WATT

Andrew Watt is a prominent American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose credits span multiple genres and include everyone from rock icons like <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:33EUXrFKGjpUSGacqEHhU4">Iggy Pop</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a> to pop heavyweights like <a href="spotify:artist:1HY2Jd0NmPuamShAr6KMms">Lady Gaga</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1uNFoZAHBGtllmzznpCI3s">Justin Bieber</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5YGY8feqx7naU7z4HrwZM6">Miley Cyrus</a>. Born in New York and based in Los Angeles, Watt came up as a gigging musician working on his own career as a bluesy hard rock act, both solo and with the L.A. power trio <a href="spotify:artist:7GwxVVJFS0SwwzQmhfoTtl">California Breed</a>. By the mid-2010s, he had already established a budding production career, working with <a href="spotify:artist:246dkjvS1zLTtiykXe5h60">Post Malone</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0C8ZW7ezQVs4URX5aX7Kqx">Selena Gomez</a>, and others. His output and influence as a producer became more prominent in the 2020s when he won his first two Grammy Awards for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:6ZLTlhejhndI4Rh53vYhrY">Ozzy Osbourne</a>. Over the next few years, Watt became one of the industry's go-to producers, working <a href="spotify:artist:1w5Kfo2jwwIPruYS2UWh56">Pearl Jam</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Brandi Carlile</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6M2wZ9GZgrQXHCFfjv46we">Dua Lipa</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2wY79sveU1sp5g7SokKOiI">Sam Smith</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:04gDigrS5kc9YWfZHwBETP">Maroon 5</a>, and many others. He won additional Grammy Awards for his work on <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a>' Hackney Diamonds and <a href="spotify:artist:1HY2Jd0NmPuamShAr6KMms">Lady Gaga</a>'s Mayhem. In 2026, Watt composed the score for HBO's Rooster and co-produced <a href="spotify:artist:4STHEaNw4mPZ2tzheohgXB">Paul McCartney</a>'s The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

Watt got his start as a teenager after sneaking into a <a href="spotify:artist:78xUyw6FkVZrRAtziFdtdu">Roots</a> soundcheck; he became their gofer, and eventually was allowed to jam with them. His playing impressed the band, and through them he began to build up music industry contacts. He began a course of study at NYU's Clive Davis School of Music, but dropped out to tour Europe with singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:6HfPfjqkmkpLbYqYhTeNuB">Jared Evan</a>. Returning broke from Europe, he made ends meet by playing in the Bowery store of fashion designer John Varvatos -- former home of legendary punk club CBGB's -- before landing a gig with pop star <a href="spotify:artist:79Xp2rRN7wdsaTJgttdX3K">Cody Simpson</a>, touring the world opening for <a href="spotify:artist:1uNFoZAHBGtllmzznpCI3s">Justin Bieber</a>. He and <a href="spotify:artist:1uNFoZAHBGtllmzznpCI3s">Bieber</a> became friends, and soon he was writing and producing tracks for the star and other pop artists. In 2013, he co-founded the hard rock power trio <a href="spotify:artist:7GwxVVJFS0SwwzQmhfoTtl">California Breed</a> with <a href="spotify:artist:50FDiYHYqGJkaCuK4JhAYw">Glenn Hughes</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5T6YKEZhM6rVwCEm5PLKL8">Jason Bonham</a>; the group issued a well-received eponymous debut LP the following year before disbanding.

In 2015, Watt inked a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22John+Varvatos+Records%22">John Varvatos Records</a> and released his debut solo EP, Ghost in My Head, which featured drum work from <a href="spotify:artist:4DW34vji6G9GgGY0k2mic7">Chad Smith</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:0L8ExT028jH3ddEcZwqJJ5">Red Hot Chili Peppers</a>) and Joey Castillo (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:34c4iQ5tkaZKu6Sv28BTde">Danzig</a>). Over the next two years, while working on his own material, he continued to write and produce songs for numerous pop artists including <a href="spotify:artist:0C8ZW7ezQVs4URX5aX7Kqx">Selena Gomez</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:64M6ah0SkkRsnPGtGiRAbb">Bebe Rexha</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5p7f24Rk5HkUZsaS3BLG5F">Hailee Steinfeld</a>. Briefly returning to his own music under the moniker WATT, he released the bluesy 2017 single "Burning Man," featuring <a href="spotify:artist:246dkjvS1zLTtiykXe5h60">Post Malone</a>. After this, he focused almost exclusively on production work, and by the end of the decade, he had become a sought-after collaborator, working with artists like <a href="spotify:artist:00FQb4jTyendYWaN8pK0wa">Lana Del Rey</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1RyvyyTE3xzB2ZywiAwp0i">Future</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:25uiPmTg16RbhZWAqwLBy5">Charli xcx</a>.

In 2020, Watt was pegged to co-produce <a href="spotify:artist:6ZLTlhejhndI4Rh53vYhrY">Ozzy Osbourne</a>'s album Ordinary Man, which included appearences by <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:246dkjvS1zLTtiykXe5h60">Post Malone</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:74NBPbyyftqJ4SpDZ4c1Ed">Tom Morello</a>. He took home a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, raising his profile significantly. Between 2020 and 2023, Watt worked prolifically, as adept as producing legacy acts like <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:33EUXrFKGjpUSGacqEHhU4">Iggy Pop</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a> as contemporary pop stars like <a href="spotify:artist:2wY79sveU1sp5g7SokKOiI">Sam Smith</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6M2wZ9GZgrQXHCFfjv46we">Dua Lipa</a>. He also took home additional Grammys for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:6ZLTlhejhndI4Rh53vYhrY">Osbourne</a> (Patient Number 9) and <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Stones</a> (Hackney Diamonds). Having previously produced <a href="spotify:artist:0mXTJETA4XUa12MmmXxZJh">Eddie Vedder</a>'s solo album Earthling, he also helmed <a href="spotify:artist:1w5Kfo2jwwIPruYS2UWh56">Pearl Jam</a>'s 2024 album Dark Matter. By the middle of the decade, Watt was riding a career high, having produced <a href="spotify:artist:1HY2Jd0NmPuamShAr6KMms">Lady Gaga</a>'s Mayhem (which earned him two more Grammys) and <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Brandi Carlile</a>'s duo album Who Believes in Angels?, as well as <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Carlile</a>'s solo LP Returning to Myself, all in 2025. After composing the score to the 2026 HBO series Rooster, Watt resumed working with <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a> on their Foreign Tongues album and co-produced <a href="spotify:artist:4STHEaNw4mPZ2tzheohgXB">Paul McCartney</a>'s The Boys of Dungeon Lane. ~ James Christopher Monger & John D. Buchanan, Rovi