American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, and was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Ballard was involved in the recording and writing of Michael Jackson's albums Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous. As a writer, he co-wrote songs including "Man in the Mirror" and "Hand in My Pocket". He is the founder of Java Records. He won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe"
