Songwriters not guaranteed hits as solo artists

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While Walker may not want that mainstream success as a solo artist, there are other songwriters who clearly do. Ne-Yo is the latest example of a tunesmith who has made the leap to artist successfully — the writer of Mario’s 2005 smash “Let Me Love You,” has a platinum debut album and now has his own hits, including “So Sick.”

Johnta Austin is hoping to be the next songwriter to make that next step. Austin, who co-wrote Mariah Carey’s Grammy-winning comeback song, “We Belong Together” along with Jessica Simpson’s new single, “Public Affair,” is due to release his own album on Virgin Records later this year.

Austin says songwriters trip themselves up sometimes by trying to be too different from the material they’ve created for others.

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“I think you get so far left,” he says. “You feel, ‘I’ve done this for this person, so I want this to be completely different.”’

Sean Garrett, whose growing list of hits include Usher’s “Yeah!,” Mary J. Blige’s “Enough Cryin”’ and “London Bridge,” the new solo single from the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie, says songwriters hoping to put the spotlight on themselves have to remember what made them successful as songwriters and cater to the fans.

“That’s what making music is all about,” said Garrett, who plans his own solo album in the future. “It’s not about becoming some diva and thinking you are so (impressive) that you can make an album for yourself and everybody is going to feel it.”

Nothing negative
Kara DioGuardi, who has penned pop hits for Hilary Duff, The Pussycat Dolls and Gwen Stefani, says her success as songwriter has helped her become a better artist. She was signed several years ago but her solo career didn’t pan out.

“I wasn’t a very good artist when I was signed,” she admits. “I was very affected by what was around me ... I wasn’t sure who I was, I didn’t really have my own style, my own voice.”

As a hitmaker for others, she’s found that voice. Now, she is trying the artist route again — this time, as part of a duo with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame; they call themselves Platinum Weird.

While she wants commercial success for the group, she doesn’t consider her songwriting as a side gig until she gains success as a singing star.

“I’m not a frustrated artist at all,” she says. “I hope Platinum Weird does well ... but if it doesn’t do well, I’m not going to be angry, I’m not going to try and be in the limelight all my life.”

Of her songwriting career, she says: “There’s absolutely no negatives to it at all ... it probably made me a better creative person.”

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