Key Takeaways
- These are the 10 best songs produced by Benny Blanco, Complex’s latest cover star. The list spotlights how he evolved from an anonymous hitmaker to a pop powerhouse and cultural figure.
- It traces his run from early collaborations with Dr. Luke on 2010s staples like “Tik Tok” and “Dynamite” to later work with Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and more.
- The list also covers his more recent era, including R&B cuts like Brent Faiyaz’s “Butterflies,” his bromance-fueled work with Lil Dicky, and his hyperpop-leaning collaborations with Selena Gomez.
Benjamin Joseph Levin, aka Benny Blanco, wasn't always a household name. Before he was married to Selena Gomez and was named one of the Sexiest Men Alive by People Magazine, he was mostly working anonymously, but successfully, as one of the best pop music minds in the game.
The five-time BMI Songwriter of the Year started his career under the tutelage of Dr. Luke, co-producing huge hits for Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kesha, and others.
If you had a pulse in the 2010s, you heard his work as a writer and producer. You can hear the songs by just reading the title: "Moves Like Jagger," "California Gurls," "Love Yourself," "Tik Tok."
Even as Benny expands his creative pursuits with the success of his Friends Keep Secrets podcast with Lil Dicky, his production legacy remains his most enduring work. With Benny and Dicky as Complex's latest cover star, here's a look back at the 10 best Benny Blanco produced songs.
Taio Cruz, “Dynamite” (2010)
Album: Rokstarr
Some of Benny Blanco's greatest successes in the music industry have been collaborations with other producers, including the aforementioned Dr. Luke. One of the most enduring tracks from that run is British singer Taio Cruz's international smash "Dynamite," which is now eight times platinum and features one of the most recognizable choruses to emerge from the 2010s.
Kesha feat. 3OH!3, “Blah Blah Blah” (2010)
Album: Animal
Bangers & Cash was an underground sensation in the era of indie sleaze, electroclash, and blog house, and Blanco helped take that trashy synth squelch aesthetic into the mainstream when he co-produced Kesha’s chart topper “Tik Tok” and 3OH!3’s crunkcore crossover hit “Don’t Trust Me.”
Soon after, Kesha and 3OH!3 linked up for “Blah Blah Blah,” Benny Blanco’s first solo production to reach the top 10 of the Hot 100.
Brent Faiyaz, “Butterflies” (2026)
Album: Icon
While Top 40 pop has been Benny Blanco’s bread and butter, he’s also maintained a steady presence on R&B radio with singles like “Heart Attack” by Trey Songz, “Luv” by Tory Lanez, and the latest woozy slow jam from Brent Faiyaz’s 2026 album Icon. “Butterflies” is easily the best song on the album and nice notch on Blanco’s belt.
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco, “Bluest Flame” (2025)
Album: I Said I Love You First
Benny Blanco produced a pair of hit singles on Selena Gomez’s 2015 album Revival, but it wasn’t until 2023 that their professional relationship turned personal and they began dating.
Gomez and Blanco released an album as a duo, I Said I Love You First, in 2025 just a few months before their wedding. The hyperpop inspired “Bluest Flame,” co-written by Charli XCX, is a banger, receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording last year.
Lil Dicky, “Harrison Ave” (2023)
Album: Penith (The DAVE Soundtrack)
In addition to marrying a musical collaborator, Benny Blanco has forged an enduring bromance with Lil Dicky that has resulted in the comedy rapper’s biggest chart hits, “Freaky Friday” and “Earth.”
Lil Dicky's autobiographical FXX sitcom Dave regularly featured Benny Blanco playing an entertaining version of himself.
Blanco produced most of the tracks on the show's soundtrack album, Penith, including "Harrison Ave," a six-minute story song that marked a departure from his usual synth-heavy sound. For the track, he looped a soulful sample of Delilah Moore's 1972 obscurity "Wrapped Up Tight.”
Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid, “Eastside” (2018)
Album: Friends Keep Secrets
Before Friends Keep Secrets was the name of Benny Blanco’s podcast, it was also the name of his Interscope imprint and his debut solo project. Blanco and frequent collaborators Cashmere Cat, Andrew Watt, and Happy Perez co-produced the 2018 EP’s lead single “Eastside,” a duet between Halsey and Khalid that was a top 10 hit in America and went to number one in the UK, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Rihanna, “Diamonds” (2012)
Album: Unapologetic
After a few years of co-piloting hits with Dr. Luke and Max Martin, Benny Blanco started teaming with other top level producers including the Norwegian duo Stargate, who had already been responsible for some of Rihanna’s biggest hits.
Benny Blanco was the driving creative force behind “Diamonds,” a track that he and Stargate initially made with other artists like Kanye West in mind, before it wound up as the chart-topping lead single of Rih’s 2012 album Unapologetic.
Ed Sheeran, “Castle on the Hill” (2017)
Album: ÷
Ed Sheeran released two hits simultaneously on January 6, 2017.
If you had to guess which one Benny Blanco worked on, you’d probably assume that he had a hand in the slinky tropical house-favorite “Shape of You.”
But it was actually “Castle on the Hill,” a wistful arena rock track reminiscent of U2, that Blanco and Sheeran co-produced, with legendary Welsh session musician Pino Palladino laying down the bassline that gives the song a buoyant, danceable groove.
Katy Perry, “Hot n Cold” (2008)
Album: One of the Boys
Dr. Luke and Max Martin were already kings of Top 40 bubblegum in 2008 when Benny Blanco joined their team. And he added an edge to their sound at just the right time to help break Katy Perry as a main pop girl who performed on the Warped Tour and could deliver snarky lines like “You PMS like a bitch, I would know” with MTV-ready charm.
Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself” (2015)
Album: Purpose
Justin Bieber's fourth studio album was a breakthrough, powered by the EDM production featured on the Skrillex-produced single "Where Are Ü Now." But within the album's forward-thinking sound was "Love Yourself," an acoustic, slightly spiteful anthem from Bieber.
The lo-fi, bare throwback production is the only track Blanco produced on the album, and it stands out as an outlier—one of Bieber's best.
