Ghost Behind the Notes

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet lately, chances are you’ve stumbled upon the Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco press tour. But beyond the lovefest lies a chance to reflect on which ghost is behind your favourite bangers.

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, photographed by Roe Ethridge via Interview Magazine © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

In these past weeks, you may have been swept up by the tornado of the press tour filled with PDA, healthy relationship communication and emotional intelligence that Selena Gomez, the American Pop Singer and Golden Globe Award-nominated Actress, and Benny Blanco, American songwriter and producer, have been running for their latest album, I Said I Love You First. 

But if you have not, the whole thing has actually been the occasion for people not only to get acquainted with their project but also with Benny Blanco himself and his past projects. Daniel Wall interviewed him for his Behind The Wall YouTube Series (which you can watch here), and what came out is an hour and a half filled with insights about his past works and tales from the 2010s music industry landscape. 

Some short snippets from that interview went viral on social media, and thankfully, the reactions to them show that I had company under the rock that I have apparently been living under, not knowing that Benny Blanco was actually one of the most influential among the producers and songwriters of that period, and that is actually behind some of the biggest and iconic songs of the era: “California Girls” by Katy Perry, “Payphone” by Maroon 5, “Tik Tok” by Kesha, “Diamonds” by Rihanna, and countless others. 

During the interview, he casually mentions other amazing co-songwriters like him who have been working behind the scenes like shadowy ghosts while having their own careers. An example? Just someone called Charli XCX, who started preparing us for her brat summer long ago by writing “I Love It” with Icona Pop or is behind songs like “Señorita by Shaun Mendes and Camilla Cabello, or “Same Old Love”, which she wrote with the aforementioned America’s favourite couple. 

This led me to get deep into the rabbit hole and hunt for those other songwriter ghosts, that, while being famous acts themselves, kept co-writing amazing songs remaining under the radar. In no time, I found myself in a mental tunnel, which you’re now heading down as well.

In it, we have Linda Perry, lead singer of the 90s band, 4 Non Blondes and mastermind of their 1993 hit “What’s Up?”, who lent her words to other influential female musicians like Cristina Aguilera, or even Pink to write “Get The Party Started”; Then there’s Pharrell Williams; Jessie J… I could go on and on. But what I find interesting is how surprised I still get by these findings from the 90s to today. Especially since earlier artists used to be more vocal about writing songs and then just giving them away when they felt they didn’t fit their style, and eventually publishing them at a later time under their own name. 

David Bowie, for instance, spent some of the first years of his career being a for-hire songwriter. He wrote many songs that he later published in his own collections. For example, the iconic “All The Young Dudes”, which he wrote for the English Rock band Mott The Hoople. 

Really, the list could be infinite and with incredible and nuanced behind-the-scenes stories, but what I want to ask is: Are song co-writers getting praised for their work as they should? 

Yes, Spotify and other streaming platforms have created a playlist series that displays the collections of songwriters’ projects worldwide, whether they were written for themselves or others. The Swedish streaming platform also organised a live event, Spotify’s “Secret Genius Award”, to honour the biggest songwriters and producers across generations behind everyday hit songs. But this was back in 2017 and 2018, and the event was held only for two years. Sure, there are awards categories, at the Grammys for example, that recognize the work of songwriters and producers, but are those enough to sincerely recognise the backbones of this industry? 

So may this reflection act as a reminder to dive deep behind the songs you love and to cherish the special creative connections that your favourite artists weave with amazing musicians before learning about them from decades-late cryouts from the creators. It’s in those behind-the-scenes collaborations that artistry is fueled and powered, and sometimes, those voices you hear singing your favourite songs aren’t the only ones that made them unforgettable.