Latest news with #MovesLikeJagger
Metro
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Fans only just discovering Benny Blanco is secretly behind 16 UK number ones
If you listened to the charts at all in the past 15 years, you are probably a fan of Benny Blanco without even realising it. The 37-year-old hitmaker has been thrown into a newfound spotlight thanks to his very well known, fiancée Selena Gomez. The pair are incredibly loved-up, constantly posting together on social media, but it's caused fans to wonder who actually is this seemingly random man. Turns out, Benny has secretly been the genius behind basically every hit song in the 2010s and beyond. Moves Like Jagger, Payphone, TiK ToK, 2002, California Gurls, Love Yourself, Shape of You — the list is truly endless. He's just as surprised as we are. Benny once humbly told the Sydney Herald: 'I just sit there and I twiddle my thumbs. I'm still confused as to why I have a job.' Born in Virginia on March 8, 1988, Benny is best known as a prolific and successful producer and songwriter. He released his own album in 2018, with the track Eastside featuring Halsey and Khalid becoming a breakout hit and charting. Most people became aware of Benny when Selena hard-launched their relationship, and boy, did fans have opinions on him. However, the couple have actually been friends for years, first collaborating in 2015 to create her songs Same Old Love and Kill Em With Kindness. Benny, real name Benjamin Joseph Levin, got his start as a teenager after experiments with beats and recording himself singing caught the attention of executives at Columbia Records. He earned an apprenticeship with producer Disco D, and by 19 years old, he was working alongside Dr Luke with some of the biggest artists in the world. Over the past two decades, he has received eleven Grammy Award nominations, although he is yet to win. While there's no Grammy in his home, Benny has won the 2017 iHeartRadio Producer of the Year Award and was the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. During his period with Dr Luke he helped write and produce Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Kesha's TiK ToK, and Taio Cruz' Dynamite. By 2008, Benny was included on Britney Spears' Circus album and is credited with co-writing the titular track, which is recognised as one of the top 10 best-selling songs of 2009. From here, his discography continued to amass hit songs, including in 2011 when he wrote without Dr Luke for the first time — and made Moves Like Jagger. He told YouTuber Daniel Wall the song came about because Adam Levine had featured on a demo and wanted the song for Maroon 5, but instead Benny promised a different track. 'I said, 'Let me give you another song, I have an idea' … I had no idea,' he revealed. 'I'm like in a hotel room going back and forth trying to make it happen.' The idea ended up being Moves Like Jagger, but the radio stations weren't convinced at the time — with Maroon 5 already having Never Going To Leave This Bed ready to launch. So the band's manager sneakily swapped the tracks on the launch show for The Voice, creating an instant hit. 'We wake up the next morning, it's number one in 83 countries,' Benny laughed. 'Never looked back, that started such a great journey with me and Maroon 5.' While Moves Like Jagger remains one of Benny's biggest hits, it is by no means the only one he has written. Until now, Benny's been a name for people in the know, big music fans and industry heavyweights. He told the Sydney Herald in 2022, 'When we made TiK ToK or when we made Dynamite, I had no idea they'd stand the test of time the way they did. I was just making songs.' On fame, he added: 'I spent most of my life behind the scenes, and I had the best job in the world: I was known enough to get into nice restaurants, but not known enough to get stopped on the street. 'Once I became an artist and that changed, I definitely had so much more respect for being an artist and a celebrity and stuff. I didn't really get it until I was put in that position.' His recent album and relationship with Selena pushed him to the forefront for the first time since his own hit Eastside in 2018. Speaking about his career on Daniel's channel, Benny shared: 'I started out, I thought I was going to be the biggest rapper in the world. I wasn't the biggest rapper in the world, but you know what, I ended up in a pretty cool job. 'Don't be so precious, you can reinvent yourself a million times,' he advised. 