Dr. Luke: Top 50 Songs

Dr. Luke Top 50 Songs

American songwriter and record producer born Lukasz Gottwald in Providence, RI on 9/26/1973. Often worked with Max Martin. Wrote and produced singles for Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, and Ke$ha; the latter alleged sexual assault and abuse by Gottwald. For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs These are the top 50 songs co-written and/or produced by Dr. Luke. Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. The song’s chart peaks in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) are listed after the year of the song’s release. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Ke$ha “Tik Tok” (2009) #1 US, 4 UK 2. Katy Perry “Roar” (2013) #1 US, 1 UK 3. Katy Perry with Snoop Dogg “California Gurls” (2010) #1 US, 1 UK 4. Katy Perry “I Kissed a Girl” (2008) #1 US, 1 UK 5. Katy Perry with Juicy J “Dark Horse” (2013) #1 US, 4 UK 6. Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009) #2 US, 11 UK 7. Flo Rida & Ke$ha “Right Round” (2009) #1 US, 1 UK 8. Maroon 5 “Sugar” (2014) #2 US, 7 UK 9. Pitbull & Ke$ha “Timber” (2013) #1 US, 1 UK 10. Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone” (2004) #2 US, 5 UK 11. Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” (2013) #1 US, 1 UK 12. Taio Cruz “Dynamite” (2010) #2 US, 1 UK DMDB Top 2%: 13. Katy Perry “Hot N Cold” (2008) #3 US, 4 UK 14. Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” (2007) #1 US, 2 UK 15. Katy Perry & Kanye West “E.T.” (2010) #1 US, 3 UK 16. Doja Cat “Say So” (2019) #1 US, 2 UK 17. Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” (2010) #1 US, 2 UK DMDB Top 5%: 18. Katy Perry “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” (2010) #1 US, 9 UK 19. Flo Rida “Good Feeling” (2011) #3 US, 1 UK 20. Doja Cat & SZA “Kiss Me More” (2021) #3 US, 3 UK 21. Kelly Clarkson “My Life Would Suck Without You” (2009) #1 US, 1 UK 22. Doja Cat “Woman” (2021) #7 US, 13 UK 23. Katy Perry “Wide Awake” (2012) #2 US, 9 UK 24. Jessie J & B.o.B. “Price Tag” (2011) #23 US, 1 UK 25. Katy Perry “Part of Me” (2012) #1 US, 1 UK 26. Doja Cat “Need to Know” (2021) #8 US, 11 UK 27. Pink “U + Ur Hand” (2006) #9 US, 10 UK 28. Ke$ha “We R Who We R” (2010) #1 US, 1 UK 29. Britney Spears “Circus” (2008) #3 US, 13 UK 30. Doja Cat & The Weeknd “You Right” (2021) #11 US, 9 UK 31. Pink “Who Knew” (2006) #9 US, 5 UK 32. Kelly Clarkson “Behind These Hazel Eyes” (2004) #6 US, 9 UK 33. Katy Perry “The One That Got Away” (2010) <#3 US, 18 UK DMDB Top 10%: 34. Nicki Minaj “Super Freaky Girl” (2022) #1 US, 10 UK 35. Latto “Big Energy” (2021) #3 US, 21 UK 36. Rihanna “Where Have You Been” (2010) #5 US, 6 UK 37. Pitbull & Ne-Yo “Time of Our Lives” (2014) #9 US, 51 UK 38. Saweetie & Doja Cat “Best Friend” (2021) #14 US, 35 UK 39. Jessie J “Domino” (2011) #6 US, 1 UK 40. Rock City with Adam Levine “Locked Away” (2015) #6 US, 2 UK 41. Britney Spears with Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha “Till the World Ends” (2011) #3 US, 21 UK 42. Ke$ha “Die Young” (2012) #2 US, 7 UK 43. Ke$ha “Blow” (2010) #7 US, 7 UK 44. Ke$ha “Take It Off” (2010) #8 US, 15 UK DMDB Top 20%: 45. Britney Spears “Hold It Against Me” (2011) #1 US, 6 UK 46. Nicki Minaj with Drake, Lil Wayne, & Chris Brown “Only” (2014) #12 US, 35 UK 47. Avril Lavigne “Keep Holding On” (2006) #17 US, -- UK 48. Katy Perry “Unconditionally” (2013) #14 US, 25 UK 49. Karmin “Brokenhearted” (2012) #16 US, 6 UK 50. Rihanna “You Da One” (2011) #14 US, 16 UK Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Dr. Luke Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 7/27/2023; last updated 8/9/2023.

