George Michael on How He Writes a Song

DK: How do you write a song?

GM: The strangest thing is I tend to write in bits and pieces. I tend to … what happens is when I go into the studio, all kinds of bits of lyric and bits of melody that have literally just popped up and made themselves known in my head come together. And the interesting thing is I don’t … I don’t …

I used to write outside of the studio. And now I write inside the studio. I quite often start with a backing track and I used to start with a melody in my head. And when you’re trying to make number ones and you’re trying to go for the jugular every time, that, well that seems to be a good way is to literally write the melody first.

But the second half of my career, I’ve kind of started off with trying to get a feel that is all of its own — before you even, you know, to try and get people feeling something before you even sing a word. I’ll get that mood going and then I’ll write over the top of that. That’s why it works for me.

SOURCE: George Michael Interview with Heart FM’s Darren Kelly