Bonnie McKee reflects on hit-making career and industry challenges: Source

Bonnie McKee helped define early 2000s pop with massive hits like Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, California Gurls, and Roar, Britney Spears’ Hold It Against Me, and Taio Cruz’s Dynamite. 

Often dubbed the "founding mother of recession pop," McKee also co-wrote for artists like Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera, and Cher.

Now, McKee is stepping back into the spotlight at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, where her self-directed music video Forever 21 from her Hot City project is an official selection. 

According to Daily Mail, McKee reflected on her journey from industry darling to independent artist.

McKee, who unexpectedly found a new fan base on TikTok during the pandemic, began sharing her songwriting process and personal archives, connecting deeply with followers. 

She said, “I keep old notebooks and relics from the past,” while explaining how she often begins writing sessions by diving into artists' emotions, asking about their love lives and inner struggles to craft music that resonates.

As per the publication, her collaborations with pop powerhouses were deeply immersive. 

Writing with Katy Perry, she admitted, could be “very difficult” due to their shared perfectionism as she said, “We had a really high standard… we wanted to make the best pop music ever — and on some of them, I feel like we did.”

Moreover, McKee originally recorded Hot City over a decade ago under Epic Records. 

After being dropped and losing her masters, she reclaimed ownership by re-recording the entire album herself, à la Taylor Swift. 

She shared, “When I blew up on TikTok, fans were begging for the Hot City songs — some even had the lyrics tattooed.”

Now an independent artist funding her own work, McKee is vocal about the financial realities of songwriting in the streaming era, as per the outlet.

Despite the challenges, McKee is working on her darkest and most personal album yet as she said, “It’s brutally honest but still danceable — I’ve never been this vulnerable in my writing, and I think it’ll be cathartic for people.”