# Shelly Peiken

Shelly Meg Peiken is an American songwriter who is best known for co-writing the US No. 1 hits "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera the US No. 2 hit "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, "Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy, and "Who You Are" by Jessie J. She has also written for or with Britney Spears, The Pretenders, Natasha Bedingfield, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Cher, Reba McEntire, Jessie J, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Aaliyah, Ashley Tisdale, Selena Gomez, Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato and has had hundreds of songs licensed for TV and film.

## Biography

Shelly Peiken grew up in Freeport, Long Island where she became interested in music at an early age.
Later, she attended the University of Maryland where she studied fashion design only to come to New York City afterwards where she spent many years developing her true passion as a singer-songwriter.
She signed her first publishing deal with boutique company, Hit & Run Music, and went on to write songs for Brandy, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, The Pretenders, Britney Spears, Jessie J, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, INXS, Backstreet Boys, Keith Urban and many others.
In 1998, Peiken and Meredith Brooks earned a Best Rock Song Grammy nomination for "Bitch".
Further success followed with two No. 1's for Christina Aguilera, "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby," "I Wanna Be With You" for Mandy Moore, "Hook Me Up" (a No. 1 in Australia, written with Greg Wells and The Veronicas), "Who You Are" (written with Toby Gad and Jessie J), "Human on the Inside" for the Pretenders (written with Mark McEntee), and "Almost Doesn't Count" for Brandy (written with Guy Roche).
She has blogged for notable sites such as Huffington Post, and Yamaha Music where she writes of her experiences as a songwriter, creativity, the challenges of the current music business, and the balancing of career and parenthood. She has a personal website and blog as well.
Peiken's first book, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter, was published by Backbeat Books, on March 1, 2016, and was nominated for Best Spoken Word Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
She resides in Los Angeles with husband, film composer Adam Gorgoni and her daughter, Layla.

## Artist recordings

In 2020, Peiken began releasing singles from her debut album 2.0, etc…. Peiken called the album "a celebration of songwriting... I included songs from my career that either catapulted me in a commercial way but also songs I was very connected to and were never released commercially before. If I don't put them out there, nobody is ever going to hear them." The album includes previously unreleased songs "Just Wanna Be Your Girl," "George & John," and "Notebook," as well as her own recording of "What A Girl Wants" in celebration of its 20th anniversary as the first number 1 song of the century.

