Studio Album · No. 8
X Songwriting Credits by Def Leppard
Produced by Def Leppard, Per Aldeheim, Andreas Carlsson, Pete Woodroffe · Engineered by Stefan Glaumann, Ronan McHugh, Pete Woodroffe
Holds writing credit on 11 of 13 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 11 / 13 documented
Scored across the 13 tracks with documented writers, by whether Def Leppard carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 13 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
X is the album where Def Leppard most opens its writing to outsiders. The band's collective credit still anchors several tracks, with all five members listed together, but professional pop writers like Per Aldeheim, Andreas Carlsson and Max Martin's team author others outright. It is the clearest dilution of the band's self-written identity, reflecting a deliberate push toward mainstream pop radio.
X is the eighth studio album by Def Leppard, released in July 2002 and the band's most pop-oriented record. Aiming for contemporary radio, they brought in outside writers and producers, including Swedish hitmakers Per Aldeheim and Andreas Carlsson and material co-written by Max Martin's circle. Several tracks still use the band's collective credit, with Rick Allen, Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott and Rick Savage listed together, but the album leans heavily on softer ballads and polished pop rock. Pete Woodroffe and the band produced. Less commercially successful than their hard rock peak, X was the band's deliberate, if divisive, attempt to chase mainstream pop radio in the early 2000s.