Songwriter Cathy Dennis Get's Her First #1 Hit With I Kissed a Girl
Posted on August 25, 2008
Hit songwriter Cathy Dennis recently extended her number of successful hit songs when Kate Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. "I Kissed a Girl" is the seventh top 10 song on the Hot 100 and the first to go to No. 1 for Dennis, who has also written hits for Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Janet Jackson, Spice Girls, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Kylie Minogue and Pink. Her international hits include "About You Now" by Sugababes and "Anything Is Possible" by Will Young."I am a massive fan of pop music, and have been for years," says Dennis. "I loved the songs from the '60s, and the work of writers like Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Burt Bacharach and Hal David David and Holland-Dozier-Holland. I also like most pop music since right through the '70s and '80s, with writers like Todd Rundgren and Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and bands like XTC and Blondie, up to the present day with bands like the Shins. To think about all that great body of work, and then consider that I am part of the 1,000th record to be No. 1 in the American chart feels fantastic."
Dennis offers her own thoughts on why "I Kissed a Girl" became her first No. 1 hit in the United States: "It feels to me like a real song of the moment, here and now in the summer of 2008. It's a bit controversial and makes people think, which is probably a good thing. Katy Perry is an original, the video is funny and engaging and though it's always a bit of a shock to hear that you have a No. 1 record in the States, and that you've sold a million downloads, I always felt that the blend of the song and the artist was so strong that we stood a good chance of having a hit. Katy is super-talented, and I couldn't be happier for her, as she also works her arse off. I can't wait to get in the studio with her again."
Cathy Dennis also had a solo career of her own in the 90s before turning her talents to writing songs for other singers. The Telegraph also has an article about Dennis here.
You can find a list of songs written by Cathy Dennis on Wikipedia.