Melanie Fontana

Melanie Joy Fontana (born October 3, 1986)[1] is an American singer, composer and songwriter signed to Universal Music Group.

Melanie Fontana
Melanie Fontana in 2017
Background information
Birth nameMelanie Joy Fontana
Born (1986-10-03) October 3, 1986
Newington, Connecticut, US
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2011–present
Associated acts

Early life

Fontana was born in Newington, Connecticut.[2] She moved to New York City when she was 18, after spending seven years commuting to Manhattan, where she would audition for singing roles and work as a demo singer, recording songs for writers to pitch to record companies.[1]

Career

Fontana co-wrote the 2011 Justin Bieber song "Home This Christmas" with Nasri Atweh. It was featured on Bieber's Christmas album Under the Mistletoe.[3] Also in 2011, Fontana co-wrote the original theme song to Shelter Me, a PBS show, hosted by Katherine Heigl that celebrated the human-animal bond. The series focuses on shelter animal success stories. The theme song, "Love is Everything (Shelter Me)," was written by Austin Bis, Fontana and Daniel Walker, and performed by Fontana.[4] In 2014, she co-wrote the song "Hit Me Up" with Lars Hustoft and Jon Asher for Eurovision Song Contest competitor Charlie Tepstad of Norway.[5]

On April 5, 2013, the song "Nothing Really Matters" by tyDi, which Fontana was featured on and was co-written by STIX of Fly Panda, debuted on Billboard.[6][7] It reached number 39 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 2013.[8] Also in 2013, Fontana worked as a songwriting consultant on Norway's Idol television show, co-writing Astrid S's single "Shattered", which went Gold in Scandinavia.[9] In 2015, Fontana, alongside tyDi, topped the Mediabase dance charts at Number 1 with their EDM track "Redefined", co-written by Priya J. Geddis.[7] The song was Sirius XM's top song of 2015 on its BPM station. She also collaborated with tyDi and Col3man on the 2017 single "That's How You Know".[10]

In 2016, Britney Spears released the Japanese edition of her album Glory, including a song written by Fontana with Jon Asher and produced by DJ Mustard, titled "Mood Ring".[11] Fontana had three Top 10 singles stemming from the Korean Mnet TV show Produce 101: "Crush", "Yum Yum" and "Fingertips". On April 1, 2016, Aaron Carter released "Fools Gold" which was co-written by Fontana, Carter, Asher, Taylor Hegelson and Michel "Lindgren" Schulz. Fontana co-wrote all five tracks on Carter's 2017 comeback EP LøVë.[11][12] On October 7, 2016, Daya (singer) released Sit Still, Look Pretty, which included two songs penned by Fontana, "Words" and "All Right".[13] She co-wrote The Chainsmokers single "Setting Fires", released in November 2016,[14] and the BTS single "Euphoria", released in April 2018,[15] which reached number 2 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart.[16] She and her husband Michel "Lindgren" Schulz helped write the 2019 BTS single "Boy with Luv" featuring Halsey, which was the fastest YouTube video to reach 100 million views (doing it in under two days).[17][18] Fontana is managed by Justin Garza.[19]

Controversies

BTS songwriting controversy

An Instagram post made by Fontana in April 2019 regarding her co-writing credit in BTS's "Boy With Luv" drew criticism for its wording and its implication of her being the main writer of the song. Fontana later edited her original comments to better reflect her involvement.[20][21] Fontana's emphasis on her songwriting credits in several other BTS songs, including "Euphoria", "Sweet Night", and "On", led to questioning regarding the involvement of her contributions to each song's lyrics throughout online media outlets.[22] Universal Music Group's publishing division posted a photo of Fontana on their Instagram account highlighting her work on “Sweet Night”, where she reportedly responded in the comments stating "Tsym for all the support, ME (love) YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!".[23][24]

Fontana expressed through Instagram Live the distress and hurtfulness received by the backlash as well as her stance on the situation.[25] Fontana's spouse, Michel "Lindgren" Schulz, publicly defended Fontana on Twitter. He likened the backlash to online harassment and stated that "different cultures have different ways of talking about achievements".[26] Schulz added by claiming that he and Fontana wrote "every single word in 'Sweet Night'" and was requested to "by the Big Hit label and V himself".[27] His response also received similar criticism.[22]

