Following Selena Gomez’s announcement that she is dating music producer Benny Blanco, Dailymail.com takes a deeper look at the musician.
On Thursday, Gomez, 31, came to Instagram to like a post from the account @popfactions, which reported the ‘rumored’ relationship; when the account uploaded another post that stated, ‘Selena Gomez Seemingly Confirms That She Is In A Relationship,’ Gomez commented, ‘Facts.’
Gomez then went to Instagram Stories with a black-and-white snapshot of herself hugging with Blanco, and she later clashed with followers who claimed he had talked critically about her more than three years earlier.
Blanco, a 35-year-old native of Reston, Virginia, has been a musical artist, producer, and composer for more than 15 years.
Blanco has worked with a slew of big-name musicians, including Gomez, on songs including this year’s Single Soon and his 2019 single I Can’t Get Enough.
According to Harper’s Bazaar, Blanco has also worked with Gomez’s ex Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Lizzo, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, SZA, Ed Sheeran, and Keith Urban.
Blanco got his start in the industry working for Dr. Luke’s Kasz Money Productions.
He has written songs for Rihanna’s Diamonds, Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger, Britney Spears’ Circus, and Ke$ha’s TiK ToK, among others.
In December of 2018, he released his debut solo album, Friends Keep Secrets. Bieber, Halsey, Calvin Harris, Omar Apollo, and Gracie Abrams all contributed to the album, which peaked at 41 on the Billboard 200.
Over the previous five years, he has had six Billboard Hot 100 songs, including 2018’s Eastside (with Halsey & Khalid) and 2019’s Roses (with the late Juice WRLD and Brendon Urie) and I Can’t Get Enough (with Gomez, Tainy, and J Balvin).
In recent years, he’s charted with the 2020 singles Lonely (with Justin Bieber) and Real S*** (featuring Juice WRLD), as well as the 2022 single Bad Decisions (featuring BTS and Snoop Dogg).
Blanco spoke with The New York Times in 2018 on his music-making abilities.
‘I couldn’t sit down and give you a performance or really impress you on any instrument,’ he said. ‘What I can do is meet with an artist, tell them what kind of song I believe they should produce, and be their therapist, making everyone feel at ease.’
Blanco was previously linked to Elsie Hewitt, a 27-year-old model-actress from London.
Gomez has previously been in high-profile romances with celebrities like Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Zedd, Nick Jonas, and Taylor Lautner.
Blanco has developed an interest in culinary skills in addition to his musical activities, and he is slated to produce a cookbook named Open Wide in April.
In an Instagram post last month, he announced the upcoming endeavor, claiming he’s been cooking since he was 13, when a buddy gave him a George Foreman grill.
‘We’d bring buddies over, get high, and prepare the most intricate sandwiches our prepubescent imaginations could think of,’ Blanco said. ‘I know what you’re going to say… cooking is terrifying. You’re at a loss for words. It may be exhausting.
‘And cooking for a crowd, f*** that… but I’m telling you, if you get into it, it’ll be your new obsession, like meditation. To me, slicing an onion is like taking a Xanax.’
Gomez responded to the post ‘Finally’ with a raised hand emoji.