## Discography
### Complete discography

| Year | Title | Artist | Album |
| 1988 | "Love Takes Over" | Tommy Page | Tommy Page |
| 1988 | "Ready for This Love" | Samantha Fox | I Wanna Have Some Fun |
| 1988 | "Carry Your Heart" | Taylor Dayne | Tell It to My Heart |
| 1989 | "Up All Night" | Taylor Dayne | Can't Fight Fate |
| 1989 | "I Can't Cry" | Natalie Cole | Good to Be Back |
| 1990 | "He'll Never Know" | Sweet Sensation | Love Child |
| 1991 | "Guess It Wasn't Mine" | Curtis Stigers | Curtis Stigers |
| 1991 | "You're All That Matters To Me" | Curtis Stigers | Curtis Stigers |
| 1992 | "If I Were You" | Celine Dion | Celine Dion |
| 1992 | "I Think I'm In Trouble" | Exposé | Exposé |
| 1993 | "Take A Piece of My Heart" | Lulu | I'm Back for More |
| 1994 | "Take A Piece of My Heart" | Jennifer Brown | Giving You The Best |
| 1995 | "Romeo's Twin" | Niamh Kavanagh | Flying Bird |
| 1996 | "Have Mercy" | Viktor Lazlo | Back To Front |
| 1996 | "Human on the Inside" | Divinyls | Underworld |
| 1997 | "Bitch" | Meredith Brooks | Blurring the Edges |
| 1997 | "Shatter" | Meredith Brooks | Blurring the Edges |
| 1997 | "I Need" | Meredith Brooks | Blurring the Edges |
| 1997 | "Birthday" | Meredith Brooks | Blurring the Edges |
| 1997 | "Wash my Hands" | Meredith Brooks | Blurring the Edges |
| 1997 | "Stuck On You" | Victoria Shaw | Victoria Shaw |
| 1997 | "Peace and Love" | Blessid Union of Souls | Blessid Union of Souls |
| 1998 | "Almost Doesn't Count" | Brandy | Never Say Never |
| 1998 | "When I Remember When" | Five | Five |
| 1998 | "Hey Now Now" | Swirl 360 | Ask Anybody |
| 1998 | "Even If It Breaks My Heart" | Cliff Richard | Real as I Wanna Be |
| 1998 | "Woman and a Man" | Cliff Richard | Real as I Wanna Be |
| 1998 | "Under My Tree" | NSYNC | Home for Christmas |
| 1998 | "Guess It's Christmas Time" | NSYNC | Home for Christmas |
| 1998 | "It's Not Goodbye" | Laura Pausini | La mia risposta |
| 1999 | "These Days" | Brian Kennedy & Ronan Keating | Now That I Know What I Want |
| 1999 | "What a Girl Wants" | Christina Aguilera | Christina Aguilera |
| 1999 | "Come On Over Baby" | Christina Aguilera | Christina Aguilera |
| 1999 | "Don't Make Me Love You" | Christina Aguilera | Christina Aguilera |
| 1999 | "Too Beautiful For Words" | Christina Aguilera | What a Girl Wants - B-side |
| 1999 | "Everytime You Cry" | John Farnham & Human Nature | Live at the Regent Theatre - 1st July 1999 |
| 1999 | "Turn The Page" | Aaliyah | Music of the Heart - Soundtrack |
| 1999 | "Bored with Myself" | Meredith Brooks | Deconstruction |
| 1999 | "Human" | The Pretenders | Viva el Amor |
| 1999 | "I'm Not Your Girl" | Reba McEntire | So Good Together |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | "Last Night" | Gloria Gaynor | Last Night - Single |
| 2000 | "That's What Love Will Do" | i5 | i5 |
| 2000 | "First Kiss" | i5 | i5 |
| 2000 | "Rain Rain" | Innosense | So Together |
| 2000 | "So Together" | Innosense | So Together |
| 2000 | "Don't Mess With My Love" | M2M | Shades of Purple |
| 2000 | "I Wanna Be With You" | Mandy Moore | Center Stage - Soundtrack |
| 2000 | "Almost Doesn't Count" | Mark Wills | Permanently |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | "Better Love Next Time" | Gladys Knight | So Together |
| 2001 | "That's Why They Call It Love" | Gladys Knight | So Together |
| 2001 | "As Long As You're Loving Me" | Vitamin C | More |
| 2001 | "Rain Rain" | Cher | Living Proof |
| 2001 | "When I Get There" | Dream | It Was All a Dream |
| 2001 | "While You Were Gone" | Jennifer Paige | Positively Somewhere |
| 2001 | "17" | Mandy Moore | Mandy Moore |
| 2001 | "You Get Me" | Michelle Branch | The Spirit Room |
| 2001 | "Por Qué?" | Myra | Milagros |
| 2001 | "As If" | Myra | Myra |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | "Sleep Tonight" | Jacob Young | S-Curve |
| 2002 | "As If" | Blaque | Blaque Out |
| 2002 | "Super Love" | Celine Dion | A New Day Has Come |
| 2002 | "Stand In Your Way" | Jennifer Love Hewitt | BareNaked |
| 2002 | "It's Only Love" | Joe Cocker | Respect Yourself |
| 2002 | "Leave A Light on" | Joe Cocker | Respect Yourself |
| 2002 | "This Is Your Life" | Joe Cocker | Respect Yourself |
| 2002 | "Trouble With Goodbye" | LeAnn Rimes | Twisted Angel |
| 2002 | "Shine" | Meredith Brooks | Shine |
| 2002 | "Shut Up and Kiss Me or Just Shut Up" | Michelle Wright | Shut Up and Kiss Me |
| 2002 | "First Kiss" | Nina | Heaven |
| 2002 | "Jealous" | Nina | Heaven |
| 2002 | "Whenever I Run" | Keith Urban | Golden Road |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | "Forget Me Not" | Celine Dion | One Heart |
| 2003 | "Done" | Lucy Woodward | While You Can |
| 2003 | "Is This Hollywood" | Lucy Woodward | While You Can |
| 2003 | "The Trouble With Me" | Lucy Woodward | While You Can |
| 2003 | "Decadent Wish" | Meat Loaf | "Testify" single |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | "Sweetest Pain" | Haylie Duff | Raising Helen - Soundtrack |
| 2004 | "Coulda Been" | Kimberley Locke | One Love |
| 2004 | "Something I Never Had" | Lindsay Lohan | Speak |
