Maureen Anne McDonald (born May 13, 1981), better known as Mozella, is an American songwriter and singer. Along with her album releases, Mozella co-wrote

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

' 2013 single "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...

", which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She has also co-written

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...

's 2015 single " One Call Away", as well as

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 "

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

" that same year. Some of Mozella's other co-writes include the songs, "I Believe", "Strangers", "Every Single Time, and "Don't Throw It Away" for the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

' album ''

Happiness Begins ''Happiness Begins'' is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Jonas Brothers, released on June 7, 2019, by Republic Records. It is their first studio album since '' Lines, Vines and Trying Times'' (2009). For the record, the band enl ...

'' (2019), "Drop Top" and "Horses" on

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

's ''Graffiti U'' album,

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

’s " Cover Me In Sunshine",

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

's 2017 single " Love So Soft", " One Call Away" by

, "Fool's Gold" and "Perfect" by

, "Bright" by

Echosmith Echosmith is an American indie pop band formed in February 2006 in Chino, California. Originally formed as a quartet of siblings, the band currently consists of Sydney, Noah, and Graham Sierota, following the departure of eldest sibling Jamie in ...

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

's "Don't Panic", "Holding on for Life", and "We Can't Move to This" from Goulding's album ''

Delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

'' (co-wrote with Goulding and

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...

), "Feels Like Vegas" with

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California, as a child, where she pursued w ...

, and " Take You High" off Kelly Clarkson's 2015 album, ''Piece by Piece''.

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and Mozella co-wrote eleven of the nineteen tracks on the album ''

Rebel Heart ''Rebel Heart'' is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released by Interscope Records on March 6, 2015. She worked on the album throughout 2014, co-writing and co-producing it with various musicians, including Di ...

'', including the single "

Living for Love "Living for Love" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her thirteenth studio album, ''Rebel Heart'' (2015). It was written and produced by Madonna, Diplo and Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional writing from MoZella and Toby Gad. Ori ...

" with

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, Ariel Rechtshaid, and Toby Gad. In the genres of film, television and theater, she co-wrote "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody" with

Goonrock David Jamahl Listenbee, better known by his stage name GoonRock, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. Raised in Los Angeles, California, early in his career he focused on hip hop and sold beats to artists such ...

and Fergie for

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's ''The Great Gatsby''. In early 2014 she continued her work with Baz Luhrmann, penning "A Beautiful Surprise" with

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

for Luhrmann's musical theater adaption of his cult classic film ''Strictly Ballroom''. She also co-wrote "Dancing in the Dark" by Rihanna for the DreamWorks animated movie ''Home'', in 2015. Mozella's song "Anything is Possible" is used in the 2018 L’Oreal El Vive commercials. Her song "Love Is Endless" was used in the 2015 McDonald's "Archenemies" television campaign. Beginning April 2015,

Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...

used her song "Can't Get Enough" for their new commercials in the US. Some of the brands that have used Mozella's music in their branding include

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

, and

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC , doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio alon ...

. Mozella has released three full-length albums, '' I Will'' (Warner/Maverick, 2006), ''Belle Isle'' (Universal/Motown, 2009), and ''The Brian Holland Sessions'' (Belle Isle Records, 2012), as well as three EPs, ''Mozella'' (Warner/Maverick, 2005), ''The Straits'' (Universal/Motown, 2009) and ''The Love'' (Universal/Motown, 2010).

Early life

Mozella was raised in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, where she got her start as a performer booking her own gigs in coffee houses at age 15.Adams, Lauren; Benaym, David; and Tidwell, Danny (Summer 2006). "Discovering Mozella". ''Movmnt Magazine''. Pages 60-63. Early on, she collaborated with artists such as

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...

, and in 2002 was invited to England to write and record with Tim Saul, producer for Portishead. Upon her return to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, she signed with

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...

to record her first EP and album.

Music career

Warner/Maverick Records

Mozella signed to

’s

in July 2003. In 2004, when Maverick was absorbed into

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Mozella survived the merger. In July 2005, she released her self-titled debut EP on Warner/Maverick Records. Then, in November 2006, she released her full-length debut, ''I Will'', (produced by

Jude Cole Jude Anthony Cole (born June 18, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and talent manager from Carbon Cliff, Illinois. He began his career as part of Moon Martin's backing group the Ravens, and joined the English power pop ...

