Julian Collin Bunetta (born 1982 or 1983) is an American songwriter, record producer,
mixing engineer
A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
, and
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...
. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work with various artists including
One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...
,
Niall Horan
Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. The gr ...
,
Thomas Rhett
Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins.
Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...
,
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained prominence starring on the Disney Channel series ''Girl Meets World'' (2014–2017). She signed with the Disney Music Group, Disney ...
, and
Teddy Swims
Jaten Collin Dimsdale (born September 25, 1992), known professionally as Teddy Swims, is an American singer and songwriter. Known for creating genre-blending music, which include elements of soul, country, and pop, Swims originally began to att ...
, frequently in collaboration with fellow songwriter John Ryan.
For his contributions to Carpenter's 2024 album '' Short 'n Sweet'', Bunetta was nominated for three awards at the
67th Annual Grammy Awards
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025. In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in L ...
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
(for "
Espresso
Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
").
Early life
Julian Collin Bunetta was raised in
Calabasas, California
Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. His father Peter Bunetta is a drummer and record producer, and his uncle Al Bunetta worked as
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...
's manager and co-founded
Oh Boy Records
Oh Boy Records is an independent American record label founded in 1981 by singer John Prine, his manager Al Bunetta, and their friend Dan Einstein. The label has released more than 40 audio and video recordings by singer-songwriters Prine, Kris ...
; he has credited both as his early mentors. His brother, Damon, is also a musician, businessman, and his
talent manager
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...
.
He had learned to play the drums by the time he was "three or four", and started producing music using
Emagic
Emagic GmbH was a music software and hardware company based in Rellingen, Germany and a satellite office in Grass Valley, California. On July 1, 2002 Emagic was bought by Apple Computer. Emagic's Windows-based product offerings were discont ...
's
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
after his father purchased the software for him at age thirteen. Bunetta started attending
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
in 2001. The same year, his father Peter founded Family Affair Productions with him and Damon.
Career
Early years (2001–2010)
When he was in his late teens, his father introduced him to music executive Judy Stakee. who signed him to a publishing deal with
Warner Chappell Music
Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries.
...
. He moved back to Los Angeles with his parents and did not return to Berklee, travelling to and from Nashville into his early twenties to work with various
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
songwriters. Bunetta received his first songwriting credit on the 2005
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...
song "Live with Lonesome", which he wrote with
Wayne Kirkpatrick
Wayne Kirkpatrick (born c. 1961) is an American songwriter and musician born in Greenville, MS, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School in 1979. His younger brother is American screenwriter and d ...
during a songwriting boot camp in Nashville.
He met frequent collaborator and business partner John Ryan at a party while Ryan was attending Berklee. They began working together in 2010 when Ryan moved to Los Angeles to intern for Family Affair; Ryan was signed to Family Affair as a songwriter that same year. In 2017, Bunetta estimated that the pair "work together about 50 percent of the time". He was signed to
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
's
Syco Music
Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...
label and later hired as the music producer for the
first
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
seasons of the American version of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
''.
Breakthrough with One Direction (2011–2015)
In 2011, Tyler Brown, then an A&R representative at Syco, contacted Bunetta, Ryan, and English songwriter
Jamie Scott
James Christopher Needle (born 12 February 1984), known professionally as Jamie Scott, is an English singer, songwriter and producer.
Career Songwriting
As a writer and producer Scott has sold over 100 million albums, 50 million singles, has ...
to write songs for
One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...
's second album '' Take Me Home'' (2012). The trio wrote "C'mon C'mon" and "She's Not Afraid", and Bunetta also served as a producer on "I Would" and "They Don't Know About Us". Bunetta and Ryan produced the group's 2013 charity single "
One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)
"One Way or Another" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blondie (band), Blondie from their 1978 album ''Parallel Lines''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 197 ...
"; the track became his first to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 13. He again worked with the Ryan and Scott on the group's third album ''
Midnight Memories
''Midnight Memories'' is the third studio album by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released on 25 November 2013 by Columbia Records, Syco Music and Sony Music. It was described as having a "slightly rockier tone" than their previous effort ...
