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Joel Little

Joel Little
Born (1983-02-13) 13 February 1983 (age 41)
Auckland, New Zealand
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboards
Years active2003–present
LabelsDryden Street
Formerly ofGoodnight Nurse

Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.[1][2] He is best known for his work as a writer and producer with artists Lorde, Taylor Swift, Broods, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Khalid, Elliphant, Jarryd James, Shawn Mendes, Marina Diamandis, Amy Shark, Goodnight Nurse, Noah Kahan, Years & Years, the Jonas Brothers, and Niall Horan.

Career

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Little trained at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (MAINZ) in Auckland, and began his career as singer and guitarist of the pop punk band Goodnight Nurse. The band released two studio albums, Always and Never (2006) and Keep Me on Your Side (2008) both of which peaked at number five on the New Zealand top 40 albums chart. Over the two albums, the band had five singles in the New Zealand top-40 from 2004 to 2008.[3]

Goodnight Nurse guitarist Sam McCarthy and Little produced and also co-wrote the majority of the debut album released by McCarthy's new group, Kids of 88.[4] The album, Sugarpills was released in 2010 and debuted at number two in the New Zealand album chart.[5] It featured three hit singles, "My House", "Just a Little Bit" and "Downtown" co-written by Little. "Just a Little Bit" went on to win Single of the Year at the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards.[6]

In 2011, Little set up his own production studio, Golden Age, in Morningside, Auckland.[7]

In 2012, Little co-wrote and produced, recorded and mixed The Love Club EP by Lorde at Golden Age.[8] Singles "Royals" and "Tennis Court" both charted at number one in New Zealand in 2013,[9] with the EP achieving gold certification in New Zealand and Platinum certification in Australia.[10][11] Little also co-wrote, produced, mixed, engineered and played the instruments on the debut Lorde album, Pure Heroine, which was released worldwide on 30 September 2013.[12]

In early September 2013, Little and co-writer Lorde were shortlisted for "Royals" in the 2013 Silver Scroll Award, which honours outstanding achievement in songwriting of original New Zealand pop music.[13] They went on to win this award,[14] at a ceremony on 16 October.[1][2] He also won a Grammy Award on 26 January 2014, alongside Lorde, winning Song of the Year for "Royals".

Little produced Auckland-based pop duo Broods' single, "Bridges", subsequent EP, Broods, and their 2014 album, Evergreen.[15]

In 2019, Little co-wrote and co-produced four songs with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her seventh studio album Lover, including "Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "The Man", and "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince". Little and Swift also co-wrote and co-produced a fifth track, "Only the Young" which was left off the album. The track was released in 2020 in conjunction with Miss Americana, a documentary on Swift's life and career; Little appeared in the documentary.[16]

As of 2014 Little is based in Los Angeles.[17]

Discography

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With Goodnight Nurse

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For a more comprehensive list, see Goodnight Nurse.

