Platinum Hit

Jewel and Kara DioGuardi meet the twelve aspiring songwriters at the Grammy Museum to give them their first challenge of writing a hook inspired by Los Angeles. Tempers and personalities clash when the contestants are later faced with their first co-writing session. Two promising songs crumble on stage in front of guest judges Jermaine Dupri and Trevor Jerideau.

The songwriters must step up their game as they write dance club anthems that will be judged by the disco queen herself, Donna Summer. The contestants perform their songs at a Hollywood hotspot to see if they can get the dance floor moving, but one songwriter proves to be a dud in the club.

Sometimes the best muse a songwriter can have is the open road as the contestants are faced with a hook challenge inspired by the classic American road trip. The contestants hit the highway in search of creativity, but end up testing their patience instead. The pressure hits a breaking point when guest judge Natasha Bedingfield brings one team to the brink of tears.

The songwriters explore their crossover potential by showing off their rapping skills for guest judge Rodney Jerkins. Some contestants embrace the challenge while others see it as a mere novelty.

Sparks fly when the songwriters are challenged to write a love song and a surprise twist changes the game for the first time in the competition. With Grammy winning singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder on the panel, two contestants find out love is a battlefield as they explosively fight it out to see who remains in the competition.

The songwriters display their talents on the mean streets of LA in the riskiest challenge of the season. One songwriter gambles away their chances when a twist forces the contestants to show their artistic versatility in front of the judges including songwriting phenom Bonnie McKee.

The songwriters are in for their hardest hook challenge of the season as they pitch their songs to hit songwriters Gavin DeGraw and Evan Bogart. During the team co-write, it is all-out war with one songwriter screaming sabotage.

The five remaining songwriters take a personal step towards empowerment using one of Jewel's all-time favorite lyrics. While one team struggles to finish their song, the other struggles to communicate. The winning songwriter is rewarded with a feature in SPIN, while the losing team pleads their case to the judges including Grammy winning singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, in an intense and teary battle to make it to the final four.

For the first time in the competition, the final four contestants must work alone in the writing process as they test their skills in the realm of pop music. The songwriters prepare themselves to be judged by their harshest critics yet, high school students. These notoriously fickle fans and guest judge Taio Cruz are forced to make the most difficult decision of the competition and decide the final three songwriters that will move into the finale.

With no topic and no parameters to bind them, the final three songwriters must write the song of their lives. Some of the most influential names in the music industry weight in as super-producer JR Rotem and hit songwriter Evan Bogart visit the contestants. Megastar Leona Lewis helps the judges crown one songwriter the next big hitmaker.