The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons were an American songwriting and record production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine formed in 2009. The Smeezingtons were established in Los Angeles, California; the trio primarily served as the producers for the singles and albums of Mars, with additional work for a diverse range of artists. Eventually, the trio split, and Mars and Lawrence formed a successor production trio with Christopher Brody Brown called "Shampoo Press & Curl".
Before Mars' mainstream breakthrough as a performer, the Smeezingtons first gained recognition after producing the song "Wavin' Flag" for Canadian singer K'naan in 2009, which was used by Coca-Cola as the theme for television coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In December of that year, the trio produced and co-wrote Mars' debut single appearance, "Nothin' on You" by American rapper B.o.B. It was their first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, and the first of numerous successful productions for Mars's career—which resulted in two consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles in 2010 and 2013. In August 2010, they produced and co-wrote the single "Fuck You" for American singer CeeLo Green, which topped the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Career
Formation
Before meeting Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence worked in theater and at Walt Disney World in Florida for seven years after finishing college. He moved to Los Angeles and was "holding down these random telemarketing jobs to keep the lights on". After Mars graduated in Hawaii, he moved to L.A. and found he could only pay rent by DJing. Before they met each other, "a lot of time was wasted working with random producers bouncing around from studio to studio but never getting anything done". Lawrence was initially reluctant to meet Mars but their collaboration worked from the start. According to Lawrence:Mars and Lawrence started writing songs together for Mars to perform but they received rejections from labels. The duo considered moving back to their home cities but that week, they got a call from Mars's former manager Brandon Creed, who was A&Ring a reunited Menudo, who needed songs. Creed liked their song "Lost", which was written for Mars. At first Mars and Lawrence did not want to give up the song so Creed offered them $20,000 for it. Mars and Lawrence were so surprised they said; "You can have that one and whatever else you need!"; the call allowed them to stay in L.A. longer. In late 2008, Aaron-Bay Schuck, Lawrence and Mars helped write Flo Rida's single "Right Round". Lawrence and Mars decided to call their partnership The Smeezingtons.
In 2007, Mars was a struggling singer-songwriter and Ari Levine was a producer looking to work with new songwriters. Lawrence was the first guest at Levine's studio Levcon Studios; they had previously worked together after being introduced by a mutual friend. Lawrence was responsible for connecting Mars and Levine. One day, Mars and Lawrence were sitting in a car with no money; they decided to try producing for themselves and enlisted the help of Levine, who contributed his equipment and expertise in drum programming, sampling and other electronic sounds. In 2009, The Smeezingtons settled in Hollywood and Levine joined the team. They worked over 10 hours every day for two years.
Collaborations
The Smeezingtons ventured into the U.S. market, mostly writing songs for R&B-pop performers. They were given the chance of working with acts such as Mike Posner, Cobra Starship, Chad Hugo, and Lupe Fiasco. They also wrote songs for better-known acts Flo Rida, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and CeeLo Green.One of their first successful productions was "Get Sexy", performed by Sugababes, released in August 2009. It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom. It was followed by Matisyahu's "One Day", chosen as NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics theme. The Smeezingtons also collaborated with artist K'naan on his fourth studio album Troubadour. Coca-Cola used the album's track "Wavin' Flag" with a composition re-arranged by themselves as the theme for television coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "Wavin' Flag" topped the Ö3 Austria Top 40, the Official German Charts and the Scottish Singles charts. It brought the Smeezingtons attention from the music industry with their production and writing services increasing in demand. Levine joined them, forming a trio.
In late 2009, The Smeezingtons landed "Nothin' on You" by American rapper B.o.B's featuring Mars; it topped the Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles chart, and the Dutch Top 40. In 2010, The Smeezingtons were responsible for "Billionaire" by American rapper Travie McCoy featuring Mars. It peaked at number four in the US, number three in the UK and topped the Dutch Top 40. In the same year, "Fuck You" by American singer CeeLo Green became another success for The Smeezingtons, reaching number one in the UK and the Netherlands, and number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2011, The Smeezingtons composed "Lighters" for Bad Meets Evil, featuring Mars's vocals. It peaked at number four in the U.S. and on the Canadian Hot 100, as well as number two in New Zealand. They also worked with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa on "Young, Wild & Free", which features Mars, for the movie Mac & Devin Go to High School. The song was included on the soundtrack. The single peaked at number seven in the US, number two in New Zealand, and number six on the French charts. At the 2013 Grammy Awards, "Young, Wild & Free" was nominated for Best Rap Song.
