Fresh Files Ep.6 – Creating Hits with NEYO and StarGate

StarGate

StarGate started their successful career as producers and studio owners based in Trondheim, Norway in 1997. The production team were particularly successful on the British market with more than 40 Top 10 hits in the UK for artists such as Blue, Misteeq and Atomic Kitten. In 2002, they launched their own group also called StarGate, fronted by rapper D-Flux and singer Anna, but the project was abandoned shortly after the single "Easier Said Than Done" was released as it could only reach number 55 in the UK singles chart. The team originally consisted of Hermansen, Eriksen and Hallgeir Rustan. In 2005, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen relocated to New York, and quickly established themselves as associates of the hottest Hip Hop/R&B acts on the US market. The third original member, Hallgeir Rustan, left in 2005, and remains a producer in Norway. Their breakthrough single in the United States was the Billboard Hot 100 #1 "So Sick" (released 2006) by Ne-Yo, which they produced and co-wrote with Ne-Yo. The follow-up was "Sexy Love", also a US Top 10 single. Stargate worked with Ne-Yo co-writing and producing Rihanna´s hit "Unfaithful", which reached #7 on the Hot 100, #1 in Europe, and top 5 in 22 countries. They also produced and co-wrote the US #1 single "Irreplaceable" for Beyoncé, which became the biggest single from the album B'Day, topping the Hot 100 for ten consecutive weeks. "Irreplaceable" became the second biggest radio-record measured by audience in a single week, reaching an audience of over 200 million. The single was #1 in 11 countries, and Top 10 in 30 countries. They also wrote and produced Lionel Richie's "I Call It Love". Aside from mainstream production, Stargate produced songs for Papoose, a mixtape legend in elite, underground hip-hop circles. They also co-wrote and produced the Nas feat Kelis track "Not Going Back" from the album "Hip Hop Is Dead". StarGate were the #1 Hot Producers on the Billboard Year End Chart 2006. StarGate received a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemann) in 2007. As songwriters Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen received three awards at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards 2007 in Los Angeles, for the songs "So Sick" and "Sexy Love" with Ne-Yo and "Unfaithful" with Rihanna, and two awards at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards 2007 for "So Sick" and "Sexy Love". In 2007 "Beautiful Liar" with Beyoncé and Shakira became another hit for the production team. It is one of very few songs to debut at number one on both the Hot Digital Tracks and Hot Digital Songs charts, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became one of their biggest international records, going Top 5 in 30 countries and #1 in 15 territories, including UK, France, Italy and Germany. from: http://www.stargatestudios.org/