'' (2013); the first three songs he co-wrote and produced were the singles " Best Song Ever", " Story of My Life", and the title track. He worked with Ryan as a writer and producer on six other tracks, including the fourth and final single " You & I". Bunetta has called "Story of My Life" his favorite of the One Direction songs he worked on, describing it as "one of those magic nuggets that fell out of the sky when we happened to have our phones on" and a "calling card" track that helped to progressed his career.
While working on their next album, '' Four'' (2014), Bunetta noted that "there were some tensions going on" between the members that resulted in lyricism with multiple meanings. He described the album's sound as "much more dynamic and subtle" than their previous works, specifically singling out " Night Changes" and "
Fireproof
Fireproofing is rendering something ( structures, materials, etc.) resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a ...
" as songs that highlighted their vocal development.
In August 2015, One Direction member
Niall Horan
Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. The gr ...
announced that the group would be "taking a well earned break" in early 2016. The following day, Bunetta said that ''Made in the A.M.'' was written and recorded "not knowing if they were going to take a break or not, because that wasn't decided just yesterday". Their hiatus began in March 2016.
Work with other artists (2016–present)
Bunetta continued to collaborate with One Direction members on their subsequent solo careers, particularly Horan. He worked on Horan's debut album '' Flicker'' (2017) as a writer and producer, writing the album's lead single " Slow Hands" with Horan, Ryan, Alexander Izquierdo, and Tobias Jesso Jr.; Horan credited Bunetta and Ryan for having "written the chorus" before he made additional contributions. Bunetta continued to work with him on various tracks from his next two albums, including " Nice to Meet Ya" on 2020's ''
Heartbreak Weather
''Heartbreak Weather'' is the second studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan, released through Capitol Records on 13 March 2020. It was promoted with four singles: "Nice to Meet Ya (Niall Horan song), Nice to Meet Ya", "Put a Little ...
'' and "
You Could Start a Cult
"You Could Start a Cult" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan, included on his third studio album ''The Show (Niall Horan album), The Show'', released through Capitol Records on 9 June 2023. The song was written by Horan, M-Phazes, M ...
" on 2023's ''
The Show
Show or The Show may refer to:
Competition, event, or artistic production
* Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry
* Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy
** Cat show
** Dog show
** Horse show
** S ...
''. With
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson ( ; born 24 December 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Doncaster, England, Tomlinson auditioned for British singing competition ''The X Factor'' as a solo artist in 2010, w ...
, Bunetta served as a producer on " Just Hold On" (a collaborative track between Tomlinson and
Steve Aoki
Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...
), and was a co-writer and producer for Tomlinson's singles " Miss You" and "
We Made It
"We Made It" is a single by rapper Busta Rhymes featuring American rock band Linkin Park. The song was to be on Busta Rhymes's eighth studio album, '' Back on My B.S.'', but was then cancelled off the track list because the album was released on ...
". He also co-wrote
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture.
Styles's musical ca ...
Hey Violet
Hey Violet was an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California, consisting of Rena Lovelis (lead vocals, bass), Nia Lovelis (drums, percussion, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Casey Moreta (lead and rhythm guitar, back ...
at one of their concerts, Bunetta was "blown away by what ead vocalist Rena Loveliswas doing" and wanted to work with the group to "carve out a musical slice for them". He co-wrote and produced every song on their 2016 album '' From the Outside'', including their single "
Guys My Age
"Guys My Age" is a song by the American rock band Hey Violet. It was released as a digital download on September 20, 2016. The synth-pop song is about the singer's past upsets with "guys her age" and finding success with a "grown up".
Critical re ...
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' writer Rob LeDonne described as "a coup by any means for a rock band today".
In the mid-2010s, he met
Thomas Rhett
Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins.
Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...
through his then-fiancée and Rhett's
talent manager
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...
Virginia Davis, which initially made Bunetta "nervous" to write with Rhett. In 2017, they decided to collaborate and Bunetta traveled to work with Rhett for two weeks. Bunetta and
Dave Barnes
David Mckee Barnes (born June 20, 1978) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released eight studio albums, including two Christmas albums. His most recent full-length album, ''Featherbrained Wealt ...
co-wrote "
Craving You
"Craving You" is a song recorded by American country music singer Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris. It was released to country radio on April 3, 2017 via Big Machine Records, Valory Music Group as the lead single from Rhett's third studio album ...
