Max Martin’s 20 #1 Singles, From “…Baby One More Time” To “Bad Blood”: Revisited, Reviewed & Ranked

15. “So What” Artist: Pink Year: 2008 Stay At #1: 1 week Max Martin’s Involvement: Co-wrote, produced

Pink has always provided a much-needed tough edge to the sometimes too-primped pop girl clique, and Max Martin helped to push her fun attitude even further in her music. An example of this is “So What,” the singer’s lead single off her fifth album Funhouse.

The song is aggressive and in-your-face yet not overtly so, and it perfectly balances pop and rock (we do miss Pink’s early R&B days, but that is another story). “So What” is a kiss-off that came during Pink’s separation from now-husband Carey Hart, and the empowering lyrics (co-written by herself, Martin and Shellback) are heightened by the production’s wild guitar riffs and insanely catchy chorus. At first music critics put down the song, but the charts proved it was meant to be a hit single. So take that, haters! — BIANCA GRACIE

14. “California Gurls” Artist: Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg Year: 2010 Stay At #1: 6 weeks Max Martin’s Involvement: Co-wrote, co-produced

“California Gurls” is one of Katy Perry’s most underrated singles. Which is a bold statement about a song that spent six weeks atop the Hot 100 and sold triple-Platinum, but its impact (and importance to the pop star’s career) has somehow been overshadowed by the sheer greatness of follow-up singles “Teenage Dream” and “Firework.”

A Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco co-production, “California Gurls” introduced the world to Katy 2.0, where the angst-filled rock of One Of The Boys had been replaced by nuclear-powered pop that demanded radio adoration — and got it. The track also heralded the diva’s transformation into a bawdy babe with a candy-colored wardrobe.

How does it hold up five years later? Surprisingly well. “California Gurls” will live on as long as there are parties in SoCal. — MIKE WASS

13. “E.T.” Artist: Katy Perry feat. Kanye West Year: 2011 Stay At #1: 5 weeks Max Martin’s Involvement: Co-wrote, co-produced

The production on “E.T.” deserves better than some goofy-ass tale about boning a martian. Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Ammo created an antiseptic, ultra-modern veneer built on post-“Lollipop” synth stabs and vocal warps, then encased it around a rock stomp to give the song an organic familiarity. Throw in Perry’s galactic queen vocal performance, and it’s a high-drama affair.

Unfortunately, the arrangement is riddled with howlers about alien sex. Fortunately, the “E.T.” legacy goes beyond just providing Kanye haters with eternal fodder, because its streamlined electro-pop beat laid the groundwork for the all-trap no-rave bounce of “Dark Horse.”  — CARL WILLIOTT

12. “Hold It Against Me” Artist: Britney Spears Year: 2011 Stay At #1: 1 week Max Martin’s Involvement: Co-wrote, co-produced

Who knew Brit Brit and Max Martin were fans of classic country duo The Bellamy Brothers? (Not David  and Howard Bellamy, who got slapped with a lawsuit for bemoaning similarities between this track and their 1979 hit “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me.” Oops!… They won’t do that again!)Legal and lyrical scandals aside, “Hold It Against Me” helped break dubstep on the pop charts and holds up today as a sturdy dancefloor jam. More importantly, it’s proof of how much we love the sound of Robo-Britney’s cyborg singing. When the inevitable rise of the machines occurs, you can guarantee this will be the soundtrack to the end of the human race. — JONATHAN RIGGS

11. “I Kissed A Girl” Artist: Katy Perry Year: 2008 Stay At #1: 7 weeks Max Martin’s Involvement: Co-wrote, co-produced

With 1989, Taylor Swift declared a battle against “evil pop,” or songs that get stuck in  your head for no good reason. She didn’t call out Katy Perry directly, but she may have had “I Kissed a Girl” in mind. This pop smash doesn’t stick because of the lyrics Max  Martin helped write, which make Katy sound drunk (“My head gets so confused, hard to obey”). But I mean, should she be acting sober instead?

I know this much:  If “I Kissed a Girl” is Katy having fun while misbehaving, then “Bad Blood” is Taylor being a tattletale – a total killjoy. — CHRISTINA LEE