Music
MoZella
born 1981 · songwriter, singer
Detroit-raised songwriter who started out booking her own coffeehouse gigs at 15 and went on to co-write Miley Cyrus's No. 1 hit “Wrecking Ball.”
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 45- Birth name
- Maureen Anne McDonald
- Also known as
- Mozella
- Detroit years
- 1981–about 2000
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Maureen McDonald grew up in Detroit and began performing as a teenager, booking her own shows in local coffeehouses at 15. Early collaborations with rapper Warren G and, in 2002, with Portishead producer Tim Saul in England led to her own records as MoZella. Her greatest success came as a writer for others. She co-wrote Miley Cyrus's “Wrecking Ball,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013, Charlie Puth's “One Call Away” and One Direction's “Perfect,” as well as songs for Kelly Clarkson, Ellie Goulding, Keith Urban, Pink and the Jonas Brothers. She also co-wrote eleven songs on Madonna's Rebel Heart (2015), including “Living for Love,” linking two Detroit-area natives, and wrote “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” with Fergie for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.
Highlights
- Co-wrote “Wrecking Ball” (No. 1, 2013)
- Co-wrote eleven songs on Madonna's Rebel Heart (2015)
- Co-wrote Charlie Puth's “One Call Away” and One Direction's “Perfect”
- Song for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (2013)