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Wayne Wilkins

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For the fictional character, Coach Wayne WIlkins, see Young Sheldon.

Wayne Wilkins
Birth nameWayne Andrew Wilkins
BornCroydon, London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • audio engineer
  • songwriter
Years active2000–present
Websitewaynewilkins.com

Wayne Wilkins is a British record producer, songwriter, record engineer and record mixer. He has produced and written for artists such as Rick Astley ("Cry for Help"), Natasha Bedingfield ("These Words", "Single" and "Love Like This"), Beyoncé ("Sweet Dreams"), Cheryl Cole ("Fight For This Love", and "Promise This"), and Jordin Sparks ("Battlefield").[1]

Early life

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Wilkins was born in Croydon, London.[citation needed] He began taking piano lessons at the age of four.[2] Wilkins earned a scholarship to a music conservatory as a child.[2] Growing up, he played organ at cathedrals and other venues around London.[2]

Wilkins went on to the Royal College of Music in London.[2] Wilkins later graduated with a physics degree from Imperial College.[2] While in college one of Wilkins early jobs was teaching piano.[2] He also interned at Townhouse Studios and Olympic Studios where he received further training in engineering, mixing, and producing.[3]

Career

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While Wilkins was interning at Olympic Studios he got the opportunity to work for engineer Spike Stent.[3] Stent's resume includes working with such artists as Madonna, Beyoncé, Björk, Lily Allen, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Oasis, U2, Usher, and Lady Gaga.[4] Working for Stent provided Wilkins the opportunity to program for the engineer and work on high-budget recordings.[3] During his tenure with Stent, Wilkins worked with Timbaland, Oasis, Rodney Jerkins, Madonna, and U2.[3] Wilkins worked on the No Doubt Rock Steady album which Wilkins said later afforded him higher-profile work opportunities.[3] Wilkins has cited artists such as Michael Jackson, David Foster, Whitney Houston, Chicago, John Williams, and Oscar Peterson as having a major influence on his style and tastes.[3]

In 2000, Wilkins started working independently.[3] The first band Wilkins produced after going independent was The Corrs.[3][5]

In May 2004, Natasha Bedingfield released "Single", a song co-written and co-produced by Wilkins.[6][7][8] Natasha Bedingfield followed with "These Words", which was released in August 2004.[9] Wilkins co-wrote and co-produced another hit for Natasha Bedingfield, "Love Like This", which also featured Sean Kingston.[10][11]

Wilkins co-wrote and co-produced the 2008 single "Energy" with members of The Runaways, Sam Watters, Rico Love, and Louis Biancaniello.[12] Wilkins also co-wrote "We Break the Dawn" alongside Solange Knowles and Andrew Frampton for Michelle Williams's third album, Unexpected. He was also involved in creating the remix for the same song. In June 2008, Shontelle's "T-Shirt" was released. It was co-written by Wilkins.[13] In November 2008, Beyoncé released her album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, which included Wilkins's production and co-written single "Sweet Dreams".[14][15][16]

In 2009, he worked with Irish pop band Westlife on the track "Sound of a Broken Heart" included in their Where We Are album. Cheryl Cole released the single "Fight For This Love" in October 2009, taken from her album 3 Words.[6][17] In July 2014, Cheryl Cole released the single "Crazy Stupid Love" from her fourth studio album. Wilkins co-wrote and co-produced the song, which also features British rapper Tinie Tempah.

Songwriting and gears

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Wilkins has stated that he prefers to start with chord progressions as opposed to lyrics.[2] He has said he attempts to be a "vessel" in which music flows out of him naturally.[2] He prefers writing and producing together.[18] He says that he tends to write simple lyrics and chords.[19]

Early in his career, Wilkins worked under mixing engineer Mark "Spike" Stent of EMI.[18] Wilkins usually records an artist by moving to their place with portable gear.[19] Wilkins's gear generally consists of an Apple Logic, a MacBook Pro, and an Apogee Symphony Mobile System.[2]

Singles

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Year Single Chart positions Album
AUS FR GER IRE UK US Hot 100 US
R&B 		US
Pop 		US
Dance
2001 "Would You Be Happier?" (The Corrs) 47 61 81 26 14 – – – – Best of The Corrs
2004 "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield) 78 – – 7 3 57 – 38 – Unwritten
"These Words" (Natasha Bedingfield) 5 19 2 1 1 17 – 9 35
2005 "I Bruise Easily" (Natasha Bedingfield) – – 46 17 12 – – – –
2007 "I Wanna Have Your Babies" (Natasha Bedingfield) 50 – 39 8 7 – – – – NB
"Love Like This" (Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston) 77 – 33 34 20 11 – – 1 Pocketful of Sunshine
2008 "We Break the Dawn" (Michelle Williams) – – – – 47 – – – 4 Unexpected
"Energy" (Keri Hilson) 55 – – – 43 78 21 72 – In a Perfect World...
"T-Shirt" (Shontelle) – – – 26 6 36 – – 1 Shontelligence
2009 "Battlefield" (Jordin Sparks) 4 – 40 9 11 10 – 6 – Battlefield
"Sweet Dreams" (Beyoncé) 2 – 8 4 5 10 48 2 1 I Am... Sasha Fierce
"Touch My Hand" (David Archuleta) – – – – – – – – – David Archuleta
"Battle Cry" (Shontelle) – – – – 61 – – – – Shontelligence
"Fight for This Love" (Cheryl Cole) 54 7 4 1 1 – – – – 3 Words
"No More" (Cassie Davis) 90 – – – – – – – – Differently
2010 "Strip Me" (Natasha Bedingfield) – – – – – 91 – – – Strip Me
"Promise This" (Cheryl Cole) 78 – – 1 1 – – – – Messy Little Raindrops
2011 "The Flood" (Cheryl Cole) – – – 26 18 – – – –
2014 "Crazy Stupid Love" (Cheryl Cole ft. Tinie Tempah) 43 172 – 1 1 – – – – Only Human
2019 "Racing Cars" (Ruti Olajugbagbe) - - – - 49 – – – – Racing Cars

Awards and nominations

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References

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  1. ^ "Wayne Wilkins". Discogs.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "How to Write a Hit Song | Home Recording Tips, How To Record, Artist Recording Blogs | Apogee's Recording Blog". Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Talking Shop With Grammy-Nominated Songwriter and Producer Wayne Wilkins – Part 1 | Serve The Song". Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Mark 'Spike' Stent". Soundonsound.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. ^ The Corrs Official Website
  6. ^ a b Archived 24 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Natasha Bedingfield Scores Grammy Nomination". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Single – Natasha Bedingfield | Song Info | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via www.allmusic.com.
  9. ^ "These Words – Natasha Bedingfield | Song Info | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via www.allmusic.com.
  10. ^ "Love Like This – Natasha Bedingfield, Sean Kingston | Song Info | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via www.allmusic.com.
  11. ^ Natasha Bedingfield Album & Song Chart History | Billboard.com
  12. ^ "Keri Hilson | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. ^ "T-Shirt – Shontelle | Song Info | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via www.allmusic.com.
  14. ^ "RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Nominees And Winners | GRAMMY.com". 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  16. ^ I Am...Sasha Fierce – Beyoncé | Billboard.com
  17. ^ "Fight for This Love – Cheryl | Song Info | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via www.allmusic.com.
  18. ^ a b "Wayne Wilkins: Keepin' it Simple". Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Talking Shop With Grammy-Nominated Songwriter and Producer Wayne Wilkins – Part 2 | Serve The Song". Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h "BMI | Repertoire Search". Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
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