It's easy to forget now, because the music of our youth is so iconic, but for most of the 90s pop music actually took a backseat to other genres like grunge and hip hop.

While some of the biggest acts of the last decade were fading into obscurity, a new generation of boy bands and pop singers were becoming popular. But you might not realize how much bands like *NSYNC and artist like Britney Spears owe to one Swedish heavy metal musician.

Max Martin, a music producer and songwriter from Sweden, is responsible for some of the decades biggest hits including "I Want It That Way" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time," but that was just the start of his impressive career.

With 21 smash hits to his name, the only musicians who have written more #1 songs than Martin are John Lennon and Paul McCartney, so it's safe to say he's one of the all-time greats.

Growing up in Sweden, Martin learned to write music in the country's free public music lessons. He was obsessed with American bands like Kiss, and played in a heavy metal band, but his career took off when he became a pop producer.

After producing the Backstreet Boys' debut album, he jump-started Britney Spears' career by writing "Baby One More Time," one of the best-selling songs of all time.

Working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, Martin cemented his legendary status by writing tracks like Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," Celine Dion's "That's The Way It Is" and Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone."

To this day, Martin continues to top the pop charts with hits like Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl."

So what's the secret to his incredible success? Martin says he starts with the melody first, making music guaranteed to stick in your brain for ever.

"A great pop song should be felt when you hear it," he said.

Share this post if you love his songs!