Benny Blanco

American record producer (born 1988)Template:SHORTDESC:American record producer (born 1988)

 Occupation(s) | * Record producer
* DJ
* songwriter
* Interscope
* Bangers & Cash
* BenZel

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

Blanco was initially mentored by songwriter and producer Dr. Luke, who signed Blanco to his production company Kasz Money Productions. While under his tutelage, Blanco co-produced and co-wrote a multitude of hit singles in the late 2000s and thereafter. Blanco has contributed to the sale of over 500 million albums worldwide through his work with artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kesha, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Sia, The Weeknd, Avicii, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Charlie Puth, Keith Urban, Tory Lanez, Wiz Khalifa, J Balvin, Kali Uchis, Juice Wrld and SZA. In July 2018, Blanco released his debut single as a lead artist, "Eastside" a collaboration with singer-songwriters Halsey and Khalid. The song peaked at number nine on the *Billboard* Hot 100, marking Blanco's first top ten song credited as an artist and his 27th top ten song as a writer, a sum that includes seven number ones. "Eastside" was also a global success, topping the charts in New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and peaking within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway. "Eastside" was followed by "I Found You" with Calvin Harris, "Better to Lie" with Jesse and Swae Lee, and two songs with Juice Wrld, "Roses" (also with Brendon Urie), and "Graduation", then he released his debut album later in 2018. A deluxe version of his debut album was released in March 2021 and certified RIAA platinum on release day.

Levin is also the founder of two labels in collaboration with Interscope Records, Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets.

## Life and career

### Career beginnings

Blanco, who is Jewish and a native of Northern Virginia, began 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 6 years old with Nas' "The World Is Yours" and All-4-One's "I Swear" on cassette tapes, which influenced his early productions. 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. He attended Camp Airy for many years of his childhood in Thurmont, Maryland, where he would routinely perform and host a radio show under the name “Ebba Ebba”.

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.

### 2007–present

Blanco was mentored for several years by songwriter and producer Dr. Luke, who signed Blanco to his production company Kasz Money Productions. 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 2008, he took part in writing and producing Britney Spears' "Circus" (with Dr. Luke, and Claude Kelly). The song reached number three on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and number one on American pop radio and is her second best-selling digital song in the United States, having sold over 3.2 million downloads as of July 2016. On a global scale, "Circus" was one of the top 10 best selling songs of 2009 with 5.5 million digital copies sold that year across the world, according to the IFPI.

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.

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. 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."

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

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

### 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 with Interscope Records. The song peaked at number nine on the *Billboard* Hot 100, and was also a global success, topping the charts in New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and peaking within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway. 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. His debut album *Friends Keep Secrets* was released on December 7, 2018.

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. 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.

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".

In October 2020, Blanco released his first artist collaboration with Justin Bieber titled "Lonely". The second and third singles ("Real Shit" with Juice WRLD and "Unlearn" with Gracie Abrams) followed in December 2020 and March 2021, respectively.

A deluxe version of his album *Friends Keep Secrets 2* was released on March 26, 2021, and was certified RIAA platinum on the day of release.

On August 5, 2022, Blanco released his first artist collaboration with BTS members Jin, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook as well as Snoop Dogg titled "Bad Decisions".

### Media

On March 9, 2020, Blanco and acclaimed chef Matty Matheson debuted a new collaborative cooking show, *Matty and Benny Eat Out America*, on Blanco'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. Additional episodes included Lil Dicky, Mason Ramsey, Diplo, Laird Hamilton and more.

On April 16, 2020, Blanco made his TV debut playing a fictionalized version of himself on the first and second seasons of the FXX series *Dave* with Lil Dicky.

On March 31, 2021, Blanco and chef Matty Matheson debuted a new cooking show on Benny's YouTube channel, called "Stupid F\*cking Cooking Show".

## Record labels

In 2014, Blanco founded two imprint labels under Interscope, 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:

* Tory Lanez (former)
* Cashmere Cat
* Trill Sammy
* 6 Dogs (former; deceased)
* Ryn Weaver
* Jessie Ware

## Discography

### Albums

* Label: Friends Keep Secrets, Interscope
* Format: CD, digital download, streaming

