Veteran pop tunesmith Ali Tamposi — who has co-penned smashes for Kelly Clarkson, Camila Cabello and 5 Seconds of Summer, among others — admits it has taken time to feel comfortable writing over Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, while she’s thankful to be having in-person sessions again with close collaborator Andrew Watt (after everyone gets tested, of course), she says the adjustment taught her a valuable lesson: “The workload isn’t nearly as intense this year, but we’re starting to understand quality over quantity.”
Since wrapping 2019 as BMI’s pop songwriter of the year honoree (an award she shared with Watt), Tamposi, 31, has used the pandemic to home in on a more select group of projects, including Creative Waves Foundation, a program she founded with her mother, Candy, that provides financial support to underprivileged young artists. She’s also developing a curriculum for a free online music-education program. “I don’t know when I would have [otherwise] had the opportunity to really isolate my focus,” she says, “and at a time when people need creative outlets.”