) on the same imprint. At the time, ''allmusic.com'' called Mozella, "One of the best things to come out of pop music this year."Brown, Marissa. "MoZella: I Will"br>
Retrieved 09/08/2009.

Universal/Motown Records

Upon signing to Universal Motown, Universal/Motown Records in July 2008, Mozella recruited multiple producers and writers for her second album, ''Belle Isle,'' including Marty James,

Jimmy Harry Jimmy Harry is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Harry has worked with artists such as Madonna, Pink, Weezer, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Fischerspooner, Oh Land, a ...

Tony Kanal Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, songwriter and record producer who is known for his work as the bassist and co-writer for the rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His career outside of performing include ...

, Sunny Levine, and Smidi. The album was released on October 20, 2009, but prior to that ''The Straits'' EP came out July 7, 2009 on this label.

The Brian Holland Sessions on Belle Isle Records

On July 24, 2012, Mozella released ''The Brian Holland Sessions'', which she co-wrote with

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

songwriter

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hi ...

of the trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, who is known for the hits he wrote for

The Four Tops ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

and others. "Brian Holland's soul pours out of him in melody everywhere he goes. He is a conduit," she told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' about working with the songwriter on her album. Mozella performed "You Don't Love Anyone But Yourself" from ''The Brian Holland Sessions'' on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on July 26, 2012.

Touring

Following her Warner/Maverick debut in 2006, Mozella toured the U.S. with

Tyler Hilton Tyler James Hilton (born November 22, 1983), is an American musician, actor, and author. He is known for playing Chris Keller, a prominent recurring character in the WB/ CW series '' One Tree Hill,'' and Elvis Presley in the Johnny Cash biopi ...

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

, Lifehouse,

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's Not Easy)" ...

Daniel Powter Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His 2005 pop single " Bad Day" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks. He was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards for ...

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with Santana for their 2002 single, " The Game of Love". As a solo recording artist, Bran ...

, and

Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat ( ; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame on the social networking website Myspace in 2005. She signed with Universal Republic Records to release her debut studio album, '' Coco'' (2007), w ...

. As she moved away from creating her own album releases, Mozella stopped touring.

Film and TV placement

Mozella's songs have been featured in movies, trailers, and television series' including ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American police procedural television series starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, G ...

'', '' The City'', ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'', '' The Hills'', ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', '' One Tree Hill'', ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and Obesity, obese contestants attempting to lose ...

'', ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', etc. Her song "More of You" was prominently featured in the first episode of ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...

'' and on the soundtrack. She's also had two song syncs in ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' in 2011. She has written and recorded numerous songs for commercials including "Amazed" for

, "Thank You" and "Let's Stop Calling It Love" for

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG, who also makes the Eucerin brand. ''Nivea'' comes from the Latin adjective ''ni ...

, "Magic" for

's "iDon't"

Motorola Droid The Motorola Droid (GSM/UMTS version branded as Motorola Milestone) is a smartphone designed by Motorola, which runs on Google's Android operating system. It was released in late 2009 and was an important "comeback" product for Motorola. Feature ...

campaign. "This is Love" and "Glow" were used in the 2011 and 2013

holiday TV advertisements. In 2012, Mozella's cover of "Some Like It Hot" (made famous by

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

) was used for the

Carl's Jr Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain store, chain owned by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., who also owns Hardee's, with franchisees in North and South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa. ...

Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...

"Drive-In" ad, that featured model

Kate Upton Katherine Elizabeth Upton (born June 10, 1992) is an American model and actress. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the List of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue c ...

.REF Later, her songs have been sync'd by Special K, REF Nestle, REF Tesco, McDonald's, Verizon, and more.

Discography

*''Mozella EP'' (2005) *'' I Will'' (2006) *''The Straits EP'' (2009) *''Belle Isle'' (2009) *''The Love EP'' (2010) *''The Brian Holland Sessions'' (2012)

Songwriting credits

Songs written

References

{{Authority control 1981 births Living people American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters Singers from Detroit Maverick Records artists Motown artists Universal Motown Records artists Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from Michigan 21st-century American women