A key driver for Beyoncé’s second album B’Day, marking her 25th birthday, was the song Irreplaceable written by the Norwegian songwriting and music production team Espionage, consisting of Espen Lind & Amund Bjørklund. The song was a Number One single on the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 weeks and was the best-selling song in the US for 2007, and helped drive a Grammy nomination for Best contemporary RnB album.
This song writer duo also helped change the fortunes of San Francisco band Train. In 2009, they released the Espionage song Hey Soul Sister from the band’s fifth album. It became the band’s highest selling single, and was also the best-selling song on the iTunes store in 2010 and the second best-selling single in the US in 2010. Another song Drive By was released as the lead track of the bands 6th album in 2012 and became a sizeable global hit, charting Top ten in over 13 countries.
The writers then showed their hit making skills in the RnB lane more particularly, writing the hit With You for Chris Brown, hitting Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as big songs for Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks. Further development work was undertaken on the American Idol winner David Cook’s debut album and his hit song Come Back To Me, alongside more hits for Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, Jessica Simpson and Mary J. Blige.