Alleged Racism Controversy

Following backlash and criticism from fans of BTS regarding the above songwriting controversy, Fontana addressed multiple comments on her personal Instagram, stating that the authors of certain comments were racist, and asking fans in a now deleted comment: "what if I showed your racist remarks to the guys? Lol". Fans then began exposing old tweets from the songwriter, including one that read "I'd not last a second in starving Africa" and one which included a suicide threat to a stranger for scuffing her bumper. In light of the outrage from fans regarding her accusing them of being racist towards her and their subsequent claims that she believed in reverse racism, Fontana changed her profile picture to an icon designed in light of the BLM movement.[28][29]

F(x) Sulli controversy

A post made by the songwriter on her Instagram story following the passing of F(x) member Sulli on October 13/14th, 2019 garnered some backlash from fans of the singer. In her Instagram statement, she expressed her condolences to the singer, and likened the abuse the late singer received for her feminist actions to the backlash Fontana herself received from fans of BTS over her wording on social media posts. Fontana stated that the following thought crossed her mind: "…if I was slightly more depressed, or slightly less comfortable in my very lucky life, I might seriously consider ending things". Fans were outraged by the songrwriter seemingly "making light of and trivialising" Sulli's death, accusing Fontana of using the singer's suicide to talk about herself, emphasising the point that Fontana only referred twice to Sulli herself in the over 200 word long statement. [30]

Discography

As songwriter
YearArtistAlbumSong
2011 Justin Bieber ft. The Band Perry Under the Mistletoe "Home This Christmas"
2013 Astrid S "Shattered"
Sverre Eide "Chain Reaction"
Eirik Søfteland "Lust or Love"
Girls' Generation Girls & Peace "Stay Girls"
Becky Gyu "Gyu"
2014 Steffen Jakobsen Six String Love Affair "Set in Stone"
Alex Marshall "Si Je Pars"
Charlie "Hit Me Up"
f(x) Red Light "Boom, Bang, Boom"
Koda Kumi Walk of My Life "Dance In The Rain"
Andreas Varady Andreas Varady "Don't Stop the Music"
Constant Flow ft. Immortal Technique "Moment Of Peace"[31]
Thomas Newson & Otto Orlandi "Bells At Midnight"[32]
2015 Shawn Hook Analog Love "Relapse"
Edurne Adrenalina "One Shot"
Lace Up "Dripping Gold"
2016 I.O.I Chrysalis "Crush"
Produce 101 "Fingertips"[33]
"Yum Yum"
AOA Runway "Cherry Pop"
Fiestar "Apple Pie"
Tiffany Hwang I Just Wanna Dance "Yellow Light"[34]
Los 5 Meet Los Five "Do For Love"[35]
Britney Spears Glory "Mood Ring"
The Chainsmokers Collage "Setting Fires"
Daya Sit Still, Look Pretty "Words"
"All Right"
Hyolyn feat. Jay Park It's Me "One Step"
Hatty Keane "In Your Arms"
Sammi Sanchez "Girls Talk"
"Deeper"
2017 Aaron Carter LøVë "Fool's Gold"[36]
"Let Me Let You"
