Benny Blanco

Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and singer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[1] He is also a five-time BMI Songwriter of the Year award winner and 2017 iHeartRadio Producer of the Year award winner.

Benny Blanco
Benny in 2019
Background information
Birth nameBenjamin Joseph Levin
Born (1988-03-08) March 8, 1988
Reston, Virginia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2007–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitebenny-blanco.com

As a producer and songwriter, Blanco has contributed to the sale of over 100 million albums worldwide through his work with artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kesha, Rihanna, Sia, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Tory Lanez, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, J Balvin and Juice Wrld. He is also the founder of two labels in collaboration with Interscope Records, Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets.[2]

In July 2018, Blanco released the song "Eastside" under his own name, a collaboration with Halsey and Khalid.[3] It peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Blanco's first top 10 credited as an artist and his 27th top 10 as a writer, a sum that includes seven number ones.[4] "Eastside" was followed by "I Found You" with Calvin Harris, "Better to Lie" with Jesse and Swae Lee, "Roses" and "Graduation" with Juice Wrld and "Roses" with Brendon Urie, and he released his first album a little later in 2018.[5]

Life and career

Career beginnings

Blanco, a Jewish[6] native of Northern Virginia,[7] began by producing hip-hop instrumentals in his bedroom and recording his own vocals on top of them. His first serious exposure to music came in 1994 when he was 5 years old with Nas' "The World Is Yours" and All-4-One's "I Swear" on cassette tapes, which heavily influenced his early productions.[8][9] After early experiments with beat making and recording himself on his boombox, Blanco's rapping earned the attention of The Source and executives at Columbia Records.

Blanco eventually secured an apprenticeship with producer Disco D after multiple trips to New York City from his home in Virginia to meet with labels and producers.[9]

2008–present

Blanco was mentored for several years by songwriter and producer Dr. Luke, who signed Blanco to his publishing company Prescription Songs.[10] While under Dr. Luke's tutelage, Blanco co-produced and co-wrote many songs, including hits such as Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", Kesha's "TiK ToK", and Taio Cruz's "Dynamite".

In 2011, Blanco wrote and produced his first charting hits without Dr. Luke, among them Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger", Gym Class Heroes' "Stereo Hearts" and 3OH!3's "Don't Trust Me". The same year, Blanco went on to work on Maroon 5’s Platinum-selling album Overexposed and its lead single "Payphone" featuring Wiz Khalifa.[11]

On June 13, 2013, Blanco was presented with the Hal David Starlight Award at the 44th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, an honor awarded to young artists who have already made an impression on the music industry.[12] In his acceptance speech, he joked, "They picked the wrong person, I'm in a room with people I should probably be serving food to."[13]

In the years since, Blanco has amassed 29 total number-one songs and is recognized for his achievements with artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Miguel, Halsey, and Camila Cabello.

Blanco was named Producer of the Year at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards.[14]

Record labels

In 2014, Blanco founded two imprint labels under Interscope Records, Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets. Mad Love's releases to date include the following artists, with many of them having been initially signed to Blanco's development imprint Friends Keep Secrets:[15][16]

Artist projects

In 2007, Blanco teamed up with Baltimore rapper Spank Rock to release Spank Rock and Benny Blanco Are...Bangers & Cash, a collaborative EP for both artists based on 2 Live Crew samples that caught the attention of many in the industry and sparked connections to future collaborators Amanda Blank and Santigold. The EP received acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and more.

In July 2018, Blanco released his debut song as a standalone solo artist, "Eastside" featuring Halsey and Khalid, on his own label Friends Keep Secrets in partnership with Interscope Records.[23] Later in 2018, he released his second, third, and fourth singles: "I Found You" with Calvin Harris, "Better to Lie" with Jesse and Swae Lee, and "Roses" with Juice Wrld featuring Brendon Urie, respectively.[24] His debut album Friends Keep Secrets was released on December 7, 2018.[25]

In January 2019, Blanco released "I Found You / Nilda's Story" with Calvin Harris and Miguel in conjunction with the launch of The While They Wait Fund to benefit asylum seekers in the United States, an initiative by Brooklyn Defender Services, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services and American Civil Liberties Union.[26][27] The song debuted with a video directed by Jake Schreier highlighting the story of one Honduran woman, Nilda, and her two-year-old son Keyden.[28]

In February 2019, Blanco released "I Can't Get Enough" with Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J Balvin. On August 30, 2019, Blanco released a song with Juice Wrld called "Graduation", their second collaboration after "Roses".[29]

Media

On March 9, 2020, Blanco and acclaimed chef Matty Matheson debuted a new collaborative cooking show, Matty and Benny Eat Out America, on Benny’s YouTube channel. The first episode featured a behind the scenes visit to fellow YouTuber Kenny Beats's show "The Cave" where Benny teaches Matty to rap. Future episodes are set to include Lil Dicky, Mason Ramsey, Diplo, Laird Hamilton and more.[30]

On April 16, 2020, Blanco made his TV debut playing a fictionalized version of himself on the first season of the FXX series DAVE with Lil Dicky.

