Leah Haywood on working with Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus

Would you call Australian singer-songwriter-producer Leah Haywood a one-hit wonder based on her only top 10 hit, We think it’s lovereleased in 2000, you’d be way off base – but that’s forgivable.

Though she’s had a string of hit songs since then, no one has mentioned her voice — or her name.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2002 with his songwriting partner Daniel James, the New Zealand-born artist has written tunes for pop stars such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Blackpink and Kygo. All this is far removed from the beginnings in the USA.

“When we moved to the States, we sold demos on Craigslist for $250 just to make ends meet,” says Haywood at a coffee shop in Mona Vale, home to visit family over the holidays. “We had nothing but a couple of contacts I had from my first album.”

Haywood’s original plan was to land a US record deal after a series of “bad decisions” by her Australian label led to her 2001 debut LP Leah Underperformed, but a new door opened thanks to a chance moment at an LA dental office.

“One of the girls we did a demo for, her dad was a very well known dentist in LA and one of his patients was a big TV composer named Mike Post who did the themes for shows like MagnumPI, Hill Street Blues and law & order‘ says Haywood. So Mike listens to the demo while he’s doing dental work, loves our music, signs us, gives us $120,000 and says, ‘I have three artists – pick one to develop.’”

Haywood and James chose to collaborate with teenage sisters Aly & AJ, their 2006 debut album In a hurry on Disney’s Hollywood Records has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

With some runs on the board, Haywood and James’ songwriting and production company Dreamlab began attracting other Disney-connected stars like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens.