Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Trouble, was released in 2004 by Reprise Records. After underperforming McKee was dropped by her label and took a musical hiatus before establishing herself as a songwriter. She has written 10 singles that have reached number one in either the United States or the United Kingdom, which have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide combined. In 2013, McKee made a return to music with many singles, including "American Girl". She independently released an EP, Bombastic (2015). McKee is particularly known for collaborating with pop singer Katy Perry. The duo wrote the hits "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", "Part of Me", "Wide Awake", and "Roar". McKee also co-wrote "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, which became the second-best selling song by a British artist in the digital era. McKee co-wrote other hits including "Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears and "C'Mon" by Kesha; she has written for Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam Lambert. McKee also has collaborated with Canadian acapella singer Mike Tompkins. Early life Childhood McKee was born in Vacaville, California, and raised in Seattle. She studied classical piano and became a member of the Seattle Girls Choir Prime Voci at age 12; she toured with the choir throughout North America and Europe. She recorded two albums with the choir, titled Jackson Berkey Meets The Seattle Girls' Choir and Cantate 2000. She briefly attended the Bush School where she recorded a demonstration piece as part of a class project; she was kicked out soon afterwards. At age 12, McKee's mother gave a demonstration CD featuring her singing Bette Midler and Fiona Apple songs to a friend of hers who is the co-founder of the Sub Pop label, Jonathan Poneman. Poneman was intrigued by her songwriting talents. According to McKee, this was the moment when she realized she had to be "more than just a singer." She knew she had to be a songwriter as well. Career 2004–2005: Career beginnings and Trouble McKee was wrote songs and performed in the Seattle area when she was 15. Her demo tape which was raw got to Colin Filkow, an ex-Priority Records label executive. Filkow recognized that she was a rare talent and signed her to his management company, Platinum Partners Artist Management in Beverly Hills. He flew her to Los Angeles and