AS Benny Blanco turns 37 this March 8, 2025, let’s dive into some of the cool tracks you might not know he had a hand in. He is not just Selena Gomez’s ‘absolute everything’ but actually a talented American record producer, songwriter, record executive, and author.
Now, his name, voice, or looks may not ring a bell, but he is behind some of your favorite hits by stars like BTS, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, SZA, and of course, Selena Gomez!
Get to Know Benny Blanco
Per NPR, Benny, born as Benjamin Joseph Levin, fell in love with music when he was 4 years old. He was obsessed with singles and tapes at a local record store in his hometown of Reston, VA.
By the age of 9, he had already recorded and won a songwriting contest. Fast forward to 13, Benny already got offered multiple record deals. Talk about talent!
Having no record label for his music, Benny recalled in his interview with The New York Times how he tried to make producers listen to him. This included pretending to be Jay-Z’s lawyer, desperate to get record label deals.
But Benny did make it big eventually, when he released an EP titled “Bangers & Cash” with the rapper Spank Rock that caught the attention of songwriter and producer Dr. Luke.
This legend took Benny under his wing and mentored him for years.
And although Benny jokes about his own talent according to The Independent, saying, “I’m not even good at making music; I’m just good at having comfy chairs and good snacks,” his impressive track record speaks for itself.
5 Songs You Probably Didn’t Know Benny Blanco Wrote and Produced
Premiered on June 21, 2019, this catchy tune has gained 1.7 billion views on YouTube. Benny Blanco worked on everything from programming to production.
This iconic song made Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello win Collaboration of the Year at the 2019 Video Music Awards and at the 2019 The American Music Awards, and was nominated for a few categories.
These achievements were unexpected to Benny, who said in a billboard podcast, “…It came out, and it’s crazy to me. No, I did not know it would be as big as it was going to be.” They spent over a year perfecting it, and it definitely paid off!
Released on December 9, 2022, this track has garnered over 910 million streams on Spotify, Benny and other talented individuals worked with the programming, all instruments, lyrics, and production for SZA’s song ‘Nobody Gets Me.’
On working with SZA, Benny shared in an interview with Daniel Wall that she was one of the people who brought him out of retirement.
“I think the last thing I really did as like a ‘producer producer’ was probably Señorita… I think it just happened to be – at the time I was getting ready to pull away,” Benny confessed, concluding that he does not think he’s going to be ever done with music – thanks to SZA, who apparently made Benny say to himself, “I have to do this.”
Benny did not stop at just one song with Camila! He also produced this hit, which was released on May 19, 2017.
Benny became a part of Camila’s solo career, specifically by working on the programming, keyboards, songwriting, and production.
According to billboard, Benny was working on a demo with Sia in February 2017 when an idea sparked in the singer’s mind when she was on her way to the bathroom. Benny recalled, “When she came back (from the bathroom), we did the song in 20 minutes.”
Yes, they made the song in 20 minutes!
The song was then offered by Benny to Camila who added her own touch, particularly in the song’s bridge that made it a hit.
Popularly known as a genius songwriter, the four-time grammy winner and seven-time Brit Awards winner, Ed Sheeran, also worked with his fellow genius hitmaker Benny.
Ed Sheeran, the whole package he is, still needed help from Benny who played his role in programming, keyboards, background vocals, lyrics, and producing in his song Happier, which has over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify.
They’ve even done the demo of this song in a ship, where it all naturally came to both of them as they bond with each other.
And if that’s not interesting enough, then here’s another fun fact: The line ‘You look happier, you do’ was supposedly ‘You seem happier with him,’ when he was composing with Benny and Ryan Tedder who was playing the piano.
These two geniuses clicked so much together that they worked on more Ed Sheeran songs together, including Don’t, Castle on the Hill, Dive, New Man, Supermarket Flowers, Barcelona, Bibia Be Ye Ye, and Nancy Mulligan. Yep, a LOT.
Are you familiar with the Tiktok viral sound that goes like ‘Wonder if I can say the n-word, wait – can I really say the n-word?’ Yep, that’s from this track!
Benny Blanco served as a co-producer and song executive producer for this song, which has reached 707 million streams on Spotify, and 765 million views on its official music video on YouTube.
At this point, yes – Blanco is in almost every song. He is a genius contributing to hits like Justin Bieber’s Lonely, and Love Yourself, as well as Maroon 5’s Animals, Payphone, Don’t Wanna Know, and Moves Like Jagger, BTS’s Bad Decision, and other artists’ songs.
Before being labeled as ‘Selena Gomez’s boyfriend,’ Benny Blanco already made a name for himself. From composing and writing, producing and remixing songs, to singing and rapping – he is all that.
So, the next time you hear one of these jams, remember the genius behind the scenes!
