Benny Blanco has made a name for himself in the music industry. But just recently, the producer is making headlines for his connection to Selena Gomez.
On Dec. 14, the “Only Murders in the Building” star seemingly confirmed a relationship with Blanco by posting a steamy black-and-white photo of her kissing the producer in the last frame of an Instagram carousel.
She captioned the sweet post, which included snaps of her relaxing and enjoying time with friends, "New York, my favorite moments w you this week."
Just a week before, on Dec. 7, Gomez commented and liked posts on Instagram that alluded to her and Blanco dating. In a fan account post that included photos of the two of them and had headlines that read that she was in a relationship with Blanco, Gomez replied, “Facts.”
Reps for Gomez and Blanco did not immediately respond to TODAY.com's request for comment.
Blanco and Gomez have known each other for years. The two worked together on the 2019 song "I Can't Get Enough," which also featured J Balvin and Tainy.
As the two continue to make headlines, read on to learn more about Benny Blanco.
He's a Virginia native who grew up loving music
Born March 8, 1988, Blanco — whose given name is Benjamin Joseph Levin — grew up in Virginia. In a 2012 interview with Vibe, Blanco shared that he’s “been making music since I was a kid.”
“When you want something that bad, you’re not going to stop at it, you know,” he said, adding that he got his start “hitting up people all over Myspace, right when it got big.”
“I would hit up everyone like Jimmy Iovine, Polow Da Don, and I would cold call people and pretend I was a lawyer,” he said. “They would pass me through and I would be like, ‘Please let me play you my demo.’ So I just did a lot of wild s--- to just try and grab people’s ears.”
He co-wrote and produced a number of hit songs
While Blanco began creating hip-hop and indie songs and dj-ing, he met producer Dr. Luke and his career took a turning point, he said.
“(Dr. Luke) was like, ‘Yo, you should be making pop music. Why are you making this indie-hip-hop stuff. It’s cool, but you could be making really great pop songs,’” he told Vibe. “So, that was probably like the biggest turning point.”
Among the songs he's credited as a writer and producer include Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," Kesha's "Tik Tok," "Circus" by Britney Spears, Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" and "Payphone," as well as "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes.
He's also worked with Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes and more.
His debut single as an artist was "Eastside" with Khalid and Halsey
In 2018, he released his first song alongside Khalid and Halsey titled "Eastside."
"i just released my first song and video after being behind the scenes for 10+ years," he wrote on his Instagram alongside the music video. "This started out as something fun just to release songs w my friends that i love but then it became really personal and it feels like i just gave birth to my first song baby! her name is eastside. bye!"
The music video shares facts about himself, including how he's terrified of flying, the first girl he asked out and how she said yes, a look at where he grew up in Virginia and the school he attended.
"Eastside" would be featured on his debut and, so far, only album, "Friends Keep Secrets," which was released on Dec. 7, 2018. The album also included his songs "I Found You" with Calvin Harris and "Roses" with Juice Wrld and Brendon Urie.
He released a re-issue of the album in 2021, which included his collaboration with Justin Bieber, "Lonely." The singer is famously known as Gomez's longtime on-and-off boyfriend.
He's worked with Selena Gomez on multiple songs
Blanco and Gomez most recently worked together on her latest song, "Single Soon." Blanco is credited as producer on the song alongside Cashmere Cat, per NME.
Blanco was also a producer on Cashmere Cat's "Trust Nobody," featuring Gomez and Tory Lanez. As for Gomez's personal songs, Blanco has been a producer on "Kill Them With Kindness" and 2015's "Same Old Love."
In 2019, Blanco appeared alongside Gomez in their song "I Can't Get Enough." The song also features J Balvin and Tainy.
When the music video was released, Blanco shared a sweet and silly snippet of him and Gomez jumping and being playing while on a giant bed.
He's been nominated for multiple Grammy and won many awards
Blanco has been nominated for 11 Grammy awards over the course of his career. He's won six BMI Awards, two iHeartRadio Music Awards and received the Hal David Starlight Award at the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He's a foodie
One look at his Instagram and followers can tell he's passionate about food. In 2020 he teamed up with chef Matty Matheson for a YouTube cooking show, "Matty and Benny Eat Out America."
He also posts video of him and his friends making a variety of dishes, desserts and drinks.
Blanco will be releasing "A cookbook for friends: Open Wide" with Jess Damuck in April of 2024.
"i wrote this book to teach u how to throw the sickest dinner party… to answer all the unknowns … what music do i play ?? what type of weed and wine do i serve ?? how do i kick all my friends out when i get tired but make it seem like it’s their idea so they still love me in the morning???" he wrote in part on Instagram when announcing the book.
He's also an actor
Blanco made his TV debut on the FXX show "Dave" starring Lil Dicky. Blanco was in eight episodes and played a fictionalized version of himself.