Benny Blanco

Lizzo Is In The Studio Making Music With Max Martin And Benny Blanco

by
Lizzo Mustard
Getty Image

Lizzo, who this past weekend teased a snippet of a new song in a buck-naked Instagram clip, just took to the platform again for a preview of her studio session with two of pop music’s biggest producers. In the video posted to Lizzo’s Instagram story yesterday, the “Cuz I Love You” singer is kicked back on a studio couch, moving her feet as she watches producers Max Martin and Benny Blanco work their magic.

Martin has been the primary producer for Grammy Awards Album Of The Year winners in Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Adele’s 25. He also won the Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical) award in 2015. Blanco has been nominated for the same Producer award in the past and has been the producer and songwriter behind hits from Halsey, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and FKA Twigs.

It’s a big look for Lizzo, who has typically worked primarily with producers/songwriters Ricky Reed and Nate Mercereau in the past. Not that her sound needs any more elevation per se, but if any or all of the follow-up to Cuz I Love You is done in collaboration with Martin and Blanco, then we’re gonna be in for something seriously special.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Second Season Of Lil Dicky’s ‘Dave’ Premieres This Summer And Features Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, And More

by
Getty Image

Earlier this month, Lil Dicky declared, “That’s a wrap on season 2,” presumably talking about his breakout hit FXX series Dave. It didn’t take long, by the way, for FXX to renew Dave for a second season, considering it was the network’s most-watched comedy ever. Anyway, that seems to be what he was referring to, as the premiere date of the show’s second season has now been set for June 16.

Benny Blanco, who appeared in multiple episodes in the show’s first season, is set to return in Season 2. Also making appearances will be Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, CL, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Kyle Kuzma, J Balvin, Rae Sremmurd (Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lil Yachty, and Kevin Hart, among others.

Press materials also tease some topics to be covered in the new episodes: “Dave knows he’s destined for rap superstardom — but at what cost? With the pressure mounting as he records his debut album, he has to decide if he’ll sacrifice friendships, love, and his own sense of self in order to make his dream come true. Simultaneously exasperating and inspiring to his friends, Dave vows to leave no stone unturned on his quest to become the next superstar.”

Revisit our interview with the show’s GaTa here.

Eminem Recorded A Version Of Rihanna’s Hit Single ‘Diamonds’ Before She Did

by
Getty Image

“Diamonds” has proven to be one of the biggest hits of Rihanna’s career, but it almost wasn’t her song at all. In fact, Eminem actually recorded a version of it before she did, according to the song’s co-producer, Benny Blanco.

Speaking about the track with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Blanco revealed that he originally intended the song to be for Kanye West or Lana Del Rey:

“We wanted it to be a Kanye song or a Lana Del Ray song, I remember, at first. And we were like, ‘OK, yeah, cool, let’s do that.’ And then, I remember [song co-writer] Sia, just writing. Sia, being Sia, she can write like 700 songs in one second. This was before Uber and she was like, ‘ I just called the car. It says it’s going to be 15 minutes. Pull up a beat.’ Pull up a beat…. melody, lyrics, everything. Done, OK. Then, we’re listening to it a few days later, and [song co-producer] Stargate’s like, ‘Yo, we’re giving this song to Rihanna. It’s going to go.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, man. Should we keep the beat for Kanye? I don’t know about it. I don’t know if it’s… I don’t know.’

He then went on to discuss how he learned that Eminem had actually recorded a version of the track before Rihanna did:

“Then I remember I had given a beat CD like a month earlier to Paul Rosenberg to give to Eminem. And apparently, Eminem had done a song to it, too, and I didn’t even know. […] Paul was like, ‘Man, Em had that beat on hold.’ I was like, ‘What? I didn’t even know.’ So, I’m sitting there, and then I finally am like, ‘You know what, Stargate?’ I let go. I said, ‘You guys know better. Let’s do it.’ She cut the song. First of all, the second she cut the song, they were completely right. I was like, ‘This is the best song I’ve ever done.’ And then, this is how life works, full circle: Kanye West does a remix to the song.”

Check out more from Blanco’s interview with Lowe below.