", Rhett's duet with
Maren Morris
Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends in elements of pop and R&B. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, five Country Music Associatio ...
, while Rhett was ill. Bunetta was one of four producers on Rhett's album '' Life Changes'' (2017) and has continued writing and producing songs with Rhett, including "
Look What God Gave Her
"Look What God Gave Her" is a song recorded by American country music singer Thomas Rhett. He wrote the song with his father Rhett Akins, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan (songwriter), John Ryan, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Jacob Kasher, and Ammar Malik, and co ...
About a Woman
''About a Woman'' is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Thomas Rhett. It was released on August 23, 2024, through Big Machine Records, Valory. The album's lead single, "Beautiful as You (Thomas Rhett song), Beautiful as You" ...
'' (2024). In October 2018, Bunetta, Ryan, and Family Affair Productions partnered with
Big Deal Music
Big Deal Music was an American music publisher, founded in 2012 by former Chrysalis Music employees Kenny MacPherson, Jamie Cerreta and Dave Ayers. Headed by British executive MacPherson, the trio is joined by principles Michael MacDonald, Pete R ...
to create Big Family Music Publishing, with his brother Damon and Big Deal partner Casey Robinson serving as co-CEOs.
In 2021, he collaborated with
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained prominence starring on the Disney Channel series ''Girl Meets World'' (2014–2017). She signed with the Disney Music Group, Disney ...
as a writer and producer on "
Nonsense
Nonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwri ...
", which was released as the fifth single from her 2022 album ''
Emails I Can't Send
''Emails I Can't Send'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released on July 15, 2022, through Island Records. It is primarily a pop and folk-pop record with synth-pop production and elements of alternative p ...
''. That same year, Bunetta produced
Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...
Shane McAnally
Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his Shane McAnally (album), self-titled album on Curb Records. This project produced three sing ...
. Having worked with multiple songwriters and producers on her previous album ''
Kelsea
''Kelsea'' (stylized in all Letter case#All lowercase, lowercase) is the third studio album by American country pop artist Kelsea Ballerini. The album was released on March 20, 2020. ''Kelsea'' debuted at numbers 2 and 12 on the Top Country Albu ...
'' (2020), Ballerini said that the writing and recording process was "more streamlined" due to the pair producing the entire album.
He began writing with
Teddy Swims
Jaten Collin Dimsdale (born September 25, 1992), known professionally as Teddy Swims, is an American singer and songwriter. Known for creating genre-blending music, which include elements of soul, country, and pop, Swims originally began to att ...
in January 2020, ultimately co-writing and producing Swims' 2023 breakthrough single " Lose Control", which Bunetta jokingly referred to as " three-year overnight success". Bunetta and Swims reached out to
Ammo
Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...
and
Mikky Ekko
John Stephen Sudduth, known professionally as Mikky Ekko, is an American singer and songwriter from Nashville. He co-wrote and was featured on Rihanna's 2013 single "Stay (Rihanna song), Stay", which charted in multiple countries, becoming his fir ...
to collaborate, and they spent four days together working on the song in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
'', including singles "Funeral Grey" and "Brainwashed". Bunetta again collaborated with Carpenter on her sixth album ''
Short n' Sweet
''Short n' Sweet'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Sabrina Carpenter. It was released on August 23, 2024, through Island Records. Primarily a pop record with country, folk, disco, rock, and R&B influences, ''Short n' Sweet'' was ...
'' (2024), co-writing and producing the lead single "
Espresso
Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
" and producing the third single "
Taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...
". He received his first
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations for his work on the album; at the
67th Annual Grammy Awards
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025. In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in L ...
, Bunetta was nominated for
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...
. In October 2024, Bunetta was signed to
Sony Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...
. The next month, he topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Producers chart.
Personal life
Bunetta is married to
talent manager
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...
Virginia Davis. Since 2018, they have lived together in Nashville.
Awards and nominations
Production and songwriting discography
Singles
Note
* indicates tracks where Bunetta is credited only as a producer.
* indicates tracks where Bunetta is credited only as a writer.