'Do something that sounds like you, just be original.' Over the course of his career so far, Benny is credited with writing or producing almost 30 number one hits globally. More Trending Here are all the number ones he's landed in the UK: Love Yourself – Justin Bieber (written with Ed Sheeran) (written with Ed Sheeran) Perfect – Ed Sheeran Cold Water – Major Lazer Diamonds – Rihanna Payphone – Maroon 5 Dynamite – Taio Cruz TiK ToK – Kesha California Gurls – Katy Perry Freaky Friday – Lil Dicky ft Chris Brown I Kissed A Girl – Katy Perry Me and My Broken Heart – Rixton We R Who We R – Kesha Eastside – Benny Blanco with Halsey and Khalid Señorita – Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello Shape of You – Ed Sheeran Teenage Dream – Katy Perry Other top 10 UK hits: Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 (peaked at 2) (peaked at 2) Castle on the Hill – Ed Sheeran (peaked at 2) (peaked at 2) 2002 – Anne-Marie (peaked at 3 – written with Ed Sheeran) (peaked at 3 – written with Ed Sheeran) Lonely Together – Avicii and Rita Ora (peaked at 3) (peaked at 3) Hot n Cold – Katy Perry (peaked at 4) (peaked at 4) Don't Wanna Know – Maroon 5 and Kendrick Lamar (peaked at 5) (peaked at 5) Happier – Ed Sheeran (peaked at 6) (peaked at 6) Die Young – Ke$ha (peaked at 7) (peaked at 7) Don't – Ed Sheeran (peaked at 8) (peaked at 8) Supermarket Flowers – Ed Sheeran (peaked at 8) (peaked at 8) Eenie Meenie – Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber (peaked at 9) (peaked at 9) Issues – Julia Michaels (peaked at 10) This article was first published on April 16, 2025. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Sheryl Crow reveals terrifying break-in after rallying against Elon Musk's Tesla MORE: Macy Gray says her naked Glastonbury stage crashers are still a career highlight MORE: Glastonbury headliner takes swipe at Elon Musk with savage lyrics in new song
See - Sada Elbalad
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Adam Levine Announces New Maroon 5 Album, Single & Tour
Yara Sameh Adam Levine confirmed on Tonight Show that Maroon 5 will be be back this year. 'I am gonna confirm the rumors are true,' Levine said to huge shouts from the audience when host Jimmy Fallon asked him if the band is planning to release new music this year. 'The rumors are correct. There are details. I cannot divulge all the details,' Levine continued. 'But the details are basically, roughly, there's a single coming at the end of the month-ish. I'm really excited about it. An album is coming over the summer. Non-specifically around the summertime. And then, even more non-specifically, there is a tour coming in the fall-ish.' The album will be the follow-up to 2021's "Jordi" and the single will be the band's first since 2023's 'Middle Ground.' Levine also talked about the the first time he worked with producer/songwriter Benny Blanco on the M5 smash 'Moves Like Jagger.' The 2011 hit was co-written and co-produced by Blanco, who Levine described as a 'fun… hilarious dude' who was the first person to convince him to write songs on his own away from his M5 bandmates. They talked and Blanco played him a few demos, including 'Moves Like Jagger' and another track that went on to be a hit for Gym Class Heroes, 'Stereo Hearts.' 'He brought those two to me and I was like, 'Oh this is a lot of fun,'' Levine said. 'Having new energy is a great thing… funnily enough, now I've kind of gone back to writing and shutting everybody out. But Benny was the first guy that got me to kind of think outside of the band.' read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Arts & Culture Arwa Gouda Gets Married (Photos)
The Guardian
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco: I Said I Loved You First review
I Said I Love You First makes few bones about its raison d'etre. It comes with cover art that features the betrothed Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco snuggling in bed, the photograph apparently shot through a keyhole, as if its prospective audience is spying on an intimate moment. Should you not get the gist, there's an accompanying explanation about how it celebrates the pop star and pop uber-producer's 'love story', how it came together 'organically' thanks to the comfort between them, and 'authentically reflects their experiences'. Whether that compels you or sends you running in the opposite direction screaming in horror is doubtless a matter of personal taste. It depends on how you feel about public displays of affection, particularly those designed to make the couple in question money, an idea that history suggests is fraught with risk. Over the years, a host of legendary pop names have chosen to commemorate their love together in song – Sonny and Cher, Kylie and Jason, Nas and Kelis, not to mention Katie Price and Peter Andre – only to watch their relationships crash and burn. Gomez and Blanco, who produced Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger and Rihanna's Diamonds among other 2010s classics, even gave Interview magazine the sort of Hello! magazine exclusive in which a Coronation Street star flashes their engagement ring. Still, you can see why they might have done it. For one thing, the first flush of romance can make you lose your head, blind to the idea that your love might give anyone outside your bubble the ick. You could mock passing that kind of behaviour off as 'art that authentically reflects their experiences', but then look at John Lennon and Yoko Ono favouring the world with a photo of themselves in the buff. And we live in an era where pop fandom seems predicated on parsing every lyric for intimations about their idol's personal life – something Gomez, the most-followed woman on Instagram, knows well. It's indescribably reductive, but if fans are intent on viewing your music as a footnote to your private life, then why not give them what they want? So the album