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Songwriter Shelly Peiken on the Christina Aguilera Hit That Landed Her a No. 1
In January 2000, Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants,” co-written by Shelly Peiken, dethroned Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth” to become the first new Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 of the millennium. It was also the first No. 1 for Peiken, who had previously gotten close as a co-writer of Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch,” which hit No. 2 in 1997 and has logged 56.7 million on-demand U.S. streams to date, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. She also co-wrote Aguilera’s next hit, “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You),” which reigned at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks later that year.