Discography

Albums
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[31]		 AUS
[32]		 CAN
[33]		 IRE
[34]		 NOR
[35]
Friends Keep Secrets 4155217435
[36]

Singles
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[37]		 AUS
[38]		 CAN
[39]		 DEN
[40]		 GER
[41]		 IRE
[42]		 NOR
[35]		 NZ
[43]		 SWE
[44]		 UK
[45]
"Eastside"
(with Halsey and Khalid)		 2018 92621513171 Friends Keep Secrets
"I Found You"
(with Calvin Harris)		 —5495——24——[upper-alpha 1]—29
"Better to Lie"
(with Jesse and Swae Lee)		 —————88——[upper-alpha 2]—[upper-alpha 3]—
"Roses"
(with Juice Wrld featuring Brendon Urie)		 85—58——8138
[58]		—[upper-alpha 4]—[upper-alpha 5]—
"I Found You / Nilda's Story"
(with Calvin Harris and Miguel)		 2019 —————————— Non-album singles
"I Can't Get Enough"
(with Tainy, Selena Gomez and J Balvin)		 664333—5320——[upper-alpha 6]53
[63]		42
"Graduation"
(with Juice Wrld)		 —[upper-alpha 7]—90——56
[66]		——[upper-alpha 8]—88
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

  1. "I Found You" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number three on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[55]
  2. "Better to Lie" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 15 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[56]
  3. "Better to Lie" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 19 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[57]
  4. "Roses" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 10 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[59]
  5. "Roses" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number five on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[60]
  6. "I Can't Get Enough" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[62]
  7. "Graduation" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[65]
  8. "Graduation" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 12 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[67]

Songwriting and production discography
Main article: Benny Blanco production discography

Blanco has written and produced songs for artists including Ed Sheeran ("Don't" and "Castle on the Hill"), Justin Bieber ("Love Yourself"), Major Lazer ("Cold Water"), Maroon 5 ("Moves Like Jagger", "Don't Wanna Know", "Payphone", "Maps", "Animals"), Katy Perry ("Teenage Dream", "California Gurls"), Rihanna ("Diamonds"), Kesha ("TiK ToK"), Taio Cruz ("Dynamite"), Wiz Khalifa ("Work Hard, Play Hard"), Gym Class Heroes ("Stereo Hearts"), Lil Dicky ("Earth"), and Tory Lanez ("Luv").[68]

Awards and nominations

BMI Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2011 Benny Blanco Songwriter of the Year Won
2012 Benny Blanco Songwriter of the Year Won
"Moves like Jagger" (Maroon 5) Most Performed Pop Song Won
2013 Benny Blanco Urban Songwriter of the Year Won
2014 Benny Blanco Songwriter of the Year Won

CLIO Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2019 "I Found You / Nilda's Story" (benny blanco, Calvin Harris, Miguel) Gold[69] Won

Golden Globe Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2016 "Faith" (Stevie Wonder ft. Ariana Grande) Best Original Song Nominated

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2011 Teenage Dream Album of the Year Nominated [70]
2013 "Heart Attack" Best R&B Song Nominated
2015 x Album of the Year Nominated
2017 Purpose Nominated
"Love Yourself" Song of the Year Nominated
"Luv" Best R&B Song Nominated
Self Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Nominated
2018 "Issues" Song of the Year Nominated

iHeartRadio Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017 "Love Yourself" (Justin Bieber) Best Lyrics Won
Benny Blanco Producer of the Year Won
2018 Benny Blanco Producer of the Year Nominated

Ivor Novello Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 “Castle on the Hill” (Ed Sheeran) PRS for Most Performed Work[71] Nominated

Songwriters Hall of Fame
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2013 Benny Blanco Hal David Starlight Award Won

Spotify Secret Genius Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 Benny Blanco Secret Genius: Pop Won
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References
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  2. "Universal Music Group Artists, Distributed Labels Draw Numerous Grammy Nominations..." UniversalMusic.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  3. "Producer Benny Blanco Teases New Track Featuring Halsey & Khalid". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  4. "Post Malone & Swae Lee's 'Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)' Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  5. "Calvin Harris Sings and Benny Blanco Gets Help From Friends in 'I Found You': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  6. Insanul, Ahmed (April 8, 2011). "Interview: Benny Blanco On Producing Wiz KksodjxnsmBo Sleep". Complex. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  7. McVeigh, Alex (January 26, 2014). "Reston Native Benny Blanco Wins Grammy For Work on Rihanna Album". patch.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  8. "Benny Blanco Talks Being Inspired By Nas, Working With Wiz Khalifa and Advice to Producers". Vibe. July 23, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  9. Lipschutz, Jason (May 10, 2010). "Virginia native becomes an in-demand producer at 22". Reuters.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. McKinley Jr., James (January 4, 2013). "Only 24, and at Home in the Top 10". New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  11. Barshad, Amos (October 12, 2011). "Benny Blanco's Six-Step Plan for Becoming Superproducer at 23". Grantland.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  12. "Hal David Starlight Award". Songhall.org. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  13. "Sting, Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson Perform As Legends Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame". Billboard.com. Associated Press. June 14, 2013.
  14. Thorpe, Isha (March 5, 2017). "Here's The Complete List Of #iHeartAwards Winners". iHeartRadio.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
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  38. Peaks in Australia:
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  69. https://clios.com/music/winners
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  71. "Ivor Novellos 2018: Ed Sheeran goes up against himself". BBC.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
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