Ilya Salmanzadeh (; born 19 September 1986 in Stockholm), known mononymously as ILYA, is a
Swedish-Persian songwriter,
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
and singer. He rose to prominence outside of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
after co-writing and producing
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's "
Problem
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
" and
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
's "
First Love".
Career
In 2005 at the age of 19, Ilya signed with
Warner/Chappell Music in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2009, he graduated from the
Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. "
Miss Me",
Mohombi &
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's song in 2010, was Ilya's first internationally acclaimed production.
In 2011, he produced "Mama" and "Reba" from
The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'').
The three ...
's
Grammy-nominated album, ''
Turtleneck & Chain
''Turtleneck & Chain'' is the second studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, whose members are Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. The album was released on 10 May 2011 by Universal Republic Records. Turtlenec ...
''.
In 2013, he produced
Cher Lloyd's song, "
I Wish
I WiSH was a Japanese pop group consisting of two members, Ai Kawashima and nao. Ai is responsible for the vocals and occasionally plays the piano also with nao on the keyboard or piano. Their most notable track is and was in the Oricon ranking ...
", and
Fifth Harmony's
award-winning song, "
Me & My Girls
"Me & My Girls" is a song recorded by American girl group Fifth Harmony from their debut extended play, '' Better Together'', included as the sixth track on the record. It was released as the first and only promotional single from their extended ...
".
Alongside
Max Martin, he co-wrote and produced
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's "
Problem
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
" and
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
's "
First Love" in 2014.
"Problem" went on to become one of the fastest-selling
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
in
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
history before winning a
Teen Choice Award
The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...
,
VMA and
EMA months later.
In June 2014, Ilya was nominated for the
Denniz Pop Awards
Dag Krister Volle (26 April 1963 – 30 August 1998), better known as Denniz Pop (stylized ''Denniz PoP''), was a Swedish DJ, music producer, and songwriter. He co-founded the recording studio Cheiron Studios in Stockholm in 1992.
Life and car ...
, an annual prize handed out to up-and-coming musicians.
"
Bang Bang
Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang or similar may refer to:
Food
* Bang bang chicken, a Chinese dish
*Bang bang shrimp, a Chinese dish
People
* Abdul Razzaq (cricketer) (born 1979), nicknamed Bang Bang Razzaq
* Bang Bang (Dubliner) (1906–1981), ...
", co-produced by Ilya, was released as a joint single by
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
, Ariana Grande and
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
on 29 July 2014 to universal acclaim.
In January 2015,
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
's "
Love Me Like You Do", co-written by Ilya, was released for the
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
to the motion picture, ''
Fifty Shades of Grey'', becoming the most-streamed song in a week on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
In May 2015, he remixed
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's "
Bad Blood" with
Kendrick Lamar, which became his first No.1 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
He co-wrote and produced large parts of
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's later albums ''
Sweetener'' and ''
Thank U, Next''. In 2019, Salmanzadeh co-wrote and produced
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's Grammy-nominated song "
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
". He also worked on the production of
Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...
's singles "Miracle" and "Oblivion" (which features
Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
), both taken from his sophomore solo album, ''
Imagination & the Misfit Kid''.
Discography
Singles
;As lead artist
*2007: "Used To Be"
;As featured artist
*2009: "Get You on the Pool" (Kocky & Trash featuring Ilya)
*2011: "Got It Like That" (
Lazee ft. Ilya)
Production discography
Ilya's works include:
Awards and nominations
See also
*
Persian Swedes
*
List of songs recorded by Jennifer Lopez
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmanzadeh, Ilya
1986 births
Living people
English-language singers from Sweden
Musicians Institute alumni
People from Kerman
Singers from Stockholm
Swedish agnostics
Swedish audio engineers
Swedish composers
Swedish male composers
Swedish dance musicians
Swedish expatriates in the United States
Swedish hip hop musicians
Swedish keyboardists
Swedish people of Iranian descent
Swedish pop guitarists
Swedish pop pianists
Swedish pop singers
Swedish record producers
Swedish rhythm and blues musicians
Swedish singer-songwriters
Universal Music Group artists
Warner Music Group artists
21st-century Swedish engineers
Male pianists
21st-century Swedish singers
21st-century pianists
21st-century guitarists
21st-century Swedish male singers
Musikförläggarnas pris winners