Brunila lands a co-write on Billboard Hot 200-topping album by Trey Songz.

If Bill Clinton’s legendary campaign manager James “Ragin’ Cajun” Carville was involved in the music business, he’d have probably have his motto on the wall of his office, possibly in crocheted form: It’s the songs, stupid.

And he’d be right.

Teemu Brunila recently landed a co-write credit on a new album by Trey Songz. Upon release the album, Chapter V, went number one in the United States, giving Teemu’s career a nice little boost.

Teemu has a long and varied history as a songwriter, and this is by no means his first taste of international success. In the late 90s, Teemu’s vehicle was a band called The Crash. The band’s debut, Comfort Deluxe, was released in 1999 and one of the songs took on a life of its own. Sugared (YouTube link) gained airplay and traction in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and other territories.

The band toured and Teemu wrote the next album, Wildlife, on the road. The record was released in 2001 and gave us a true classic in the form of Lauren Caught My Eye (YouTube link) .

The next album, Melodrama, released in 2003, contained Still Alive. Brunila’s range as a songwriter was obviously growin by leaps and bounds.

Eventually The Crash broke up and Teemu started concentrating on his burgeoning songwriting and production career. He attended Music Finland’s Song Castle songwriting camp in 2008, striking up a partnership with songwriter Rob Davis, who’s written hits for Kylie Minogue, among others. This led to a deal with Rob’s manager and eventually a publishing deal with Sony/ATV UK. During his career as a professional songwriter, Teemu has written hits for prominent Finnish artists like Anna Abreu and Jenni Vartiainen (YouTube link).

Ihmisten edessä tells the story of two lovers walking hand in hand, in public. The lovers are both women, not caring about the reactions they elicit. The song was an enormous hit in Finland and Teemu ended up receiving an award from Seta, a Finnish organization dedicated to protecting the rights of LGBT folks in Finland. The organization appreciated the songs description of how seemingly mundane decisions can be, like whether to hold hands, can require a lot of courage if you’re a part of a sexual minority.

On the international front, after his relocation to London Teemu has written songs for successful British acts like JLS and Pixie Lott (YouTube link).

Songwriting is a high priority for Finnish music exports and thanks to talented writers like Teemu Brunila Music Finland will have its hands full for years to come.

Congratulations, Teemu. This is just the beginning.