Lukasz Gottwald (Dr. Luke) has been named Songwriter of the Year at the ASCAP Pop Awards – his third win in that category. The controversial producer took home the award for his contributions to hit songs from the past year, including “Big Energy” (Latto), “Super Freaky Girl” (Nicki Minaj), and “Need to Know” (Doja Cat).
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Dr. Luke won through the performance rights organization’s metric of “the total number of a writer’s shares in ASCAP Pop Music Award-winning songs multiplied by the winning songs’ impressions, which are calculated based on Luminate data on radio and streaming,” per a release from ASCAP.
Dr. Luke previously won the award in 2010 and 2011. He is tied with Lionel Richie for three wins of the honor but is beaten by Diane Warren and Max Martin who have five and eleven wins, respectively.
This year marks Dr. Luke’s first Songwriter of the Year win since Kesha accused him of sexual assault back in 2014. The producer is currently countersuing the pop artist for defamation. Their latest trial has been set for July 26 in New York.
The win also comes on the heels of Kesha’s latest record, Gag Order, which is her last to be released under the producer’s label, Kemosabe Records.
“I feel as if there has been an implied gag order for a very long time now,” Kesha told Rolling Stone ahead of the album’s release. “With my ongoing litigation hanging over my head, I have not been able to speak freely because I know everything I say is scrutinized.”
In a review of the record, American Songwriter wrote, “Gag Order is a thorough dissection of [Kesha’s] story, which the public has been watching from a bird’s eye view for the last decade. Her scalpel is sharp and she wields it with a purpose, digging for her truth and laying it out on the table for observation.
“It’s an effort that takes big risks to find equal rewards. It calls to mind past musical statements made by pop divas that demand attention. This is Kesha’s Reputation. It’s her Lemonade,” the review continued.
Elsewhere at the 2023 ASCAP Pop Awards, The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” took home Song of the Year and Sony Music Publishing took home the Publisher of the Year Award.
Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
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