Platinum Weird

[Livia]

Platinum Weird


Geffen A&M Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine brought the two together last fall to write for one of his label's high-priority projects, but a funny thing happened on the way to a Pussycat Dolls single.

"Jimmy said, 'I'm gonna send you a spitfire and, well, we just hit it off," Stewart recalled.

"We had this great chemistry, so we started writing these songs that had nothing to do with the project," added DioGuardi, who was initially dreading the 36-hour songwriting session because it took almost that much time to fly to and from Stewart's England home.

"It's the first time I've formed a band with a girl since you know who," Stewart said, referring to his Eurythmics co-founder and former lover, Annie Lennox. "It's going to be very interesting."

Stewart described their style as "Fleetwood Mac's Rumours in 2005."

"It's pop, but it's not like, 'Here comes the chorus,' " DioGuardi said. "It's not as cheesy as what I usually do, a little less obvious. And it's completely organic. There's no ulterior motives. It's not a sit down and look hot or try to look young kind of thing. We're not exactly 20, but it's honest and pure. If people don't like it, it's cool. We did it for us."

John Shanks, DioGuardi's collaborator on Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me," Hilary Duff's "Come Clean" and Lindsay Lohan's "Over," among others (see "Ashlee And Hilary's Hitmaker Is Eager To Work With Paris Hilton"), produced the album, which is due this summer.

After much debate, the duo decided on the name Platinum Weird. "The name was tough, the music was easy," DioGuardi said."