Ke$ha hit #1 with "Tik Tok"

Tik Tok Ke$ha

Writer(s): Kesha Sebert, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald/Benjamin Levin (see lyrics here) Released: August 7, 2009 First Charted: October 11, 2009 Peak: 19 US, 17 BA, 16 DG, 17 RR, 14 A40, 4 UK, 19 CN, 18 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 18.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 668.0 video, 962.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Tik Tok” was not Ke$ha’s first run at the charts; it wasn’t even her first #1. Earlier in 2009, she did a guest vocal on rapper Flo Rida’s “Right Round,” a Billboard Hot 100 chart topper for six weeks. However, “Tik Tok” marked her debut as a lead solo artist and was named Billboard magazine’s song of the year. The song marked a collaboration with producer/songwriter Dr. Luke, who had worked with Ke$ha on “Right Round.” Dr. Luke had become the notable go-to-guy for female pop divas having done notable work for Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, and Pink. He has said he was drawn to her via a demo in which she had both sung and rapped. Naysayers critiqued the upbeat dance-pop sound as too similar to tracks such as Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” Slate magazine’s Jonah Weiner said the song falls between “charmingly daft and deeply irritating” WK as it details the story of a girl who “wakes up drunk, stays drunk, finds a dance floor and (spoiler alert) gets even drunker.” WK However, most critics praised the song’s celebration of partying. Digital Spy’s Nick Levin called it “completely trashy in the best possible way.” WK Drowned in Sound’s David Renshaw said, “world rocking it might not be, but as a piece of disposable pop it captures a moment and boasts a huge hook.” WK Rapper and mogul P. Diddy appeared on the track, thanks to coincidence. Ke$ha references him in the first line of the song (“Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy”). The same day she shared the song with Dr. Luke, Diddy called him for the first time ever to suggest they work together. According to Ke$ha, he came in that same day to rap a couple lines for the song. SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Ke$ha SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/27/2023.

Top 50 Songs of 2009

Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Songs of 2009

These are the top 50 songs of 2009 based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists and charts. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here. DMDB Top 1%: Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” Ke$ha “Tik Tok” Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” Jay-Z with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” hey Train “Hey, Soul Sister” Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” Flo Rida with Ke$ha “Right Round” DMDB Top 2%: Owl City “Fireflies” Jay Sean & Lil Wayne “Down” DMDB Top 5%: David Guetta with Akon “Sexy Bitch” (aka “Sexy Chick”) Lady Gaga & Beyoncé “Telephone” Rihanna “Rude Boy” Kelly Clarkson “My Life Would Suck Without You” Taio Cruz with Ludacris “Break Your Heart” Miley Cyrus “The Climb” Mumford & Sons “Little Lion Man” Train “Marry Me” Jason Derulo “Whatcha Say” Black Eyed Peas “Meet Me Half Way” Iyaz “Replay” Lady Gaga “Alejandro” Linkin Park “New Divide” Phoenix “1901” Pearl Jam “Just Breathe” Keri Hilson with Kany West & Ne-Yo “Knock You Down” Muse “Uprising” Pitbull “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” DMDB Top 10%: Jason Derulo “In My Head” Drake “Best I Ever Had” Black Eyed Peas “Imma Be” Green Day “21 Guns” Kid Cudi vs. Crookers “Day ‘N’ Nite” Michael Bublé “Haven’t Met You Yet” Britney Spears “3” Mumford & Sons “The Cave” LaRoux “Bulletproof” Green Day “Know Your Enemy” Eminem with Dr. Dre & 50 Cent “Crack a Bottle” Pearl Jam “The Fixer” Brad Paisley “Then” Jay-Z with Rihanna & Kanye West “Run This Town” Drake with Kanye West, Lil Wayne, & Eminem “Forever” Animal Collective “My Girls” One Republic “Secret” Soulja Boy Tell’em with Sammie “Kiss Me Thru the Phone” Bat for Lashes “Daniel” Rihanna “Russian Roulette” Shakira “She Wolf (Loba)” Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top Songs and Albums by Year lists Dave’s Music Database: Songs of the Year lists First posted 1/18/2023.