13 things you probably didn't know about Benny Blanco, the music producer Selena Gomez says she is dating
Eve Crosbie
- Selena Gomez appeared to confirm her romance with music producer Benny Blanco on Instagram.
- Blanco is best known for producing and writing some of the biggest hits of the last decade.
Selena Gomez appears to have a new man in her life, and she wants the world to know.
The "Only Murders in the Building" star seemingly confirmed her romance with music producer Benny Blanco on Thursday as she went on a social media spree, liking and commenting on Instagram posts linking them together.
On one post from the account PopFaction, which features photos of her and Blanco and a headline that reads, "Selena Gomez Seemingly Confirms That She Is in a Relationship," Gomez commented: "Facts."
"He is my absolute everything in my heart," she wrote in the comments section of another post.
In yet another comment, Gomez said that she and Blanco have been seeing each other for six months. (Representatives for Gomez and Blanco didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.)
Gomez then shared a selfie of her and Blanco, who attended her beauty brand Rare Beauty's charity benefit on October 4, looking cozy on her Instagram Stories.
Want to know more about Blanco? Here are 13 facts that you may not know about the producer.
His real name is Benjamin Joseph Levin.
The producer's stage name may have been inspired by John Leguizamo's character in the 1993 movie "Carlito's Way."
Blanco originally planned to be a rapper before becoming a producer.
In an interview with The New York Times, Blanco said that he originally aspired to be a rapper until he realized "no one cares what a chubby Jewish kid from Virginia thinks."
Blanco decided to make music instead, sending his creations to artists on MySpace in the hopes of being noticed.
He once pretended to be Jay-Z's lawyer on the phone.
In the same interview, Blanco recalled once impersonating the famous rapper's lawyer when he was younger in a desperate bid to get record label bosses to talk to him.
Years later, after he made it big, Blanco said that he spent a month living in the Hamptons with Jay-Z while he worked on songs for Beyoncé's self-titled album.
Blanco got his start in the industry when he was mentored by songwriter and producer Dr. Luke.
After graduating from high school, Blanco moved to New York and released an EP titled "Bangers & Cash" with rapper Spank Rock, which caught the attention of Grammy-nominated producer Dr. Luke.
Dr. Luke took Blanco under his wing and mentored him for four years, according to The Independent. He also received career guidance from Max Martin, another famed producer.
While working with them, Blanco coproduced and cowrote many songs, including Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and "I Kissed a Girl," Kesha's "Tik Tok," Britney Spear's "Circus," and Taio Cruz's "Dynamite."
Despite being behind some of the biggest hits in recent music history, Blanco says he doesn't often listen to music by his peers.
"I don't listen to contemporary music. So I don't even know what's happening. When I get home, I'm not putting on whatever's at the top of the charts, you know? So it's kind of ironic that what I make does that," he told NME.
Asked what it is he does like to listen to, he said: "'70s, late '60s music – I listen to that. I listen to some contemporary music but ambient music and left-of-center stuff."
He made his acting debut in the FX comedy series "Dave," in which he plays a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
The critically acclaimed sitcom series created by Dave Burd and Jeff Schaffer tells the story of Burd's rise to fame under the pseudonym Lil Dicky.
Blanco has been a recurring cast member on the show since its first season.
The show has also had appearances from the likes of Kendall Jenner, Doja Cat, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all of whom portray themselves.
He is a keen cook and has a cookbook coming out next year.
Since 2020, he's hosted cooking shows on his YouTube channel with "The Bear" star Matty Matheson. Together, they've fronted "Matty and Benny Eat Out America," and "Stupid F*cking Cooking Show."
Blanco's cookbook, titled "Open Wide: A Cookbook For Friends," is set to be published by HarperCollins on April 30, 2024.
Blanco began working with Kanye West in 2018, which was a career highlight.
Speaking to The New York Times, Blanco said that after collaborating with the rapper, his "bucket-list dreams are pretty much checked off," adding that before this he had kept a computer folder labeled "Kanye drums," just in case he ever got the chance to work with him.
Blanco worked on the album "Ye" and West's "Kids See Ghosts" project with Kid Cudi.
He has known Justin Bieber since 2009.
Blanco produced Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston's 2010 single "Eenie Meenie." He and Bieber have also worked together on the songs "Lonely," "Cold Water," and "Love Yourself."
In an Instagram post in 2020, Blanco discussed his personal and working relationship with Bieber, noting that when they first met in 2009, the singer was "so young" and "so talented."
"throughout his career we worked a bunch of different times and were fortunate enough to share a lot of success together... we have had our ups and downs... ive seen him at his best... and i have seen him at his worst," he wrote.
Blanco has also produced tracks for Selena Gomez, including her latest song, "Single Soon."
Blanco produced the songs "Same Old Love" and "Kill 'Em With Kindness" from Gomez's 2015 album "Revival," as well as her 2017 collaboration with Cashmere Cat, "Trust Nobody."
In 2019, the two also collaborated on the song "I Can't Get Enough," which also features J Balvin and Tainy. In the song's music video, Blanco wears a teddy bear costume and dances alongside Gomez.
This year, Gomez released her comeback single, "Single Soon," which Blanco produced.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement