Michael Ross Pollack (born April 26, 1994) is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He has written songs for artists such as Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys, Lauv, Ben Platt, Zedd, Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, and many others.[1] He achieved his first US Top 40 radio #1 in February 2020 with Maroon 5's "Memories"[2] and his second in February 2022 with Justin Bieber's "Ghost".[3]

Michael Pollack
Pollack in 2020
Background information
Birth name	Michael Ross Pollack
Born	(1994-04-26) April 26, 1994 (age 28) Roslyn, New York, US
Occupation(s)	Songwriter singer multi-instrumentalist record producer

Early years and Billy Joel

Pollack and his older sister were raised by their parents in Roslyn, New York.[4] He started playing piano, singing, and writing songs at a young age. In his youth, he performed with a Billy Joel cover band and with Richie Cannata, Billy Joel's longtime saxophonist.[5]

After graduating from high school, Pollack moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Vanderbilt University. During his freshman year, Billy Joel hosted a Q&A session for college students at Vanderbilt University's Langford Auditorium. During the Q&A, Pollack asked if he could perform "New York State of Mind" with the singer, to which Billy Joel agreed.[6] A video of the performance was posted online and quickly went viral. The viral video landed Pollack appearances on NBC's Today show,[7] Good Day New York,[8] the Morning Mashup on SIRIUS XM Radio,[9] and The Jeff Probst Show.[10]

Music career

Pollack's viral encounter with Billy Joel led to him signing a joint venture publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and President of A&R at Atlantic Records Pete Ganbarg's Songs With A Pure Tone during his sophomore year of college.[4][11] Soon after, he started collaborating with other songwriters such as Ingrid Andress in Nashville while he finished his degree.[12]

After graduating from college, Pollack moved to Los Angeles, California to live with fellow musicians Ari Leff and Michael Matosic.[4] The trio went on to write dozens of songs for both Leff and others.

Pollack is managed by Jamie Zeluck-Hindlin,[13] founder of Nonstop Management.

In 2021, Pollack co-wrote and executive produced the album Reverie by Ben Platt.[14][15]

Pollack was named Songwriter of the Year at the 2022 BMI Pop Awards.[16] He was also named as one of Variety's 55 Queer Artists and Decision-Makers to Know in 2022.[17]

Intervale Songs

In 2020, Pollack formed a publishing company called Intervale Songs.

Nick Sarazen, a songwriter and producer from North Kingstown, Rhode Island,[18] was the first signee to Intervale Songs, in 2020. Two years later, in 2022, he signed Davin Kingston, a songwriter, producer, and artist, from Clermont, Florida[19] to Intervale Songs.

Discography

Songwriting credits

Production credits

Awards and nominations

References