"Sooner of Later"
"Same Way"
"Dearly Departed"
"Don't Say Goodbye"
Minzy Minzy Work 01: Uno "Ni Na No"[37]
"Superwoman"[37]
RaNia Refresh 7th "Breathe Heavy"
Kayef "Paradies"
"Wir Sind Okay"
Fabian Mazur ft. Dia Frampton "Young Once"
Melody Day Kiss On the Lips "Kiss On the Lips"
R3hab ft. Krewella "Ain't That Why"
ILLENIUM ft. Dia Frampton Awake "Needed You"
2018 Kayef "Irgendwann Jetzt"
BTS Love Yourself: Answer "Euphoria"
AOA Bingle Bangle "Parfait"
Topic ft. Juan Magan & Lena "Sólo Contigo"
Felix Sandman EMOTIONS "TONE IT DOWN"
Drake Bell "Fuego Lento"
Loren Gray "Kick You Out"
DeathbyRomy Monsters "No More"
2019 DeathbyRomy Love u - to Death "Diamond Tears"
"Problems"
"Love U to Death"
"Sleep at Night"
TXT The Dream Chapter: Star "어느날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)"
"Cat & Dog"
The Dream Chapter: Magic "Angel Or Devil"
"9와 4분의 3 승강장에서 너를 기다려 (Run Away)"
"Can't We Just Leave the Monster Alive?"
BETWEEN FRIENDS "affection"
"u can still come over"
Everglow Arrival of EVERGLOW "Bon Bon Chocolat"
Hush "Hush"
BTS Map of the Soul: Persona "Boy with Luv"
"Mikrokosmos"
Twice Feel Special "Trick It"
Hyolyn "니가 더 잘 알잖아(youknowbetter)"
Jay Ulloa "Perdóname"
Brian Justin Crum "I & U"
Gavin Haley Long Game "Show Me"
Jakob Delgado "Lie"
Wengie "Empire" (featuring Minnie of (G)I-dle)
2020 Little Glee Monster Bright New World "SPIN"
"move on"
BTS Map of the Soul: 7 "On" (featuring Sia)
Dua Lipa Future Nostalgia "Good In Bed"
Secret Number Who Dis? "Who Dis?"
Hyolyn Say My Name "Say My Name"
CLC Helicopter "Helicopter"
"Helicopter - English Version"
Everglow -77.82X-78.29 "No Good Reason"
Blackpink The Album "Bet You Wanna" (featuring Cardi B)
Enhypen Border: Day One "Given-Taken"
Twice "Cry for Me"
YearArtistAlbumSongCredit
2012 Melanie Fontana Shelter Me Season 1 theme "Love Is Everything (Shelter Me)"[38] Writer, vocals
Rod Stewart Merry Christmas, Baby Choir/backing vocals
2013 Rhema Soul ft. Gawvi "Party, Sleep, Repeat" Writer, vocals
tyDi ft. Melanie Fontana "Nothing Really Matters"[39] Writer, vocals
2014 tyDi ft. Melanie Fontana Redefined "Redefined"[40] Writer, vocals
Krysta Youngs ft. Laganja Estranja "Gold Grill BBQ"[41] Writer, backing vocals
John Dahlbäck "Fireflies" Writer, vocals
2015 Daya Daya Backing vocals
2016 Simple Plan Taking One for the Team Backing vocals
Burak Yeter "Go" Writer, vocals
"Go 2.0" Writer, vocals
Feider, Dzasko & Melanie Fontana Protocol Presents Miami 2016 "Crashed" Writer, vocals
2017 Otto Orlandi & ManyFew ft. Melanie Fontana "Don't Miss You"[42] Writer, vocals
tyDi with Col3man ft. Melanie Fontana "That's How You Know" Writer, vocals
John Dahlbäck Color In My Heart "Catch Me If You Can" Writer, vocals
Otto Orlandi ft. Melanie Fontana "Seven Days"[43] Writer, vocals
2019 Jason Ross ft. Melanie Fontana 1000 Faces "Shelter"[44] Writer, vocals
2020 ARMNHMR ft. Melanie Fontana The Free World "Forever Young"[45] Writer, vocals

