Producing Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, J.Lo, Pitbull, FIFA, Real Madrid, & Creating Global Hits
RedOne — born Nadir Khayat in Morocco — is one of the most successful pop producers in history. His records with Lady Gaga, including 'Just Dance,' 'Poker Face,' and 'Bad Romance,' helped launch one of the most extraordinary careers in pop music and defined the sound of a generation. Along the way, he also created massive hits for Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, and others — not to mention producing official anthems for FIFA and Real Madrid.
In this conversation with Elmo, RedOne tells the full story of his journey — from growing up in Morocco absorbing influences from everywhere, to moving to Sweden to break into music, to the fateful meeting with Lady Gaga that changed everything. He is one of the most compelling storytellers in music, and this episode gives him the space to tell the whole thing.
They dig into his production philosophy, what made the Gaga records so special, the mechanics of building a global hit, and what RedOne has learned about creativity and ambition from a career that has consistently operated at the highest level.
"When I heard Gaga sing for the first time, I knew immediately. I called everyone I knew and said: I just found the biggest star in the world."
RedOne's roots in Morocco, the musical influences that surrounded him growing up — from North African music to American pop to European dance — and the restlessness that drove him to pursue music at any cost.
The story of how RedOne moved to Sweden to try to break into the music industry, the years of rejection and struggle that followed, and the specific breaks that began to turn the tide in his favor.
The full story of the first meeting with Lady Gaga — what he heard in her voice, the immediate creative chemistry, and how their collaboration produced some of the most iconic pop records of the last two decades.
A track-by-track breakdown of how those landmark records came together — the studio process, the key decisions, the moments of inspiration, and what RedOne believes made each song resonate at such a massive global scale.
The story of producing official anthems for the FIFA World Cup and Real Madrid — what it means to create music for billions of people, and what that scale of reach has taught him about universal emotion in music.
RedOne's core beliefs about making hit records — the balance between formula and feeling, the role of the producer as a collaborator and curator, and what he looks for in an artist before committing to a project.
The full Lady Gaga origin story — RedOne's account of their first meeting, what he heard in her immediately, and the creative explosion that followed in those first sessions together.
RedOne breaks down 'Poker Face' in detail — the specific production decisions, the arrangement choices, and the moment he knew they had something that was going to change both their careers.
The Morocco-to-Sweden-to-global-domination story in full — a journey that required relentless ambition, willingness to fail, and an unshakeable belief in his own ear for what pop music could be.
Behind the FIFA World Cup anthem: what it is like to be commissioned to write music that will be heard by billions of people, and how that impossible brief actually clarifies the creative process rather than complicating it.
RedOne's philosophy on the creative process — where his best ideas come from, how he knows when a record is finished, and what role intuition plays versus calculation in the making of a global pop hit.
A conversation about legacy and what RedOne wants to build next — the projects he is excited about, the artists he wants to work with, and what he believes the next wave of global pop music is going to sound like.
Available on all major platforms.