For 15 weeks since the fall, the top spot on the Billboard singles chart has been occupied by one of two Ariana Grande mega-smashes — “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings” — that drip with the mettle and coquettish swagger of a pop diva, while borrowing from hip-hop beats and cadences.

That winsome formula, though particularly compelling from Grande, can be traced back through recent pop history on a global scale: There are elements of the sound in a K-pop track by the girl group Red Velvet from 2015; a JoJo kiss-off from 2016; a Fifth Harmony single from 2017; and a Grammy-nominated Christina Aguilera number from last year. Even “High Hopes,” the sugary comeback hit from the pop-punk survivors Panic! at the Disco, which peaked at No. 4 in January, shares some of that DNA in its ecstatic vocal runs and melodic precision.

The common link comes via the songwriter Taylor Parks, an ebullient 25-year-old former child actress with a brightly dyed bob and an air of benevolent mischief, who was credited on each. Known in the industry as a top-liner, Parks, who performs as Tayla Parx, contributes melodic and lyrical ideas to some of the biggest artists in the world, and those aspiring to be.

For the last few years, she has done so quietly, cutting a meticulous yet low-key warpath through popular music on a personal quest to land a No. 1 single on every genre chart — a lofty goal that’s no longer far-fetched.