Ilya Salmanzadeh facts for kids

Ilya Salmanzadeh (born September 19, 1986), known simply as ILYA, is a talented songwriter, music producer, and singer from Sweden and Iran. He became well-known around the world after helping to write and produce Ariana Grande's huge hit song "Problem" in 2014. This song was part of her second album, My Everything.

Ilya's Music Journey

Ilya Salmanzadeh was born in Iran and grew up in Denmark. When he was 11, his family moved to Sweden. In 2005, at 19 years old, he signed a deal with Warner/Chappell Music in Stockholm, Sweden. He later studied music at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, graduating in 2009.

His first song to gain international attention 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 even nominated for a Grammy Award! He also worked on Cher Lloyd's "I Wish" and Fifth Harmony's "Me & My Girls" in 2013.

Big Hits and Awards

In 2014, Ilya worked with famous producer Max Martin. Together, they co-wrote and produced "Problem" for Ariana Grande and "First Love" for Jennifer Lopez. "Problem" quickly became one of the fastest-selling songs ever on iTunes. It also won several awards, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and an MTV Europe Music Award.

That same year, Ilya was nominated for the Denniz Pop Awards, which honor new musicians. On July 29, 2014, "Bang Bang" was released. This song was a big hit by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, and Ilya helped produce it.

In January 2015, Ellie Goulding's song "Love Me Like You Do" came out. Ilya co-wrote this song for the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. It became the most-streamed song on Spotify in one week! Later 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.

Ilya continued to work closely with Ariana Grande, co-writing and producing many songs on her albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next. In 2019, he co-wrote and produced Beyoncé's song "Spirit," which was also nominated for a Grammy. He also worked on songs like "Miracle" and "Oblivion" for Labrinth.

Ilya's Music Work

Ilya has released some of his own songs and has been featured on others.

Songs by Ilya

• 2007: "Used To Be" (as the main artist)
• 2009: "Get You on the Pool" (with Kocky & Trash)
• 2011: "Got It Like That" (with Lazee)

Producing for Others

Ilya has produced many songs for famous artists. Here are some examples of his work:

• In 2011, he produced "Mama" and "Reba" for The Lonely Island.
• In 2013, he produced "Me & My Girls" for Fifth Harmony and "I Wish" for Cher Lloyd.
• In 2014, he produced "Problem" for Ariana Grande and "First Love" for Jennifer Lopez. He also produced "Bang Bang" for Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj.
• In 2015, he produced the remix of "Bad Blood" for Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. He also produced "Confident" for Demi Lovato and "Focus" for Ariana Grande.
• He produced many songs on Ariana Grande's albums, including "Into You" and "Side to Side" in 2016, and "No Tears Left to Cry" and "God Is a Woman" in 2018.
• In 2019, he produced "Spirit" for Beyoncé and "How Do You Sleep?" for Sam Smith. He also worked on several songs for the Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
• More recently, in 2022, he produced "Unholy" for Sam Smith and Kim Petras, which was a huge hit.
• In 2024, he produced many songs on Ariana Grande's album Eternal Sunshine, including "Bye" and "Yes, And?".

Awards and Nominations

Ilya has won and been nominated for many awards for his work as a songwriter and producer.

See also

• Persian Swedes
• List of songs recorded by Jennifer Lopez