roughly follows a narrative arc, from the wreckage of a failed previous relationship to the couple's present-day happiness. In fairness, the lyrics are nowhere near as runny as the accompanying blurb might suggest, but they do a lot of things that besotted couples are wont to do: smarming about how happy they are in front of single friends, being passive-aggressive when they run into their exes ('I know you're going to find somebody perfect') and offering TMI about their sex lives. It's 'ride it like a cowboy' this and 'I just wanna go all night' that. If their forthcoming marriage is blessed with children, you dread to think how it's going to go down when said kids hit their early teens. Musically, it pulls in a lot of big names, Billie Eilish's brother and collaborator Finneas, Gracie Abrams, rapper GloRilla and Charli xcx among them, the latter contributing to a bit of trebly and distinctly post-Brat dance-pop called Bluest Flame. I Said I Love You First cycles through a selection of modish pop styles, from J Balvin-assisted Latin pop that leans into Gomez's Mexican heritage to a piano ballad performed in the slurry vocal style known as 'cursive singing' or 'indie girl voice' – supposed to indicate confessional intimacy, it can sound remarkably like you're singing with your bottom lip stuck out like a petulant four-year-old. There is a taut new wave/pop-punk-influenced track with a guitar that goes chugga-chugga (Call Me When You Break Up), a song closely resembling a Billie Eilish ballad (Don't Take It Personally) and a lot of stuff that sounds like Lana Del Rey, whose influence hangs particularly heavy over How Does It Feel to Be Forgotten? and You Said You Were Sorry. It's all pretty well done, but it means that a project that's clearly very personal ultimately struggles to develop a clear identity of its own, an issue that has plagued Gomez as a pop star despite some great one-off hits; in recent years, her greatest successes have been as an actor in Only Murders in the Building and the ill-fated Emilia Pérez. Plus, the songs aren't hugely memorable. That seems baffling, given how successful Blanco is: whatever you made of Teenage Dream or Moves Like Jagger, they're incredibly catchy songs. You might assume he'd bring his A-game to an album where he shares billing with his fiancee, but killer tunes are surprisingly thin on the ground – the best might be the chanson-like melody of Ojos Tristes – which perhaps accounts for the relatively muted reception afforded the singles released thus far, despite an ongoing media blitz. In all their media appearances together, Gomez and Blanco seem like a genuinely sweet couple: funny, self-deprecating, a lot more self-aware than the stuff about producing art that authentically reflects their appearances might suggest. It's tempting to say that you can have more fun – and, if you're interested in such things, get a better insight into their relationship – watching them eat chicken wings dipped in tongue-melting chilli sauce on YouTube series Hot Ones than listening to I Said I Love You First. It's certainly not as mawkish as you might fear – you don't want to bolt from it at high speed – but nor can you imagine spending too much time in its presence, however much you wish its authors well.
Gulf News
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf News
Maroon 5 kicks of Asia 2025 tour with a gig in Manila
Grammy-winning pop-rock sensation Maroon 5 is set to electrify Manila as they launch their highly anticipated Asia 2025 Tour at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on January 29, 2025 (Wednesday). The sold-out concert, co-presented by Live Nation Philippines, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine Department of Tourism, marks the band's fourth visit to Manila. The evening promises to deliver unforgettable moments for their devoted Filipino fans. The Asia 2025 Tour will run from January to February, with Manila as the starting point. From there, the band will journey across Asia, hitting major cities like Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Kaohsiung. Adding to the excitement, opening performances will feature DJ Mailbox and the American alt-rock band Culture Wars. Formed in 1994 and fronted by Adam Levine, Maroon 5 has become a global icon, seamlessly blending pop, rock, and R&B into a signature sound that has defined hits like "Moves Like Jagger," "Sugar," and "She Will Be Loved." Their enduring appeal and ability to innovate continue to cement their status as one of the biggest acts in modern music. Tour schedule for Maroon 5 Asia 2025: Manila : SM Mall of Asia Arena – Wed, January 29 Jakarta : Jakarta International Stadium – Sat, February 1 Bangkok : Impact Arena – Mon, February 3 Tokyo : Tokyo Dome – Thu, February 6; Sat, February 8; Sun, February 9 Kuala Lumpur : National Hockey Stadium – Wed, February 12 Kaohsiung: National Stadium – Fri, February 14 With over two decades of chart-topping hits and electrifying performances under their belt, Maroon 5 is poised to once again captivate audiences as they kick off their thrilling 2025 Asia tour in Manila. Sign up for the Daily Briefing Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
