Ilya Salmanzadeh facts for kids

Ilya Salmanzadeh (born September 19, 1986), known as Ilya, is a talented songwriter, music producer, and singer. He was born in Iran and later moved to Sweden. Ilya became famous around the world after he helped write and produce Ariana Grande's popular song "Problem" in 2014.

He has been nominated for six Grammy Awards. These include three nominations for Album of the Year. These albums were Thank U, Next (2020), Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) (2022), and Special (2023).

Music Career

Early Life and First Steps

Ilya Salmanzadeh was born in Iran. He grew up in Denmark and moved to Sweden when he was 11 years old. In 2005, at 19, he started working with Warner/Chappell Music in Stockholm, Sweden. He later graduated from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, in 2009.

Ilya's first song to become popular worldwide was "Miss Me" by Mohombi and Nelly in 2010. In 2011, he produced two songs, "Mama" and "Reba," for The Lonely Island's album Turtleneck & Chain. This album was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2013, he produced "I Wish" for Cher Lloyd. He also produced "Me & My Girls" for Fifth Harmony, which won an award.

Big Hits and Awards

In 2014, Ilya worked with famous producer Max Martin. Together, they co-wrote and produced "Problem" for Ariana Grande. They also worked on "First Love" for Jennifer Lopez. "Problem" quickly became one of the fastest-selling songs on iTunes. It later won a Teen Choice Award, an VMA, and an EMA.

In June 2014, Ilya was nominated for the Denniz Pop Awards. This award celebrates new musicians. On July 29, 2014, "Bang Bang" was released. This song was a big hit by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. Ilya helped produce it.

In January 2015, Ellie Goulding's song "Love Me Like You Do" came out. Ilya helped write this song for the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. It became the most-streamed song on Spotify in one week. In May 2015, Ilya remixed Taylor Swift's song "Bad Blood" with Kendrick Lamar. This remix became his first song to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Continued Success

Ilya also helped write and produce many songs on Ariana Grande's albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next. In 2019, he co-wrote and produced Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated song "Spirit". He also worked on songs like "Miracle" and "Oblivion" for Labrinth's album Imagination & the Misfit Kid.

His recent work includes the song "Azizam" by Ed Sheeran. Ilya co-wrote and produced this song with Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, and Savan Kotecha. It was released on April 4, 2025.

Music Released

Songs as a Main Artist

• 2007: "Used To Be"

Songs Featuring Ilya

• 2009: "Get You on the Pool" (Kocky & Trash featuring Ilya)
• 2011: "Got It Like That" (Lazee ft. Ilya)

Songs He Produced or Wrote

Ilya has worked on many songs. Here are some of them:

Year	Title	Album	Songwriter	Producer
2008	"Karma" (featuring David Jassy)	Darin Zanyar – Flashback	Y	Y
	"Road Trip"		Y	Y
2010	"Miss Me" (ft. Nelly)	Mohombi – MoveMeant	Y	Y
2011	"Mama"	The Lonely Island – Turtleneck & Chain		Y
	"Reba (Two Worlds Collide)" (ft. Kenan Thompson)		Y	Y
2013	"Me & My Girls"	Fifth Harmony – Better Together		Y
2013	"I Wish" (ft. T.I.)	Cher Lloyd – Sorry I'm Late	Y	Y
2014	"One Last Time"	Ariana Grande – My Everything		Y
	"Problem" (ft. Iggy Azalea)		Y	Y
	"First Love"	Jennifer Lopez – AKA	Y	Y
	"Bang Bang" (Jessie J with Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj)	Jessie J – Sweet Talker Ariana Grande – My Everything		Y
2015	"Love Me like You Do"	Ellie Goulding – Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)	Y
	"Bad Blood" (ft. Kendrick Lamar)	Taylor Swift – 1989		Y
	"Focus"	Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman	Y	Y
2016	"Bad Decisions"		Y	Y
	"Everyday" (ft. Future)		Y	Y
	"Greedy"		Y	Y
	"Into You"		Y	Y
	"Side to Side" (ft. Nicki Minaj)		Y	Y
	"Sometimes"		Y	Y
2018	"Raindrops (An Angel Cried)"	Ariana Grande – Sweetener		Y
	"God Is a Woman"		Y	Y
	"Everytime"		Y	Y
	"Breathin"		Y	Y
	"No Tears Left to Cry"		Y	Y
2019	"Bloodline"	Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next	Y	Y
	"Bad Idea"		Y	Y
	"Ghostin"		Y	Y
	"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored"		Y	Y
2019	"Spirit"	Beyoncé – The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
2019	"How Do You Sleep?"	Sam Smith – Love Goes	Y	Y
2019	"Motivation"	Normani – Motivation	Y	Y
2022	"Unholy"	Sam Smith – Gloria	Y	Y
2022	"Grrrls"	Lizzo – Special	Y	Y
2024	"Bye"	Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine	Y	Y
	"Don't Wanna Break Up Again"		Y	Y
	"Saturn Returns Interlude"		Y	Y
	"Eternal Sunshine"			Y
	"True Story"			Y
	"The Boy Is Mine"			Y
	"Yes, And?"		Y	Y
	"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)"		Y	Y
	"I Wish I Hated You"		Y	Y
	"Imperfect for You"		Y	Y

Awards and Nominations

Ilya has won and been nominated for many awards for his work.

See Also

• Persian Swedes