Hawthorn Woods native is nation's hottest pop song writer

"Sorry" by Justin Bieber.

"Cake by the Ocean" by DNCE.

"Centuries" by Fall Out Boy.

"Good for You" and "Hands to Myself" by Selena Gomez.

These chart-topping pop hits, played in high rotation on Top 40 radio stations, are just a few of the songs written, or co-written, by Hawthorn Woods native Justin Tranter.

Tranter is one of the hottest songwriters in the country right now, something the humble, funny 36-year-old called "a freak accident."

After all, just three years ago, he was broke and barely working. His glam-punk band, Semi Precious Weapons, was struggling to survive despite a year touring as Lady Gaga's opening act. Life "got pretty dark," he said.

Then in 2013, Tranter got a job writing songs.

"My success happened pretty late in life. I can't even believe it happened. But I'm really grateful it took me so long to get here," he said. "I can't believe there's one hit, let alone five. My family (who now lives in Palatine) is so proud of me and so excited. What happened this year is never going to happen again. This year is a freak accident."

To write a string of hits in one year is a rare feat in pop music, and it's put Tranter and his songwriting partner at Warner/Chappell, Julia Michaels, in high demand by A-listers such as Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani.

Tranter's come a long way from his days (literally, days) at Lake Zurich High School, where he was bullied so badly for being gay and feminine that he feared for his safety. He wanted to try out for choir and theater but was afraid that would worsen the bullying. He left the school after the first semester of his freshman year.

"It's not Lake Zurich. It's most public high schools in this country. It's not a place for queer kids," he said. "The bullying was so bad that I got to go to the arts high school instead."

Tranter enrolled in Chicago Academy for the Arts on the city's North Side, which he describes as "the greatest place in the entire world."

His mom would drive him to the Deerfield Metra station and he'd take the train downtown with other suburban classmates. They'd spend the morning doing academics and the afternoon on the arts. He felt safe at school, accepted and excited about his future.

In 1997, Tranter and his friends created and directed an AIDS benefit show at the school. It's become an annual tradition, and Tranter often returns home to see the shows.

But then it's back to Los Angeles, where he resumes a grueling work schedule. Tranter juggles eight songwriting sessions a week, sometimes clocking 12-hour work days or longer. He gets song ideas from things that pop into his head, phrases people use or stories his friends tell that make him think, "That would be a really great song title." Then he comes up with music and lyrics.

"You can tell if something feels special," he said. "But there are so many moving parts involved in making the song a hit. The radio has to deliver, the management has to deliver in terms of booking the right promotions ... just being a good song isn't enough."

Despite being a former lead singer of a band, Tranter doesn't mind handing his songs off to someone else.

"Give 'em all away!" he said. "In some ways, it's more rewarding to hear someone interpret a piece of music that you're a part of. One of my dreams has been to reach as many people as possible. If someone can take it 100 steps further than I can, then take it."

Tranter also uses his white-hot career to help others. After the Orlando nightclub shooting, he came up with the idea to write "Hands," a song sung by some of pop's biggest stars in a "We Are The World" style, to raise money for the victims. When the shootings happened, he was in Miami, on Selena Gomez's tour bus.

"I told everyone, 'I love you, I'll see you in a couple days, I'm going to Orlando to help' ... and I was able to make music and help the world," he said. "It was crazy because we had people all over the world wanting in. Adam Lambert was in Europe and Mary J. Blige was in New Orleans. ... I had donated as much money as I could to the cause, but I wanted to do more."

All the positive buzz surrounding Tranter is also enabling him to start developing musical acts of his own.

"I just need to work hard, and be nice, so people want to work with me, so I can keep some kind of career going," he said. "But this is really crazy, girl."

- Jamie Sotonoff

• If you know of someone who'd make an interesting suburbs-to-showbiz feature, email Dann and Jamie at dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.

A Semi Precious Weapons reunion?

The glam rock band Semi Precious Weapons opened for Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball" tour and influenced the careers of people like Grammy Award winner Sam Smith. But after being dropped by four record labels and losing a lot of money, Semi Precious Weapons disbanded a few years ago. One member now plays in DNCE, two in Gwen Stefani's band, and lead singer Justin Tranter, a native of Hawthorn Woods, has become a pop song writing phenom.

Is a Semi Precious Weapons reunion possible? Probably not, Tranter said. "We're on a semi-permanent hiatus," he said. "But you never know. I could see at one time doing an album for charity."