"It was the first time we had co-written. We were just having fun," Jason Reeves remembers of co-writing 10 of the 12 songs on Colbie Caillat's debut album, Coco, released nearly 10 years ago, in July 2007.
Among them: Caillat's No. 5-peaking debut Billboard Hot 100 smash "Bubbly" and No. 20 follow-up "Realize." The former additionally led the Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop Songs charts for 19 and 13 weeks, respectively, while the latter hit the top 10 on both lists. Reeves subsequently co-wrote "I Never Told You" and "Try," two more top 10s for Caillat on Adult Pop Songs.
As for "Bubbly," specifically, "She had started it," Reeves recalls. "I think she was just hanging out in her bedroom one day. She had the start of that song and she came to me and wanted to finish it and I was like, of course, this is going to be easy to finish, because once a song starts out great, it's not hard to take it home."
On the latest Billboard Chart Beat Podcast, Reeves and his wife Nelly Joy – aka pop duo High Dive Heart – chat with host and Billboard co-director of charts Gary Trust about songwriting and more (in an interview taped recently before the pair opened for Caillat at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut).
Joy, meanwhile, boasts her own impressive Billboard chart history: as half of former duo The JaneDear Girls, she hit No. 10 on Top Country Albums in 2011 with their self-titled LP.
High Dive Heart has released two EPs since 2015, with its latest, HDH vs. MTR, featuring the celebratory outsiders' anthem "Misfit." The song has drawn acclaim for its touching video featuring transgender teen Corey Maison. High Dive Heart has also released an official video (helmed by Patrick Tracy) for the song, which has since synched with the efforts of anti-bullying initiative The Bully Project.
Meanwhile, "Corey's now inspiring other kids," Joy notes. "They've been posting their YouTube videos of how they're a misfit, and they're proud of it, and how they survived being bullied. It's been an honor to give back. That's why we do what we do."
Enjoy the entire latest Chart Beat Podcast and check back for more upcoming episodes with artists, label executives, radio programmers and personalities, songwriters, producers and more. And, to receive every episode automatically in your inbox, subscribe to (and rate) the Billboard Chart Beat Podcast on iTunes!
Source: www.bing.com
