Top 10 pop hit as a songwriter with Michael W. Smith’s “Place in This World.” Amy continued to find mainstream success in the mid-1990s with singles such as “House of Love,” a duet with her now-husband Vince Gill, as well as the songs “Lucky One” and “Takes a Little Time,” which she wrote with Keith Thomas and Wayne Kirkpatrick, respectively. Starting with 1983’s A Christmas Album, holiday music has been an important part of Amy Grant’s artistry. She has since released the albums Home for Christmas, which was certified three-times Platinum; A Christmas to Remember; Tennessee Christmas; and The Animals’ Christmas, a collaborative album with Art Garfunkel featuring songs by Jimmy Webb that explore the nativity story from the perspective of the animals. Amy’s original songs “Tennessee Christmas” and “Breath of Heaven” have become modern day holiday standards. Her Christmas concerts, often featuring husband Vince Gill and longtime collaborator Michael W. Smith, have become a holiday tradition. To date, Amy has released twenty studio albums and has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Seventeen of her albums have reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, more than any other artist in history. She has won 6 Grammy awards, 26 Dove awards, and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Amy has received honorary doctorates from two universities, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. She was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement in 2022.  

Bonnie McKee chats about co-writing hits with Katy Perry, including "California Gurls" and "Roar," as well as her own artist career that has resulted in successful singles such as "American Girl." PART ONE:Scott and Paul share a little preview of what's to come as they prepare to celebrate Songcraft's 10 anniversaryPART TWOOur in-depth conversation with Bonnie McKeeABOUT BONNIE McKEE:Bonnie McKee grew up as a classically trained singer and pianist, but began pursuing a pop music career while still a teen. In 2004 she released her debut album, Trouble, with Reprise Records, but soon switched her focus to working as a behind-the-scenes songwriter. She has written ten songs that have hit #1 in either the US or UK, and is best known for her work with Katy Perry, which began with the Diamond-certified and international chart-topping album, Teenage Daydream. Bonnie contributed to three songs on the album, all of which became chart-topping singles: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” When the deluxe Complete Confection version of the album was released, Bonnie landed two more chart-topping singles with “Part of Me” and “Wide Awake.” She went on to collaborate with Katy Perry on four songs on the follow-up album, Prism, including the Top 20 single “Birthday” and the #1 hit “Roar.” Other successful singles from the Bonnie McKee songbook include “Dynamite” for Taio Cruz, “Hold it Against Me” for Britney Spears, “C’Mon” for Kesha, and the UK chart toppers “How We Do (Party)” by Rita Ora and “I Don’t Care” by Cheryl. Additionally, she’s written songs for Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Bebe Rexha, Jason Derulo, Kygo, and Adam Lambert, among others.In 2013, Bonnie reemerged as an artist with the single “American Girl” on Epic Records. She recorded an entire album, but parted ways with the label and it was shelved. Enough tracks and demos leaked online over the years, however, that fans were clamoring for it. Now, more than ten years later, Bonnie has re-recorded the album. She combined the re-recorded tracks with the original release of “American Girl,” which has now been streamed 23 million times on Spotify. The end result is Hot City, an album more than a decade in the making. 

Grammy nominee and four-time ASCAP Christian Songwriter of the Year Jeremy Camp dives deep with Songcraft on creativity, loss, honesty, and following the right path. PART ONEPaul and Scott get in the weeds on Billboard magazine's recent "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time" list. Plus, we preview the remaining episodes for 2024 and offer a sneak peek at what's ahead for our 10th anniversary year.PART TWOOur in-depth interview with Jeremy CampABOUT JEREMY CAMPBetween 2002 and 2024, Christian artist Jeremy Camp released fifteen studio albums, four of which have been certified Gold by the RIAA. Additionally, his 2005 album Live Unplugged has been certified double Platinum. Fourteen of Jeremy’s singles as an artist have hit #1 on Billboard’s Christian charts, including the Gold-certified “Walk by Faith,” “There Will be a Day,” “Overcome,” “Same Power,” “Christ in Me,” “Dead Man Walking,” and “Keep Me in the Moment.” Other highlights of his catalog include “Give You Glory,” “Lay Down My Pride,” “Stay,” and “I Still Believe,” which he wrote after the death of his first wife when he was just 23 years old. Jeremy has earned a Grammy nomination, five GMA Dove Awards, three American Music Award nominations, and four awards for ASCAP Christian Songwriter of the Year. In addition, Billboard magazine named him the #2 Christian artist of the decade. Jeremy’s most recent album, Deeper Waters, was released in 2024.