Linda Perry: Writing & Producing Hits, “What’s Up?”, “Beautiful,” P!nk, Gwen Stefani, Music Industry

Episode 103: Linda Perry One of the greatest songwriters, producers, and hitmakers of the last 40 years, and a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee to prove it. In this episode of Go With Elmo Lovano, we go deep with Linda Perry on her journey through the music industry, from her early days to global success, and everything in between. We talk about her upbringing, her rise to fame with 4 Non Blondes, and how writing the iconic song “What’s Up?” changed her life. Linda opens up about the reality of success, the emotional toll it took, and how she navigated depression, identity, and reinvention to become one of the most respected songwriters and producers in music. We dive into her work writing and producing massive hits for Christina Aguilera (“Beautiful,” “Hurt”), P!nk (“Get the Party Started”), and Gwen Stefani (“What You Waiting For?”), along with her approach to songwriting, music production, creativity, and artist development. Linda shares how she helps artists find their voice, how she writes hit songs, and the truth about the modern music business. We also talk about the continued cultural impact of “What’s Up?”, from the 90s MTV era to its resurgence on TikTok, as well as Linda’s current chapter, including her upcoming documentary “Let It Die Here,” her new solo album, and the return of 4 Non Blondes. Linda is honest, direct, vulnerable, and deeply connected to the craft of songwriting. This is a powerful conversation about music, creativity, success, failure, and finding your voice. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the incredible Linda Perry. Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. Big thanks to our friends Ace Studio for supporting the show. Check them out! https://acestudio.ai/ Another huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year! Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers.   / gowithelmo   0:00:00 - TRAILER 0:02:10 - INTRODUCTION 0:04:21 - INTERVIEW STARTS 0:06:08 - “LET IT DIE HERE” DOCUMENTARY 0:07:41 - VULNERABLITY, LETTING GO 0:09:45 - LET IT DIE HERE, “FEATHERS IN THE STORM” 0:13:42 - CHRISTINA AGUILERA, “BEAUTIFUL” 0:22:09 - WRITING “BEAUTIFUL” 0:32:09 - RON FAIR 0:35:00 - CREDITING CHRISTINA, 1ST TAKE, AUTO TUNE 0:38:15 - CHRISTINA CUTTING VOCALS 0:38:54 - DOLLY PARTON 0:39:31 - UPBRINGING 0:43:25 - SONGWRITING AT 15 YEARS OLD 0:45:17 - EARLY SOLO GIGS 0:47:35 - MEETING 4 NON BLONDES 0:49:03 - WRITING “WHAT’S UP?” 0:52:38 - SIGNING TO INTERSCOPE 0:55:32 - RECORDING “WHAT’S UP?” 1:00:42 - LIFE CHANGING MOMENT 1:07:36 - “IN FLIGHT” 1:11:56 - GOOD MOMENTS IN 4 NON BLONDES? 1:17:01 - 4 NON BLONDES ARE BACK 1:18:00 - “WHAT’S UP?” TIK TOK TREND 1:23:33 - “IN FLIGHT,” JIMMY IOVINE 1:27:19 - BECOMING A SOUGHT AFTER PRODUCER 1:30:18 - NEW 4 NON BLONDES SONGS 1:33:34 - PLAYING “WHAT’S UP?” IN 2026 1:35:34 - NAMING “WHAT’S UP?” 1:36:25 - P!NK, “GET THIS PARTY STARTED” 1:46:45 - “EVENTUALLY” 1:48:55 - GWEN STEFANI 1:55:15 - GIVING AWAY MASSIVE HITS 1:56:10 - AI IN MUSIC 2:02:55 - WATCHES Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated! Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Linda:   / reallindaperry   Follow Go With Elmo:   / gowithelmo     / gowithelmo   https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano:   / elmolovano   https://x.com/elmolovano Follow Jammcard:    / @jammcard     / jammcard   jammcard.com