Hitmaker of the Month: How Josh Gudwin’s ‘Mix Energy’ Helped Boost Justin Bieber’s ‘Ghost’
variety.comLily Moayeri As a gatekeeper of song submissions for Justin Bieber, producer and engineer Josh Gudwin is managing a dizzying number of text and email chains simultaneously and on-the-go.
One particularly long thread is with Stefan Johnson of the songwriting-production team Monsters and Strangerz. The topic? “Ghost,” Bieber’s latest hit which has racked up 12.9 billion streams, according to the pop star’s label, Def Jam.“Ghost” has been ensconced in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart since February 19.
Its highest position so far has been at No. 7, on the strength of 255 million domestic streams and 830 million global streams, per Def Jam.
It did hit No. 1 on the Pop radio format, though. And as the industry heads into Grammy week, where Bieber’s “Justice” album is up for eight awards, the song is poised to reach critical mass. “Ghost” is one of three records featuring Bieber’s vocals in the Top 40 that Gudwin has vocal-produced and engineered.
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