TORONTO — While Henry Walter is no magician, it's clear Grammy voters believe he can work some real magic.
The Halifax-raised music producer known as Circut swept all the Grammy nominations on Friday.
His work on Lady Gaga's “Abracadabra” and her album “Mayhem” as well as “Apt.” Bruno Mars and Rosé earned him an astonishing seven nominations in many major categories.
Walter says he couldn't predict how many nods he'd get, but he had a feeling Gaga's seventh album might resonate.
“He’s had such an impact this year,” he said by phone Friday afternoon while traveling from San Diego.
“I had a lot of people reach out and say, 'Man, I love this album'… sending me videos and photos (of Gaga's tour). I think a lot of people just really responded to it.”
Walter's fingerprints are all over the project, including his singles “Disease” and “Abracadabra”, the latter of which earned him nominations for Record and Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Dance Recording.
“I knew Abracadabra was a special record, (but) you never know exactly how it will impact the culture,” he said.
“I loved it, and sometimes all you can do is follow your gut.”
The 39-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles, has built his career by listening to his instincts.
Since hooking up with a young Toronto singer named The Weeknd in 2011, he's been releasing a seemingly endless stream of pop hits, creating earworms with artists like Rihanna, Maroon 5, Sam Smith, Ava Max and Renee Rapp.
Prior to this year, Walter had been nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards, including Katy Perry's “Roar,” Charlie XCX's “360” and a win for the Weeknd's “Starboy.”
He more than doubled his career Grammy wins this year thanks to Gaga's “Mayhem,” which he worked on with co-producer Andrew Watt.
“(He’s) an amazing guitar player; he worked with a lot of bands,” Walter said.
“I come with crazy electronic industrial beats and synths, and he has guitars and writing pop songs. When we get together, it just creates something magical.”
Walter describes his more subtle role in creating the global hit “Apt.”, for which he was nominated for song and record of the year. The energetic pop tune was inspired by the tunes of a South Korean drinking game and is an interpolation of Tony Basil's 1982 single “Mickey”.
“When this was first brought up in the studio, I thought, 'We've got to follow through with this,'” he said.
“You don't always know that there might be a great idea lurking somewhere… and it just ends up sitting on your hard drive. But sometimes half the battle is recognizing those great ideas and letting them come to life.”
Walter says he sometimes needs listener feedback before he knows a song is a real success, as was the case with “Apt.”, which became a cultural and social media sensation upon its release.
“I can’t count the number of times someone has said, ‘That’s my daughter’s or my son’s favorite song’ when he’s five,” he said.
“All the way down to my parents… everyone says, 'I love this song.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 20025.