| 2004 | "Fools Like Me" | Lisa Loeb | The Way It Really Is |
| 2004 | "What's Real" | Raven-Symoné | This Is My Time |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | "Better To Be Lonely" | Tammin | Whatever Will Be |
| 2005 | "Perfect Strangers" | INXS | Switch |
| 2005 | "Bad Habit" | Sarah Hudson | Naked Truth |
| 2005 | "Unlove You" | Sarah Hudson | Naked Truth |
| 2005 | "Lose It All" | Backstreet Boys | Never Gone |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | "I'm Better" | Ashley Parker Angel | Soundtrack to Your Life |
| 2006 | "Dream in Color" | Bianca Ryan | Bianca Ryan |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | "Map To My Heart" | Celine Dion | Taking Chances |
| 2007 | "Clear" | Miley Cyrus | Hannah Montana 2 / Meet Miley Cyrus |
| 2007 | "As I Am" | Miley Cyrus | Hannah Montana 2 / Meet Miley Cyrus |
| 2007 | "We'll Be Together" | Ashley Tisdale | Headstrong |
| 2007 | "Unlove You" | Ashley Tisdale | Headstrong |
| 2007 | "Positivity" | Ashley Tisdale | Headstrong |
| 2007 | "Love Me For Me" | Ashley Tisdale | Headstrong |
| 2007 | "Girl Like Me" | Skye Sweetnam | Sound Soldier |
| 2007 | "Hook Me Up" | The Veronicas | Hook Me Up |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | "Aquí Estoy (You're Not Alone)" | Kudai | Nadha |
| 2008 | "Out From Under" | Britney Spears | Circus |
| 2008 | "One Love" | Jordan Pruitt | Permission to Fly |
| 2008 | "You Belong" | Hercules and Love Affair | Hercules and Love Affair |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | "Masquerade" | Ashley Tisdale | Guilty Pleasure |
| 2009 | "The Way I Loved You" | Selena Gomez and the Scene | Kiss & Tell |
| 2009 | "Pieces" | Allison Iraheta | Just Like You |
| 2009 | "Trouble Is" | Allison Iraheta | Just Like You |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | "Freeze" | Mêlée | The Masquerade |
| 2010 | "Spotlight" | Selena Gomez and the Scene | A Year Without Rain |
| 2010 | "Ghost Of You" | Selena Gomez and the Scene | A Year Without Rain |
| 2010 | "Elevator" | David Archuleta | The Other Side of Down |
| 2010 | "Who I Am" | David Archuleta | The Other Side of Down |
| 2010 | "Good Place" | David Archuleta | The Other Side of Down |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | "Pretending" | Glee Cast | Glee: The Music, Volume 6 |
| 2011 | "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" | Glee Cast | Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 |
| 2011 | "A Christmas Eve With You" | Glee Cast | Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 |
| 2011 | "Who You Are" | Jessie J | Who You Are |
| 2011 | "Louder" | Charice | Louder/Lost The Best Thing |
| 2011 | "Mistake" | Demi Lovato | Unbroken |
| 2011 | "Aftershock" | Demi Lovato | Unbroken |
| 2011 | "Echo" | Javier Colon | Come Through For You |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | "As A Blonde" | Fefe Dobson | Sunday Love |
| 2012 | "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" | Fefe Dobson | Sunday Love |
| 2012 | "Perfect Planet" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "Out Of Love" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "Better With Time" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "Future X-Wife" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "Justin Bieber" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "The Game" | Smash Mouth | Magic |
| 2012 | "Take It Hard" | J. Dash | Tabloid Truth |
| 2012 | "Shake Santa Shake" | Zendaya | Disney Channel Holiday Playlist |
| 2012 | "Had Me @ Hello" | Olivia Holt | Make Your Mark Playlist |
| 2012 | "Had Me @ Hello" | Luke Benward | Make Your Mark Playlist |
| 2012 | "Like Me Or Not" | Ryan Beatty | Because of You EP |
| 2012 | "Lemonade" | Rachel Crow | Rachel Crow |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | "All or Nothing" | Glee Cast | All or Nothing (Glee Cast Version) |
| 2013 | "Outcast" | Glee Cast | Outcast (Glee Cast Version) |
| 2013 | "Who I Am" | Ross Lynch | Austin & Ally: Turn It Up |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | "Dancin' By Myself" | China McClain | Disney Channel Play It Loud |
| 2014 | "Lifeline" | Anastacia | Resurrection |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | "House On Fire" | Ryan Cabrera | Wake Up Beautiful |
| 2015 | "Rotten To The Core" | Descendants | Descendants |
| 2015 | "Evil" | Dove Cameron | Wicked World |
| 2016 |
| 2016 | "If I Knew" | Anouk | Queen For A Day |
| 2016 | "Handwritten" | Martina Stoessel | Tini |
| 2016 | "Cake" | Idina Menzel | idina. |
| 2017 | "The Only High" | The Veronicas | The Only High - Single |
| 2018 | "I'm A Mess" | Bebe Rexha | Expectations |
| 2019 | "Watergirl" | Cashmere Cat | Princess Catgirl |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | "Just Wanna Be Your Girl" | Shelly Peiken | 2.0 etc... |
| 2020 | "What A Girl Wants" | Shelly Peiken | 2.0 etc... |
| 2020 | "George & John" | Shelly Peiken | 2.0 etc... |
| 2020 | "Notebook" | Shelly Peiken | 2.0 etc... |
| 2021 | "Stronger Than a Man" | Bonnie Tyler | The Best Is Yet to Come |