Production and writing credits

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Year Artist Album Song Co-writer: Producer or co-producer:
2023 Tove Lo Elevator Eyes ✓ ✓
Goodnight Nurse All Hail The Serpent Queen Part 3 of 3 (Trilogy) (Holy Hell!) ✓ ✓
Niall Horan The Show Must Be Love ✓
Science ✓
You Could Start A Cult ✓ ✓
The Show ✓
Never Grow Up ✓
Meltdown ✓ ✓
If You Leave Me ✓
Heaven ✓ ✓
2022 Vance Joy Clarity ✓ ✓
Years & Years Night Call "...Muscle" ✓ ✓
"Hallucination" ✓
James Bay Leap "Nowhere Left To Go" ✓
Imagine Dragons Mercury - Acts 1 & 2 "Symphony" ✓ ✓
2021 Noah Kahan I Was/I Am "Part Of Me" ✓
"Animal" ✓
"Caves" ✓
"Bad Luck" ✓
"Godlight" ✓
"Someone Like You" feat. Joy Oladokun ✓
"Fear Of Water" ✓ ✓
"Hollow" ✓
"Bury Me" ✓
"Howling" ✓
Gracie Abrams This Is What It Feels Like "Better" ✓ ✓
"Wishful Thinking" ✓ ✓
"For Real This Time" ✓ ✓
Alessia Cara In The Meantime "Apartment Song" ✓ ✓
Tate McRae & Khalid "Working" ✓ ✓
Vance Joy "Missing Piece" ✓ ✓
Noah Kahan "Part Of Me" ✓
Elliphant "Notorious" ✓
Imagine Dragons "Follow You" ✓ ✓
Elliphant "Drunk & Angry" ✓ ✓
Jarryd James P.M. "Slow Motion" ✓ ✓
"Miracles" ✓ ✓
"Stop Me" ✓
2020 Isaac Dunbar "love, or the lack thereof' ✓ ✓
"Intimate Moments" ✓ ✓
Bishop Briggs "Higher" ✓
Amy Shark Cry Forever "Everybody Rise" ✓ ✓
Lennon Stella Three. Two. One. "Jealous" ✓
Gracie Abrams Non-album single "21" ✓ ✓
Taylor Swift Non-album single "Only the Young" ✓ ✓
2019 Tove Lo Sunshine Kitty "Mistaken" ✓ ✓
Bishop Briggs "Jekyll & Hide" ✓ ✓
Foster The People Pick U Up "Pick U Up" ✓ ✓
Taylor Swift Lover "Me!" (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco) ✓ ✓
"You Need to Calm Down"
"The Man"
"Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince"
Bishop Briggs Champion "Champion" ✓ ✓
"Jekyll & Hide" ✓ ✓
"I Tried" ✓
K Flay "Sister" ✓ ✓
Noah Kahan Busyhead "False Confidence" ✓
"Mess"
"Hurt Somebody (with Julia Michaels)"
"Young Blood"
"Cynic" ✓
"Save Me"
"Sink"
"Tidal"
Jonas Brothers Happiness Begins ''Happy When I'm Sad'' ✓ ✓
James Bay "Peer Pressure" ✓
Noah Kahan "Mess" ✓
MARINA Love + Fear "Handmade Heaven" ✓
"To Be Human"
"Life Is Strange" ✓
Terror Jr Unfortunately, Terror Jr "Pretty" ✓ ✓
Jarryd James "Slow Motion" ✓ ✓
Broods Don't Feed the Pop Monster "Life After" ✓ ✓
"Too Proud" ✓ ✓
2018 Lennon Stella Love Me - EP "La Di Da" ✓ ✓
Imagine Dragons Origins "Birds" ✓ ✓
NAO Saturn "Yellow of the Sun" ✓ ✓
Amy Shark Love Monster "Never Coming Back" ✓ ✓
6lack East Atlantic Love Letter "Switch" ✓ ✓
Daya "Safe" ✓ ✓
Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes "Youth (feat. Khalid)" ✓
"Queen"
Mikky Ekko "Moment" ✓ ✓
Robinson "Nothing To Regret" ✓
Alison Wonderland Awake "Church" ✓ ✓
"No" ✓ ✓
"Okay" ✓
"Easy" ✓ ✓
"Cry" ✓ ✓
"Happy Place" ✓
"Awake" ✓
Kailee Morgue Medusa "Unfortunate Soul" ✓ ✓
Noah Kahan "Come Down" ✓ ✓
Noah Kahan Hurt Somebody "Hurt Somebody" ✓
"Catastrophize" ✓
"Passenger" ✓
2017 Kesha The Greatest Showman Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "This Is Me" ✓
Lorde Melodrama "Supercut" ✓
"Green Light" ✓
Bebe Rexha All Your Fault: Pt. 2 "The Way I Are (Dance with Somebody) (feat. Lil Wayne)" ✓ ✓
Imagine Dragons Evolve "Whatever It Takes" ✓ ✓
Ruth B Safe Haven "Mixed Signals" ✓
"Dandelions"
"Unrighteous"
"If This Is Love"
"Young"
"If By Chance"
"World War 3"
"Safe Haven"
"In My Dreams"
"First Time"
Khalid American Teen "Young Dumb & Broke" ✓ ✓
"8teen"
"Therapy"
Noah Kahan "Young Blood" ✓
"Sink"
2016 Tove Lo Lady Wood "Imaginary Friend" ✓ ✓
Brooke Fraser A Sides "Therapy" ✓ ✓
Jarryd James High "1000x (feat. Broods)" ✓ ✓
"Claim My Love" ✓
"How Do We Make It" ✓
Broods Conscious "Free" ✓ ✓
"We Had Everything" ✓ ✓
"Heartlines" ✓ ✓
"Hold the Line" ✓
"Freak of Nature (feat. Tove Lo)" ✓
"Recovery" ✓ ✓
"Couldn't Believe" ✓ ✓
"Full Blown Love" ✓ ✓
"Worth the Fight" ✓ ✓
"Bedroom Door" ✓ ✓
"Conscious" ✓ ✓
Fitz and the Tantrums Fitz and the Tantrums "Do What You Want" ✓ ✓
2015 Elliphant Living Life Golden "Step Down" ✓ ✓
"Where Is Home (feat. Twin Shadow)" ✓ ✓
Ellie Goulding Delirium "Paradise" ✓ ✓
"The Greatest" ✓ ✓
Half Noise "Inside" ✓
Jarryd James Thirty One "Do You Remember" ✓ ✓
"Give Me Something" ✓ ✓
"This Time (Serious Symptoms, Simple Solutions)" ✓ ✓
"Underneath" ✓
"Undone"
"Regardless" (feat. Julia Stone)
"High"
"Sure Love"
Daniel Johns Aerial Love EP "Aerial Love" ✓ ✓
"Late Night Drive"
Talk "Aerial Love" ✓ ✓
"Cool On Fire"
"Warm Hands"
"Dissolve" ✓
Lorde The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Yellow Flicker Beat" ✓ ✓
"Meltdown" ✓ ✓
"Ladder Song" ✓
"Flicker (Kanye West rework)" ✓
2014 Elliphant One More EP "One More (feat. MØ)" ✓ ✓
Priory Weekend "Weekend" ✓
Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour: Deluxe Edition "Reminds Me of You" ✓
Broods Evergreen "Mother & Father" ✓ ✓
"Everytime"
"Killing You"
"Bridges"
"L.A.F"
"Never Gonna Change"
"Sober"
"Medicine"
"Evergreen"
"Four Walls"
"Superstar"
2013 Broods "Never Gonna Change"
"Pretty Thing"
"Bridges"
"Sleep Baby Sleep"
"Taking You There"
"Coattails"
Lorde Pure Heroine "Tennis Court" ✓ ✓
"400 Lux"
"Ribs"
"Buzzcut Season"
"Team"
"Glory and Gore"
"Still Sane"
"White Teeth Teens"
"A World Alone"
"No Better"
2012 The Love Club "Bravado"
"Royals"
"Million Dollar Bills"
"The Love Club"
"Biting Down"
Timomatic Timomatic "AYO (That's What I Like)" ✓ ✓
2010 Dane Rumble The Experiment "What Are You Waiting For?" ✓