### Reissues

* Label: Friends Keep Secrets, Interscope
* Format: Digital download, streaming

## Notes

1. ↑ Benny Blanco Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More.
2. ↑ Hal David Starlight Award Winner: Benny Blanco.
3. ↑ Producer Benny Blanco Teases New Track Featuring Halsey & Khalid (July 11, 2018).
4. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
5. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gold & Platinum.
7. ↑ Universal Music Group Artists, Distributed Labels Draw Numerous Grammy Nominations... (December 7, 2016).
8. ↑ Insanul, Ahmed (April 8, 2011). Interview: Benny Blanco On Producing Wiz Khalifa's "No Sleep".
9. ↑ Reston Native Benny Blanco Wins Grammy For Work on Rihanna Album. *patch.com* (January 26, 2014).
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Benny Blanco Talks Being Inspired By Nas, Working With Wiz Khalifa and Advice to Producers". *Vibe*. July 23, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Lipschutz, Jason (May 10, 2010). "Virginia native becomes an in-demand producer at 22". *Reuters.com*. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
12. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>McKinley, James Jr. (January 4, 2013). "Only 24, and at Home in the Top 10". *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
13. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
14. ↑ Digital Music Sales Around The World. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (January 21, 2010).
15. ↑ Barshad, Amos (October 12, 2011). Benny Blanco's Six-Step Plan for Becoming Superproducer at 23. *Grantland.com*.
16. ↑ Hal David Starlight Award. *Songhall.org*.
17. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Sting, Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson Perform As Legends Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame". *Billboard.com*. Associated Press. June 14, 2013.
18. ↑ Thorpe, Isha (March 5, 2017). Here's The Complete List Of #iHeartAwards Winners. *iHeartRadio.com*.
19. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
20. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
21. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"How Benny Blanco Became the Most Popular Oddball in Pop Music". *The New York Times*. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
22. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
23. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
24. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
25. ↑ Benny Blanco and Juice WRLD Drop Cameo-Stacked "Graduation" Video.
26. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
27. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
28. ↑ Amorosi, A. D. (March 19, 2021). Hitmaker of the Month: Benny Blanco on Working With Justin Bieber and Juice WRLD and His Own New Album.
29. ↑ The Worlds Greatest Food Show | Matty and Benny Eat Out America | Trailer (March 3, 2020).
30. ↑ Lil Dicky's DAVE: 10 Famous Celebrities Who Appeared In Season 1 (May 11, 2020).
31. ↑ Template:Cite press release
32. ↑ Tory Lanez Premieres "Say It," Announces Deal With Benny Blanco. *thefader.com* (March 5, 2014).
33. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Tory Lanez Premieres 'Say It,' Announces Deal With Benny Blanco". *The FADER*. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
34. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Awkward romance: Cashmere Cat pulls back the curtain on working with LuckyMe and Ludacris – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". *FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music*. February 3, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
35. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
36. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"6 dogs is the new hook god". *The FADER*. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
37. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Ryn Weaver's 'The Fool' Is Deeply Personal Indie Pop". June 12, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
38. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Jessie Ware and producer Benny Blanco discuss the making of her new album 'Tough Love' in new video (watch)". *BrooklynVegan*. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
39. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
40. ↑ Skegss score first ARIA #1 album with Rehearsal. Australian Recording Industry Association (April 2, 2021).
41. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Discography Benny Blanco. *irish-charts.com*.
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Benny Blanco – Chart History: Norway Chart History.
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 Template:Cite certification
45. ↑ FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS 2 by benny blanco. Retrieved on March 25, 2021.
46. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
47. ↑ Peaks in Australia:

	* All except noted: Discography Benny Blanco. *australian-charts.com*.
	* "I Found You": ARIA Chart Watch #501. auspOp (December 1, 2018).
	* "Real Shit": Template:Cite magazine
	* "You": Template:Cite magazine
48. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
49. ↑ Benny Blanco – Chart History: Denmark Chart History.
50. ↑ Discographie von Benny Blanco (de). Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
51. ↑ Benny Blanco – Chart History: New Zealand Chart History.
52. ↑ Benny Blanco – Chart History: Sweden Chart History.
53. ↑ UK Chart History: Benny Blanco. Official Charts Company.
54. ↑ Template:Cite certification
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 Template:Cite certification
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62. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (November 12, 2018).
63. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (December 10, 2018).
64. ↑ Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 49, 7 december 2018. Sverigetopplistan.
65. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (December 17, 2018).
66. ↑ Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 5, 1 februari 2019. Sverigetopplistan.
67. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (March 11, 2019).
68. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
69. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (September 9, 2019).
70. ↑ ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles. Australian Recording Industry Association (March 27, 2021).
71. ↑ Template:Cite certification
72. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (December 14, 2020).
73. ↑ Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 50. Sverigetopplistan.
74. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
75. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (February 8, 2021). Retrieved on February 6, 2021.
76. ↑ Unlearn / benny blanco – TIDAL. Retrieved on March 25, 2021.
77. ↑ ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association (August 15, 2022).
78. ↑ IRMA – Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association.
79. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (August 15, 2022).
80. ↑ Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32. Sverigetopplistan.

## Songwriting and 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 ("Freaky Friday"), Tory Lanez ("Luv").

## References

1. ↑ Benny Blanco Credits. *AllMusic.com*.
2. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
3. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Anderson, Tre'vell (May 13, 2015). "BMI Pop Awards: Pink, Benny Blanco and more give songwriting advice". *Los Angeles Times*. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
4. ↑ 2019 Clio Music Winners.
5. ↑ Artist | Benny Blanco. Recording Academy.
6. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
7. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Ivor Novellos 2018: Ed Sheeran goes up against himself". *BBC.com*. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
9. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
10. ↑ Template:Cite magazine

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