Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988)[2], known professionally asBenny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer, and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013Hal David Starlight Award from theSongwriters Hall of Fame.[3] Blanco has also won fiveBMI Songwriter of the Year Awards, won the 2017iHeartRadio Producer of the Year Award, and received elevenGrammy Award nominations.[4]
In July 2018, Blanco released his debut single as a lead artist, "Eastside" (with Halsey andKhalid).[5] The song peaked at number nine on the USBillboard Hot 100—marking his 27th top-ten song as a writer, a sum which includes seven number one singles on the chart—while peaking the charts in four countries, and reaching the top ten in several others.[6] Each released that same year, Blanco's follow-up singles — "I Found You" (withCalvin Harris), "Better to Lie" (withJesse andSwae Lee) and "Roses" (withBrendon Urie andJuice Wrld) — preceded the release of his debut studio album,Friends Keep Secrets, in December.[7] A deluxe issue, titledFriends Keep Secrets 2 was released in March 2021, a date which coincided with the original receiving a platinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The latter spawned the top 40 single "Lonely" (with Justin Bieber).[8]
Blanco has founded two labels as imprints ofInterscope Records—Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets—in 2014, through both of which he has signed artists includingTory Lanez,Jessie Ware, andCashmere Cat, among others.[9] After both labels dissolved a decade later, he signed withA&M Records, an imprint of Interscope, which became a general manager.[10]
Benjamin Joseph Levin was born inReston, Virginia,[11] and has an older brother.[12] He isJewish.[12][13] He 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 six years old withNas's "The World Is Yours" andAll-4-One's "I Swear" on cassette tapes, which influenced his early productions.[14][15] After early experiments with beat making and recording himself on his boombox, Blanco's rapping earned the attention ofThe Source magazine[16] and executives atColumbia Records.
His stage name came from the similarly named fictional character (played byJohn Leguizamo) in the 1993 filmCarlito's Way, and was a reference to his being a white rapper.[17]
He attendedCamp Airy for many years of his childhood inThurmont, Maryland, where he would routinely perform and host a radio show under the name "Ebba Ebba". Blanco eventually secured an apprenticeship with producerDisco D after multiple trips to New York City from his home in Virginia to meet with labels and producers.[15]
Blanco was mentored for several years by songwriter and producerDr. Luke, who signed Blanco to his production company Kasz Money Productions.[18] While under Dr. Luke's tutelage, Blanco co-produced and co-wrote many songs, including hits such asKaty Perry's "Teenage Dream",Kesha's "TiK ToK", andTaio Cruz's "Dynamite".
In 2008, he took part in writing and producingBritney Spears' "Circus" (with Dr. Luke, andClaude Kelly). The song reached number three on theBillboardHot 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.[19] 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 theIFPI.[20]
On June 13, 2013, Blanco was presented with theHal David Starlight Award at the 44th AnnualSongwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, an honor awarded to young artists who have already made an impression on the music industry.[22] 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."[23]
In 2007, Blanco teamed up with Baltimore rappers Spank Rock to releaseSpank Rock and Benny Blanco Are... "Bangers & Cash", a collaborativeEP for both artists based on2 Live Crew samples that caught the attention of many in the industry and sparked connections to future collaboratorsAmanda Blank andSantigold. 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" featuringHalsey andKhalid, on his own label Friends Keep Secrets withInterscope Records. The song peaked at number nine on theBillboard 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.[25] Later in 2018, he released his second, third, and fourth singles: "I Found You" withCalvin Harris, "Better to Lie" withJesse andSwae Lee, and "Roses" withJuice Wrld featuringBrendon Urie, respectively.[26] His debut albumFriends Keep Secrets was released on December 7, 2018.[27]
In October 2020, Blanco released his first artist collaboration withJustin Bieber titled "Lonely".[32] The second and third singles ("Real Shit" with Juice Wrld[33] and "Unlearn" withGracie Abrams[34]) followed in December 2020 and March 2021, respectively.
A deluxe version of his albumFriends Keep Secrets 2 was released on March 26, 2021, and was certified RIAA platinum on the day of release.[8]
On December 16, 2023, a posthumous Juice Wrld song with Blanco andEminem titled "Lace It" was released.[36]
In February 2025, Blanco and fiancé Selena Gomez announced a collaborative album,I Said I Love You First, set for release on March 21, 2025. "Scared of Loving You" was the first track to be released from the album.[37]
On March 9, 2020, Blanco and acclaimed chefMatty Matheson debuted a new collaborative cooking show,Matty and Benny Eat Out America, on Blanco'sYouTube channel. The first episode featured a behind-the-scenes visit to fellow YouTuberKenny Beats's showThe Cave where Blanco teaches Matheson to rap. Additional episodes includedLil Dicky,Mason Ramsey,Diplo,Laird Hamilton and more.[38]
On April 16, 2020, Blanco made his TV debut playing a fictionalized version of himself on the first and second seasons of theFXX seriesDave withLil Dicky.[39]
On March 31, 2021, Blanco and chefMatty Matheson debuted a new cooking show on Blanco's YouTube channel, calledStupid F*cking Cooking Show.[40]
Blanco's first book,Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends,[41] was published on April 30, 2024, by Dey Street Books/HarperCollins.[42] Co-authored with Jess Damuck,Open Wide debuted on best seller lists fromThe New York Times,Los Angeles Times andUSA Today,[43] sitting onThe New York Times list for two weeks at publication. The book is a guide to entertaining and features Blanco's own recipes as well as dishes and advice from friends includingMatty Matheson,Lil Dicky,Mike Solomonov, Mario Carbone andEric André.
In 2014, Blanco founded two imprint labels underInterscope, Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets.[44] The former label includes the following artists, many of whom were initially signed with the former, which served as its predecessor.[45]
Blanco has been in a relationship withSelena Gomez since June 2023.[52][53] They formally announced their engagement on December 11, 2024, following a period of media rumors.[54]
"You":"The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 8 February 2021".The ARIA Report. No. 1614. Australian Recording Industry Association. February 8, 2021. p. 4.
"Call Me When You Break Up":"The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 3 March 2025".The ARIA Report. No. 1826. Australian Recording Industry Association. March 3, 2025. p. 4.