Television and voice over

References
  1. Joyce Cohen, "Just 18, and Singing for Her Starbucks," New York Times, December 26, 2004.
  2. Maurice Timothy Reidy, "Local Girl's One Request: To Be A Pop Star," Hartford Courant, July 14, 2002.
  3. Michelle McGahan, "Tydi Premieres 'Redefined' Lyric Video Feat. Melanie Fontana," PopCrush, November 21, 2014.
  4. Jennifer Robinson, "Shelter Me," KPBS, August 20, 2012.
  5. "Meet the Norwegian artists – Part 2," Eurovision.tv, January 31, 2014.
  6. "tyDi, 'Nothing Really Matters': Exclusive Song Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  7. Cailey Lindberg, "tyDi keeps us dancing on 'Redefined (feat. Melanie Fontana)'," Earmilk, October 2, 2014.
  8. "Nothing Really Matters," Billboard, September 28, 2013.
  9. "Astrid S: An Underrated Female Artist Who Deserves More Recognition," Affinity Magazine. Accessed February 1, 2018.
  10. Kat Bein, "tyDi, Col3man, and Melanie Fontana Dug Deep into Their Truest Selves on 'That's How You Know'," Billboard, March 3, 2017.
  11. Bradley Stern, "Britney Spears' 'Mood Ring': Songwriter Melanie Fontana on the Making of the 'Glory' Track," Popcrush, September 9, 2016.
  12. Jordan Crucchiola, "Aaron Carter Discusses the Hunger That Comes From Losing Everything," Vulture.com, March 8, 2017.
  13. Dale Anthoni, "Daya's 'Sit Still, Look Pretty': An Inspiring Debut From a Pop Star With Promise," PopCrush, October 7, 2016.
  14. Bradley Stern, "2NE1's Minzy Announces Debut Solo Album 'Uno'," PopCrush, April 11, 2017.
  15. Tamar Herman, "BTS Tease Next Album In 'Love Yourself' Series With 'Euphoria' Theme Video," Billboard, April 5, 2018.
  16. Benjamin, Jeff. "BTS Breaks Their Own Record for Most Simultaneous Hits on World Digital Song Sales Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  17. Dahir, Ikran. "Meet One Of The Songwriters Behind The Record-Breaking BTS Song "Boy With Luv"". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  18. Hicap, Jonah. "Melanie Fontana praises BTS for 'breaking boundaries between masculinity and femininity'". Metro UK. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  19. "Exclusive Interview with Melanie Fontana and Michel 'Lindgren' Schulz: The Unique Songwriters Behind the Universal Sound of BTS". allkpop.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  20. Narayanan, Ahalya (16 July 2020). "Melanie Fontana Catches Heat; ARMY Rushes to BTS' Defense". Indigo Music. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  21. Techamaneewat, Fachana (9 July 2019). "BTS Fans PISSED at Melanie Joy Fontana for Taking Credit for BTS' Success?". Exclusive Hollywood. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  22. Smith, Craigg (16 July 2020). "Who is Melanie Fontana and why does the BTS Army hate her?". Checkersaga. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  23. "BTS Fans Accuse Songwriter Of "Taking Credit" For V's "Sweet Night"". Koreaboo. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  24. "BTS ARMY accuses Melanie Fontana of allegedly 'taking credit' for V's Sweet Night; 'Hurt' songwriter reacts | PINKVILLA". www.pinkvilla.com. Pinkvilla. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  25. Pardiwalla, Tanzim (16 July 2020). "Who Is Melanie Fontana? And Why Is BTS ARMY Accusing Her Of Taking Credit For V's 'Sweet Night'?". Mashable India. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  26. Gonsalves, Jenifer (15 July 2020). "Who is Melanie Fontana and why is the BTS Army calling her a 'credit-claiming clout chaser'?". meaww.com. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  27. Miller, Kevin (17 July 2020). "The Controversy Surrounding Songwriter Melanie & Why ARMY Believe She's Taking Too Much Credit For Writing BTS V Hit Track "Sweet Night"". Jazmine Media. Jazmine Media. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  28. "Who is Melanie Fontana and why is the BTS Army calling her a 'credit-claiming clout chaser'?". meaww.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  29. months, Tanzim Pardiwalla 3; Weeks, 2 (2020-07-16). "Who Is Melanie Fontana? And Why Is BTS ARMY Accusing Her Of Taking Credit For V's 'Sweet Night'?". Mashable India. Retrieved 2020-10-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. Sharma, Chirali (2019-10-15). "Why Are We Focusing On The Negative & Not The Inspiring Things K-Pop Star Sulli Did Before Her Untimely Death". ED Times | Youth Media Channel. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  31. "Ascension by CF on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  32. "Bells At Midnight (feat. Melanie Fontana) - Single by Thomas Newson & Otto Orlandi on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-12-12. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  33. Inc., Fanpop. "Kpop Video: [PRODUCE 101 - 35 Girls 5 Concepts] Pinkrush - FingerTips". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  34. "[OFFICIAL] Tiffany Sales & Charts Thread - Charts and Sales". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  35. "EXCLUSIVE! Los 5 Tells Us What They'd Do For Love In This Acoustic Performance!". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  36. Polanco, Luis. "Aaron Carter Premieres 'Fool's Gold' Music Video: Exclusive". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  37. "Minzy drops track list for upcoming solo album 'UNO'". allkpop. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  38. "Love Is Everything (Shelter Me) - Single by Melanie Fontana on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  39. "Nothing Really Matters (feat. Melanie Fontana) - Single by tyDi on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  40. "Redefined (feat. Melanie Fontana) - EP by tyDi on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  41. "Gold Grill BBQ (feat. Laganja Estranja & Melanie Fontana) - Single by Krysta Youngs on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  42. Don't Miss You (feat. Melanie Fontana) - Single by Otto Orlandi & ManyFew, 2017-02-27, retrieved 2018-07-06
  43. Seven Days (feat. Melanie Fontana) - Single by Otto Orlandi, 2017-07-24, retrieved 2018-07-06
  44. Shelter (feat. Melanie Fontana) by Jason Ross & Melanie Fontana, 2019-05-17, retrieved 2019-05-21
  45. Forever Young (feat. Melanie Fontana) by ARMNHMR, 2020-02-27, retrieved 2020-02-27
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