Awards and nominations

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APRA awards

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APRA Awards (Australia)

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The APRA Awards (Australia) are annually held by Australasian Performing Right Association to honour outstanding music artists and songwriters of the year.[18]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2014 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little Outstanding International Achievement Award Won [19]
2016 Jarryd James and Joel Little Pop Work of the Year Won [20]
2021 "Everybody Rise" by Amy Shark (Written by Shark and Joel Little) Song of the Year Nominated [21]
2023 "Clarity" by Vance Joy (Written by Joy and Joel Little) Song of the Year Shortlisted [22]
Most Performed Australian Work of the Year Nominated [23]
Most Performed Pop Work of the Year Nominated

APRA Silver Scroll Awards (New Zealand)

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The New Zealand APRA Awards are held by the Australasian Performing Right Association to honour the finest songwriters and composers.[24]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2013 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Royals" APRA Silver Scroll Won [14]
2014 Broods and Joel Little for "Bridges" APRA Silver Scroll Nominated [25]
Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Team" Most Performed Work in New Zealand Won [26]
Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Royals" Most Performed Work Overseas Won [26]
2015 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Yellow Flicker Beat" APRA Silver Scroll Nominated [27]
Joel Little and Jarryd James for "Do You Remember" APRA Silver Scroll Shortlisted [28]
Joel Little, Georgia Nott and Caleb Nott for "L.A.F." APRA Silver Scroll Shortlisted [28]
Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Royals" Most Performed Work Overseas Won [29]
2017 Ella Yelich-O'Connor, Jack Antonoff and Joel Little for "Green Light" APRA Silver Scroll Won [30]

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

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The annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards are held by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to honour the songwriters and publishers of the most performed pop songs in the United States.[31] Some of his works (like those for Imagine Dragons) are controlled in the US by ASCAP's largest competitor, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2014 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Royals" Most Performed Songs Won [32]
2015 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little - "Team" Most Performed Songs Won [33]
Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little - "Royals" Most Performed Songs Won [33]

