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Meet Savan Kotecha, The Indian-Origin Songwriter Behind Some of Pops Biggest Hits
You might not recognize Savan Kotecha’s name at first, but you have probably heard his work. Though he rarely occupies the spotlight himself, his career is an essential contributor to mainstream pop.
His songwriting credits span some of the biggest pop records of the past two decades, including One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”, Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do,” Ariana Grande’s “Into You” and The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” He works with multiple big artists like Usher, Britney Spears, and Maroon 5, building a massive catalogue with multiple Grammy-nominated songs.
His story gives us another reason to Celebrate those beyond the spotlight, Explore the people behind the music, and Connect with the stories that shape what we hear every day!
Savan Kotecha’s Indian Heritage and Early Life
Savan grew up in Austin, Texas, in a traditional Gujarati household after his parents migrated from Uganda to the United States. Growing up, he became interested in music early on and was influenced by artists like Bryan Adams, Richard Marx and then also R&B artists like Babyface and Boyz II Men. However, he expressed that the career path wasn’t really an option for his traditional family. Given this, he would often wait till his family went to sleep to experiment with and learn sounds using his keyboard and headphones. Eventually, he met a music publisher who sent him to Sweden to learn and collaborate with songwriters there, helping him grow in his career.
His path into songwriting also came from realizing that he preferred creating the music rather than being the person performing it. That decision eventually took him from writing songs as a young musician to working with some of the biggest names in global pop.
Inside Savan Kotecha’s Successful Partnership With Ariana Grande
Savan’s work with Ariana Grande became one of the defining collaborations of his career. With dozens of collaborations so far, he has co-written several of Ariana’s major songs, including “One Last Time”, “Into You”, “Side To Side”, “no tears left to cry”, “God is a woman”, “breathin” and “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.”
His songwriting relationship with Ariana began when Republic Records Co-President, Wendy Goldstein, introduced them. Savan initially expected to connect Ariana with other writers, but the two quickly found a creative rhythm. Their collaboration continued through some of Ariana’s biggest albums and songs.
Shaping One Direction’s Sound and Creating “What Makes You Beautiful”
Savan’s connection to One Direction began before the group became a global pop phenomenon. After Simon Cowell brought him onto The X Factor, Savan worked with the five members as a vocal coach, helping develop their sound during the show’s run. He knew their voices early on and understood where each singer needed to develop. That experience gave Savan a role that went beyond songwriting. He helped shape the musical identity of a group that had not yet found its sound, and he pushed the early records toward guitar-driven, upbeat pop rather than the R&B-influenced sound dominating mainstream music at the time.
Savan, along with Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, wrote several songs for the band’s debut album Up All Night, including “What Makes You Beautiful” and “I Wish.” For the former, Savan was actually inspired by a moment with his wife when she expressed that she felt unattractive one morning. He wrote down the central idea that same day, then took it into the studio with Yacoub and Falk.
The writers built the song around that melody and turned the personal idea into One Direction’s debut single. The song became the group’s breakthrough. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, entered the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and helped establish One Direction as one of the defining pop acts of the early 2010s. The track also earned the 2012 BRIT Award for British Single of the Year.
Savan later described his time developing One Direction as one of the most meaningful periods of his career. He had watched the group grow from X Factor contestants into a worldwide phenomenon, and he saw firsthand how a boy band could create a community among young listeners. The success also gave Savan an unusual perspective on the group. He didn’t meet One Direction after they had already become stars; he worked with them while they were still figuring out who they wanted to be. That early connection became one of the defining chapters of his career, and “What Makes You Beautiful” remains one of the songs he continues to single out as especially personal because he wrote it for his wife.
Building Opportunities for the Next Generation
Throughout his career, Savan has expanded his work from writing songs himself to creating opportunities for other writers and artists. In recent years, he has also ventured to connect himself to the global music industry, also connecting with artists from his roots in India.
In 2024, he co-founded Outwrite, a Mumbai-based songwriting and music-publishing incubator designed to connect Indian songwriters, producers, musicians and engineers with the wider global music industry. Savan openly speaks about spending much of his career as the only Indian person in the room and the desire to change that. He later launched Visva Records, which formed a joint venture with Republic Records following the success of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters.
The label focuses on developing international talent, extending Savan’s work from songwriting into artist development and A&R. Visva Records also launched the five-member Indian boy band OutStation following a nationwide talent search, further supporting Savan’s goal of representing more South Asian artists on bigger, global platforms.
This outlook shone clearly through his work with longtime collaborator and friend Ed Sheeran in 2025 as well. Savan co-wrote and co-produced “Sapphire”, Sheeran’s collaboration with Arijit Singh, bringing together two artists and audiences from different musical worlds. The track reflects the kind of cross-cultural collaboration Savan has increasingly championed throughout his career.
Savan Kotecha’s Place in Modern Pop Music
For someone who has spent much of his career behind the scenes, Savan Kotecha is building an incredible legacy. For South Asian audiences, Savan’s advancements to highlight their talent on big, dedicated platforms within the global music industry are very inspirational. His own career took him from a Gujarati household in Texas into the writing rooms behind some of pop’s biggest songs. Now, through his recent work in India, Savan is pointing toward a broader goal: giving South Asian songwriters and artists more room in the global music industry.
These are the types of stories behind music and the hidden gems that are just as worth knowing, and at Sanskar Savvy, we love to Celebrate the people who represent South Asian culture around the world, Explore the impact they’re making and Connect with their journeys!
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