'The Dream' is a 10 in songwriting circles
Def Jam Recordings

Terius "The Dream" Nash has already co-written two of the year's biggest hits — Rihanna's Umbrella and J. Holiday's Bed— and he's hoping a third will make him a household name.
The singer/songwriter's Shawty Is a 10 is climbing Billboard's urban and rhythmic top 40 charts and building anticipation for the Dec. 11 release of his debut album, Love Hate. The song, which originally had a more R-rated title and lyrics, also is getting a boost from a remix featuring R. Kelly.
CLIP: Listen to The Dream's Shawty Is a 10
"Shawty Is da S—- couldn't be played on radio," says The Dream, 27, whose second single, Falsetto, just went to radio. "So I decided on calling her a 10 because it means the same thing, that she is so fly and she is so cool."
The Atlanta-based artist hoped to launch his career with Bed, but let it go to Holiday before signing his contract with Def Jam. He wrote Shawty a week later. Like the other two hits, the song has his familiar "Eh, eh, eh" riff.
"That's just me trying to find something that ties back to me. Fans don't always check the credits, but if they love one song you did, they are going to love others," The Dream says.
He and partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart (Dream does the concepts and lyrics; Stewart, the music) are suddenly one of the most in-demand songwriting teams in urban music.
They wrote and recorded Love Hate in nine days this summer while they were in Las Vegas crafting new material for Celine Dion. They've also recently done songs for Sting, Usher, Mariah Carey, Nicole Scherzinger, Jamie Foxx, Janet Jackson and The Dream's wife, R&B singer Nivea. He has eight songs on Mary J. Blige's upcoming Growing Pains, including the first single, Just Fine.
Even though he'd been playing instruments since third grade (trumpet, saxophone, snare drum), he didn't envision a music career.
"My granddaddy was very old-fashioned," he says. "I remember him telling me that I was never going to make money in the music business. Knowing his sense of humor, he would be laughing right now."
The Dream wrote for local artists and rappers before attracting the attention of producer Laney Stewart, Tricky's brother, who signed him to a publishing deal at Peer Music. His big break came in 2002 when B2K recorded his song Everything for their platinum Pandemonium. A year later, he wrote Me Against the Music, a hit single for Britney Spears featuring Madonna.
He says he's happy with his success but unwilling to compromise his music to get it into the hands of the biggest artists. Chris Brown wanted Bed, but The Dream didn't think the sexy song fit an 18-year-old. "It's a great lovemaking record. It meant more to me to find the perfect singer for it rather than risk the integrity of the record."
Next up is shooting a video for third single She Needs My Love, which features Kanye West.
"He mentioned to L.A. (Island/Def Jam chairman Antonio Reid) that he wanted to get on the record," The Dream says. "My peers appreciate things that I do, just as I appreciate them."