Hollywood based songwriter Stephan Moccio has revealed some of the secrets behind his biggest hits – including the Miley Cyrus chart topping smash Wrecking Ball – following the release of his solo album, Lionheart.
While you may not know his name, you will certainly know his hits, as the Grammy and Academy Award winning songwriter and composer has worked on some of the worlds biggest hits including Head Above Water by Avril Lavigne and A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion.
He also co-wrote and co-produced The Weeknd's song Earnd It and Skylar Gray's I Know You, which both featured on the soundtrack for the film Fifty Shades Of Gray.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Stephan has now shared some of the influences and behind the scenes secrets of his hit songs – and why he has taken a step back from his songwriting career to go back to his roots.
Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball became an instant sensation when it hit the number one spot throughout the world, but Stephan has revealed a major secret behind the song.
Despite being synonymous with the Bangerz star and music icon, Stephan did not get to know Miley until after the song was written.
Co-written with Sacha Skarbek, Lukasz Gottwald, Maureen Anne McDonald and Russell Walter, Stephan also added that despite being a pop music masterpiece, it actually has its roots in classic music.
He said: "It's interesting because with Wrecking Ball, I didn't get to know Miley until after. When I wrote the song – the song I wrote in Los Angeles with Sacha and Lukasz.
"That piece of piano music, is really just a classical piece of music in a lot of ways – just stripped down. Great melodies can transcend genres."
It is one of the secrets behind his success as a songwriter, combining his love for all genres of music with his classical training – creating some of the world's biggest hits.
"That versatility is key – I've used it so many times in my life. Celine is an obvious one in that," said Stephan.
"I'm kind of one of the guys in the world to amalgamate pop music and an orchestra together. I did it with the Weeknd and Fifty Shades and Earnd it.
"It's not something I ponder. It's part of who I am. It's not pre-meditated. I was blessed to have a great upbringing in music, in a great family who introduced me to so much incredible music."
Not only has his work contributed to chart topping hits, but they have influenced the work of the artists he has written for – with Celine Dion naming her Las Vegas residency A New Day, following the record breaking success of lead single A New Day Has Come – co-written by Stephan Moccio.
He is also a well known film and television music composer in his home country of Canada – even receiving the honour of co-writing the 2010 Winter Olympics theme I Believe for CTV and producing music for hockey games.
However, despite his worldwide success and a stint as a judge on Canada's Got Talent, Stephan has made the move to step back from his fast-paced career in pop music to focus on another path – piano music.
Talking about his decision to step back from such a highly successful songwriting career and return to his classical roots with the release of his piano album Lionheart, he said: "Lionheart came at a point in my life where I had gone through a lot of changes, as we all do as human beings. I'm in my late forties now.
"I just wanted to return to the simple things in life. Pre-pandemic, I already felt that my life was becoming too complicated," said Stephan.
"I'm at a point in my life where I just wanted to use one instrument to convey the emotion. I wanted to penetrate the emotional heart for people."
He added: "When I wrote Lionheart, I just wanted people to have a body of work. That's what I do with my piano music really – just to sort of calm yourself down. The beauty of instrumental music is that it does transcend culture. It doesn't have lyrics.
"We're streaming millions a year, which is incredible. Hopefully a part of it has to do with music being wonderful and beautiful, but the other factor is that there are no lyrics in it. It doesn't get in the way. There is enough room for interpretation from all of us."
Featuring songs including Esme's Waltz and After Midnight, Lionheart features piano melodies that emotionally connect to the listener – enabling them to unwind, relax and lose themselves in the beautiful music.
It also features the Tim Burton inspired Alice's Wonderland, which links back to not only Stephen's career as a film and TV composer in Canada, but also the reason he initially moved to Hollywood as a composer.
He said: "By virtue of doing that, I do have a career in film and television – more so in Canada, but of course, I came to Hollywood to do film music and I just got sidetracked for a moment, because I was so successful as a songwriter and a producer.
"You have to ride that wind. I was doing that when I was with Miley, Celine, The Weeknd and all of a sudden you're in a room with Dua Lipa. I really parked it, stopped, put the breaks on."
He added: "Alice's Wonderland is a slight play on words, as I am a huge Tim Burton fan. Rather than saying Alice in Wonderland, it was Alice's Wonderland – it felt very psychedelic. It had a feeling, as a composer, that gave you a feeling of that."
Stephan also revealed that he has been delighted and humbled by the reaction to his Lionheart album since its release, saying: "I'm very moved by how people have reacted globally to my piano music and it is the world's fourth biggest genre.
"Which is incredible – after pop, hip-hop and country. It's up there. It tells me that people are just needing to quiet down, breathe, relax. I hope my music can do that.
"People sometimes get afraid with piano music – they think it is classical, it is complicated and it doesn't fit in their world. I'm here to say – it does fit in your world. It can fit in your world," said Stephan.
"I'm not trying to show my virtuosity at the piano and show you how fast I can play. I'm trying to show people that virtuosity of the heart – that we are all human beings.
"I think we're all feeling like life is fast and just a bit much. All I'm trying to do is put the breaks on and say, because of Lionheart, I took a lot of time to compose those melodies. I took my pop skills and they're still beautiful classic melodies, just easier to digest."
However, does this mean that Stephan is done for good with pop music? The answer is most certainly a no.
Stephan said: "I will always do pop music," but added he is "going harder at the instrumental".
"I've proven myself as a pop writer – if I didn't write any other pop songs, I'd be fine.
"If I couldn't write another instrumental song, that would hurt me. That wouldn't sit well with me."
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