After landing a gig as an A&R intern at Sony Music in the early 2000s, Freddy Wexler began working with a then-unknown artist named Stefani Germanotta, before she became Lady Gaga. Wexler worked on early demos with Germanotta—even calling her “the next Madonna”—and wrote some music for television, including Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelorette.
By the 2010s, Wexler began writing songs for Selena Gomez, Steve Aoki, and more before launching the publishing company The Brain Music, followed by The Freddy Wexler Company in 2017 and went on to write for Diana Ross, Céline Dion, Lil Wayne, Jonas Brothers, Halsey, Post Malone, P!nk, Wyclef Jean, and Demi Lovato.
In 2020, Wexler also co-wrote and co-produced Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s No. 1 hit “Stuck With U.”
“Part of my growth as a songwriter has been surrendering to the idea that creativity cannot be fully explained by science,” Wexler recently told American Songwriter. “It’s ephemeral. It’s a reminder that we’re human.”
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On Wexler’s 35th birthday, his wife proceeded to help him connect with one of his musical idols, Billy Joel, who he later presented with some songs he was working on.
“It was a pretty special thing for me because I became a songwriter because of Billy Joel,” said Wexler. “Billy’s bar might be Beethoven. My bar is Billy Joel—both of which are unattainable bars. So, he’s gonna constantly be upset that he doesn’t feel like he’s hitting Beethoven’s level, and I’m constantly upset that I feel like one in 1,000 songs I write, maybe two lines sound as good as Billy Joel.”
When Wexler presented one song, in particular, Joel immediately connected to it and started writing “Turn the Lights Back On.”
Joel was writing new music again following his last album of original material, River of Dreams, from 1993. In 2007, Joel also wrote “All My Life,” for his then-wife, Katie Lee, along with the 2019 song “Christmas In Fallujah,” which was recorded by Cass Dillon.
“The last time I wrote a song, it has to be 30 years ago,” said Joel during the 2024 Grammys. “A lot of people have asked me ‘Why did you stop writing?’ and I said ‘Because I didn’t want to.’ Some people have a great time with it. I kind of suffer with songwriting.”
Wexler recently spoke to American Songwriter about the trajectory of his career, a time when he considered quitting, and how songwriting has transformed for him within the past 20 years.
American Songwriter: How has songwriting shifted for you within the past two decades?
Freddy Wexler: The best songs in my experience are written when you feel uninhibited and when you’re not trying too hard. And when you become a sort of vessel for inspiration. At the beginning of my songwriting career, I didn’t realize that. I thought I was much more in control over everything. Part of my growth as a songwriter has been surrendering to the idea that creativity cannot be fully explained by science. It’s ephemeral. It’s a reminder that we’re human. And the best thing we can do is just go into a session positive, open, and hope for the best.
AS: Was there moment when you realized you were a good songwriter?
FW: There’s a difference between when I thought I was good, (laughs), and when I was good. Around 16 I started writing songs. Music became a form of catharsis for me, which is why some of those early songs I still think were good.
I started some bands and ultimately signed a production deal with these producers Shep and Kenny. Then I signed a record deal with Virgin Records. In that initial period of my life, from 16 to 21, I was only writing for myself. I was only writing what was in my soul? Then I started writing for other artists and it became a big piece of my career. And that was a very different process, because instead of trying to write my authentic truth, I was trying to help other people express theirs.
AS: Do you find it fairly easy to shut off your initial mode of writing when collaborating in order to get someone else’s story out and leaving yours to the side?
FW: It can be challenging. Part of the learning curve for me
was realizing you should never forget that you’re an artist, even if you’re writing for other people. Of course, the idea is to step into another person’s psyche and help them express themselves in a way that is authentic to them. But from my experience, the best songs contain pieces that are authentic to the songwriters. On “Turn the Lights Back On,” for example, even though I was channeling Billy [Joel], I wrote from an experience that was very true to myself.
Many songwriters assume that a superstar artist that you’re writing for, or with, wants a song similar to their last hit. But most likely, if they’re coming to you for ideas or to collaborate, they most likely want your perspective, so it’s important to have a little piece of yourself in there.
AS: There was a point before you started working with Billy Joel when you were also questioning your career and whether you wanted to continue as a songwriter.
FW: I think that it goes with being human. It’s also the fact that songwriters and artists have a job that runs 100 percent on inspiration. It’s a ludicrous thought. Imagine if a lawyer said, “I can’t negotiate the deal today. I don’t feel inspired,” or a doctor said “I can’t perform the surgery today. I’m just not feeling it.” It’s preposterous. But that is what it looks like to be an artist. And that means that on days where you don’t feel inspired it’s hard to work. And you may hit weeks, months, even a year of feeling uninspired. Now, that doesn’t mean you’re not working, but you don’t feel good about the work you’re doing. You know that you could do better and you just can’t figure out why you’re not doing it. So it can be challenging.
That’s why they say, if you’re going to pursue the arts or anything where it’s really just you against the world, you better have thick skin. You better have faith in yourself that this is going to happen for you because there are going to be a lot of roadblocks. Ostensibly, I was in the prime of my career at that point, but by being a perfectionist, and always wanting to deliver the best that I can, I didn’t think I was doing that. I thought it was cool that I was having talks with some really big artists, but were these songs that would make folks like Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and whomever else say “That’s a cool song.” I wanted to be writing songs I believed those people would like. I wanted that validation. And then I got it.
AS: It’s very honest of you to admit to wanting some form of validation. On the flip side, pefectionism can also lead to overthinking, and halt the process. How do you work around this?
FW: There’s a balance that’s helpful to strike. Once in a while, you catch a vibe, and it’s easy. The song comes out, the lyrics, the music—even sometimes the production. Those are the greatest days ever.
Other times, if you want to deliver lyrics, like those of Billy Joel or Paul Simon or Ray Charles, it sometimes requires more of a painstaking effort. I think what I try to balance out is making sure the initial session stays fun. If we’re stuck on a couple lines, move on. Get through the song, get the chorus, get into the production, and get the room dancing again. We always have tomorrow to come back and tweak lyrics. We could take two more months and perfect certain lyrics but we can never go back and recreate the initial energy and magic of the moment. So it’s important to remember that and not kill the vibe as it’s happening.
Photo: Freddy Wexler at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, April 3, 202 by David Fisher/Shutterstock
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