On the Verge: Songwriter Bonnie McKee ready for spotlight

• She met Katy Perry when they were both broke and selling their clothes at a consignment shop
• McKee%27s new video %27Sleepwalker%27 is about her dark times with drugs%2C alcohol and poverty
• Perry%27s %27Last Friday Night%27 is based on real events%2C like skinny dipping in the dark

From 'Somebody' to nobody: At 16, Bonnie McKee's demo landed in KCRW tastemaker Nick Harcourt's lap. When he added her song Somebody to the rotation, a bidding war ensued, with Warner Bros. emerging victorious. But it turned out that the title of her 2004 debut album, Trouble, was a bit prophetic. After years of recording and tweaking, the release failed to drum up as much attention as the label hoped, and McKee got cut. "I was at the wrong label, at the wrong time, and it didn't work out, just like so many other people in Hollywood," she says.

And back again: While the 29-year-old may not look familiar (yet), you've most likely heard her. She's co-written nine singles that soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, including Britney Spears' Hold It Against Me, Taio Cruz's Dynamite and buddy Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and California Gurls. She's also one of the masterminds behind songs from Christina Aguilera, Ke$ha and Carly Rae Jepsen. After years of struggling, she caught a break when she met producer Dr. Luke in 2009. Since then, they and famed producer Max Martin have churned out hit after hit, including Perry's Wide Awake, Part of Me and Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.). Most recently, McKee co-wrote four songs on Perry's new Prism album, including her latest No. 1, Roar.

Living the American dream: With the lead single off her as-yet-untitled second album, pop anthem American Girl, she's ready to break out on her own. The lip-dub version of the much-buzzed-about single features an impressive stream of celebrity cameos: Ke$ha, Macklemore, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tommy Lee, Adam Lambert, Jewel, Joan Rivers, Jenny McCarthy, Jane Lynch, George Takei and the members of Kiss, to name a few. Since its June release, the official video has garnered more than 7 million views and the lip-dub version has more than 1.8 million. The song was featured in this year's Miss America pageant and this fall on The View as Jenny McCarthy's theme song. "With American Girl, I wanted to write something about my experience as a teen in America. Me and my friends grew up at the mall. We hung out with skaters and we'd sit on the curb of the 7-Eleven with our skateboards. We'd get people to buy beer and cigarettes for us," she says.

True love: McKee has been smitten with music since she was a kid. A classically trained musician, she joined the Seattle Girls Choir at age 12 and performed around the country; they even played the Vatican. "I owe so much to that choir. I learned about teamwork and sisterhood and I learned how to sing," she says. "I feel like a lot of pop singers hurt themselves if they don't have the proper training."

Babe in the woods: What the choir did not prepare her for was Hollywood. "I was devastated (when the label dropped me), of course. I'd spent all my money, I had no hot water, no cellphone, and I begged the landlord to let me stay for a few more weeks," she says. "But I'm relieved now because I was being held hostage by Warner. I had to go out and experiment. It was such a weird time." For years, McKee's partying lifestyle spun out of control. She struggled with and eventually overcame a drug addiction, which she opens up about in a YouTube Web series, Breaking Bonnie.

Lessons learned: "One thing I'd tell an up-and-coming singer is to never rely on other people for anything. The more self-sufficient you can be, the better off you'll be," she says. " I learned Pro Tools (digital editing software), learned to produce my own music, record my own vocals, even do my own photo shoots. You have to be very hands-on to get anything done."

Broke and not-yet famous: "Katy (Perry) and I met at a consignment store called Wasteland on Melrose Avenue. We were both trying to sell our clothes for our Taco Bell money. We were both broke and getting rejected. Even at that store. They wouldn't buy any of our stuff," she remembers. "That place is SO snobby. But we're kindred spirits, we have the same aesthetic."

Had I known: With several A-listers basking in the glow of her work, maybe she should have hoarded a few hits for herself. "Teenage Dream was the hardest breakup for me. I had teenage-themed songs on my first album, like Confessions of a Teenage Girl, so it meant a lot to me," she says. "But maybe it wouldn't have been a hit if I'd kept it. It ended up being with the right person, and Katy had a lot to do with that song, too." Another one of Perry's big hits, Last Friday Night, is based on experience. "Skinny dipping in the dark. That happened," she says.

There's a story in everything: While she liberally peppers her work with personal experience, McKee finds inspiration all around her. "I'm visually stimulated, so I watch TV, movies, even Pinterest. A song could come from something as simple as being words splashed across a billboard or changing everyday turns of phrases," she says.

Illuminating the past: To keep fans sated between American Girl and the release of her album next spring, McKee posted the music video for Sleepwalker, which she refers to as her "inbetweengle" because it's not the album's second single. "I made this zombie slasher-style flick. It's a homage to all my favorite horror films," she says. "We got (more than) 100,000 page views in a less than a week without any real promotion." But the video has a deeper meaning, too. "It's about my dark phase. I went through a terrible time, did a lot of drugs," she says. "My past gives me more depth. I wear my experience like a badge of honor. I'm a survivor."

Street chic: That's how McKee describes her style, which reflects her love of all things '80s. "I love Madonna and Prince and Michael Jackson. It was a golden age for pop music," she says. "I love acid wash, motorcycle jackets and I mix it with designer shoes. I can wear any vintage old thing, as long as I have designer shoes on." Having paid her dues, McKee's certainly earned her Christian Louboutins. "I thought about going home sometimes, I was so miserable, but I made it work," she says. "I fought my way through it and I'm a better writer for it."

So how about those Jonas Brothers? McKee was just as surprised as the rest of the world when the Jonas Brothers canceled their 19-date tour, for which she was the opening act, before announcing they were breaking up. "I had my suitcase packed. I was angry and confused," she says. "Then Katy heard about it and asked me if I wanted to open for her (last week) at the Hollywood Bowl." She'll also appear at the Dec. 6 Jingle Ball in Los Angeles "with some of my favorite artists. Plus, I'm still working on the album, so the tour cancellation is a relief, really. It's giving me the quiet time I need to put the cherries on top."