Benny Blanco – American producer, songwriter, and singer
Benny Blanco’s real name is Benjamin Levin. He was born on 8 March 1988 in Reston, Virginia. When he was 6 years old, Benny showed an avid interest in music. Later, in one of the interviews, he said that he made an important choice after listening to two of his favorite songs: Aqua’s Barbie Girl” and Bryan Adams’ “All For Love”. These songs helped him choose the direction of his music career.
While still in school, Benny recorded himself signing with a tape recorder. He also worked hard on original lyrics. In just a few years, his work made its way into the hands of Columbia Records producers. When Blanco was 14, his friends introduced the teenager to P. Anderi, who was an influential producer at the time. He helped the aspiring artist to work on his songs in VA basement studio. Benny was trying to hone his skills and find an original style. Later, Benny met another producer Disco D. He spent a lot of his time traveling from Virginia to New York to work with the celebrity. Even though they didn’t come up with any high-quality work, the experience was priceless for the musician, who decided to become a producer.
The real breakthrough took place when Benny was working with another production center headed by Dr. Luke. Together with Prescription Songs, the artist released several songs, which didn’t make him famous and confirmed his wish to become a producer. Together with Dr. Luke, Benny started working on several singles, including Katy Perry’s "Teenage Dream", Kesha’s "TiK ToK", and Taio Cruz’ "Dynamite".
In 2011, Benny finally tried producing without the help of any experienced colleagues. He worked on Maroon 5’s "Moves Like Jagger", 3OH!3’ "Don't Trust Me", and Gym Class Heroes’ "Stereo Hearts". The same year, he produced a famous song “Payphone” by Wiz Khalifa and Maroon 5.
Blanco continued creating hits. His portfolio includes working with the following artists: Ed Sheeran ("Don't" and "Castle on the Hill"), Maroon 5 ("Don't Wanna Know", Moves Like Jagger", "Maps", "Payphone", "Animals"), Gym Class Heroes ("Stereo Hearts"), Major Lazer ("Cold Water"), Wiz Khalifa ("Work Hard, Play Hard"), Justin Bieber ("Love Yourself"), Tory Lanez ("Luv"), Katy Perry ("Teenage Dream" and "California Gurls"), Rihanna ("Diamonds"), Kesha ("TiK ToK"), Taio Cruz ("Dynamite"), and many others.
Benny Blanco’s work earned him a variety of awards and nominations. In 2011 and 2012, he won Songwriter of the Year at BMI Awards. In 2012, his work on Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” brought him another prize at BMI Awards, this time for Most Performed Pop Song. In 2013, Benny won another award as Urban Songwriter of the Year. In 2014, he received one more for Songwriter of the Year.
Blanco was also nominated for a Grammy Award several times. Usually, it was the category Album of the Year by such celebrities as Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Julia Michaels, and others.
In 2018, together with Khalid and Halsey, Benny recorded his debut single “Eastside”. It reached the 44th spot on Billboard Hot 100 and the 4th place on UK Singles Chart.
Blanco continues working on his music career as a producer and a singer.