In 2014, Mars said he was not interested in composing songs for other artists because he had to pay rent. Nevertheless, they produced "All I Ask" for Adele's third studio album 25. At the 2017 Grammy Awards, The Smeezingtons received the Grammy for Album of the Year for their work on 25; it was their last production as a team.
Productions for Bruno Mars and recognition
In May 2010, The Smeezingtons composed Mars's debut EP It's Better If You Don't Understand, using the attention they gained from the success of "Nothin' on You" and "Billionaire". The EP's four songs were included on Mars's debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which was released in October 2010. The Smeezingtons produced and co-wrote the album, funneling lessons learned through label meetings and early hits into Mars's solo work. The album's singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade" topped the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian charts, the UK Singles Chart, and singles charts in other countries. In 2011, "The Lazy Song", another success for the team, topped the UK and Danish charts, and peaked in the top ten of other countries. The three were among the best selling digital singles of 2011.In the same year, The Smeezingtons composed Mars's single "It Will Rain" for the soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two in New Zealand, and entered the top 20s of charts in other countries. The team received six nominations for the 2011 Grammy Awards; they were nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for their work on "Fuck You", "Just The Way You Are", "Nothin' on You", and others. Their work on "Nothin' on You" earned them a nomination for Record of the Year, while "Fuck You" was nominated on the aforementioned category and Song of the Year. Mars won his first Grammy on the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category for "Just The Way You Are". With the team's contributions, Levine received a Songwriters' award at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards for "Billionaire," "Just the Way You Are", and "Nothin' On You". The team also earned the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards for Top Rap Song for "Nothin' on You".
At the 2012 Grammy Awards, The Smeezingtons were nominated in five categories, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for their involvement on Mars's Doo-Wops & Hooligans, "Lighters", and "Mirror" by Lil Wayne featuring Mars. Their work on "Grenade" earned the team a nomination for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Doo-Wops & Hooligans was nominated for Album of the Year. In the same year, The Smeezingtons also co-produced and co-wrote Mars's second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox. They were also responsible for the Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man", which also entered top ten of charts in other countries.
At the 2014 Grammy Awards, The Smeezingtons' work received three nominations. "Locked out of Heaven" was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, while Unorthodox Jukebox won Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2016, The Smeezingtons were not composers of Mars's third studio album, 24K Magic, which led some publications to believe the trio had split. The Smeezingtons were replaced with Shampoo Press & Curl, which was composed of Mars, Lawrence, and Christopher Brody Brown. Eventually, Lawrence left the team and they disbanded.
Other ventures
The Smeezingtons said they hoped to eventually move from for-hire work to development of new artists. Their recording suite Levcon Studios was open to musicians of all genres. "I don't think you can name an artist that we don't want to work with," Mars said.The Smeezingtons composed songs and played the instruments on those songs. Levine recorded and engineered Mars's debut EP and his first two albums, and mixed the track "Somewhere in Brooklyn". He also engineered, recorded, and mixed "Nothin' on You". Levine engineered and mixed "Billionaire" and "Young, Wild & Free".
Levcon Studios was located in Los Angeles and was co-owned by Levine and his brother and manager Josh Levine. The studios were used by The Smeezingtons and were described as a "tiny Hollywood studio" with a "whiteboard hanging on the wall". The studio is "set in a ramshackle cottage between a laundromat and a medical marijuana dispensary on a seedy Hollywood side street". In the beginning, and according to Lawrence, they "worked long and hard in this little shack, hoping just to pay rent and have someone listen to our songs". The latter also said; "we always find that we still do our best work in our little shack of a studio ... That's where we find our magic."