Golden Globe Awards

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The Golden Globe Awards were established in 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to celebrate the best in film and television.[34]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2015 Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little for "Yellow Flicker Beat" Best Original Song Nominated [35]

Grammy Awards

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The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[36]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2014 Lorde, artist; Joel Little, producer; Joel Little, engineer/mixer; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer for "Royals" 56th Annual Grammy Awards – Record of the Year Nominated [37]
Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little, songwriters for "Royals" 56th Annual Grammy Awards – Song of the Year Won [38]

New Zealand Music Awards

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The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually to musicians of New Zealand origin, by Recorded Music NZ.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2014 Joel Little for Pure Heroine Best Engineer Won [39]
Joel Little for Pure Heroine Best Producer Won [39]
2015 Joel Little for Evergreen Best Producer Nominated [40]
2016 Joel Little for Conscious Best Engineer Won [41]
Joel Little for Conscious Best Producer Won [41]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lorde's Silver Scroll 'a big deal' for co-writer Joel Little Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. 3 News NZ. 16 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b Lorde takes out top Silver Scroll. Radio NZ. 16 October 2013.
  3. ^ "GOODNIGHT NURSE IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Kids of 88 – Sugarpills". All Music. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  5. ^ "KIDS OF 88 IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  6. ^ "2010 Winners". NZ Music Awards. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Golden Age". NZ Musician. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Lorde – The Love Club EP". Discogs. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  9. ^ "DISCOGRAPHY LORDE". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  10. ^ "12 August 2012". Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Royals". Aria Charts. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  12. ^ "The 16-year-old is already a chart-topper in her native New Zealand. Is America next?". Billboard. July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  13. ^ "APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2013 Finalists Announced". The Corner. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  14. ^ a b Jenkins, Lydia (16 October 2013). "Lorde's Royals wins APRA Silver Scroll award". NZ Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  15. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (5 December 2013). "New Zealand's Broods Signs To Capitol in U.S., Preps Debut Album with Lorde's Producer". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  16. ^ Willman, Chris (21 January 2020). "How Midterm Elections Inspired Taylor Swift's New Song, 'Only the Young'". Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  17. ^ Duff, Michelle (14 November 2014). "Joel Little: The man behind Lorde". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Awards | APRA AMCOS". Australasian Performing Right Association (Australia). Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  19. ^ "2014 APRA Music Award winners announced". ABC Online. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  20. ^ "2016 APRA Music Award winners announced". Australasian Performing Right Association. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  21. ^ Brandle, Lars (4 February 2021). "2021 APRA Awards is set: Check out Song of the Year contenders". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via The Brag.
  22. ^ "These 20 songs are up for 2023 APRA Song Of The Year". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Nominees revealed for the 2023 APRA Music Awards". APRA Awards. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Silver Scroll Awards | APRA AMCOS NZ". Australasian Performing Right Association (New Zealand). Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  25. ^ "'APRA Silver Scrolls Finalists Announced". Stuff.co.nz. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  26. ^ a b "APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2014 - The Winner". APRA:AMCOS. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  27. ^ "'Diverse, original and assured' - Silver Scroll finalists announced". One News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  28. ^ a b "2015 TOP 20 + 1981 TOP 5". APRA AMCOS. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  29. ^ "2015 APRA Silver Scroll Awards – the winners". Scoop. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  30. ^ "Lorde's 'Green Light' wins top Silver Scroll". NZ Herald. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  31. ^ Gundersen, Edna (24 April 2014). "Tom Petty, fun. honored at ASCAP Pop Music Awards". USA Today. Retrieved 8 January 2015. The annual event recognizes the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2013 pop charts.
  32. ^ "Most Performed Songs". ASCAP. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  33. ^ a b "ASCAP Most Performed Songs 2015". ASCAP. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  34. ^ "History of the Golden Globes". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  35. ^ Lynch, Joe (11 December 2014). "2015 Golden Globe Nominees: Lorde & Joel Little, Lana Del Rey, Trent Reznor & More". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  36. ^ "Grammy Awards: Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.
  37. ^ "Lorde takes home two Grammys". Stuff. Fairfax. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  38. ^ "Grammy nominations 2014: The complete list". LA Times. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  39. ^ a b "Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards - 2014 Categories". VNZMA. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  40. ^ "NZ Music Awards 2015 Tech Finalists Announced". Under the Radar. UTR. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  41. ^ a b "Vodafone New Zealand Music Artisan Awards: producer Joel Little wins big". Stuff. Fairfax. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
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