Songwriter and music producer Benny Blanco has worked with big names like Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Rihanna. But one celebrity in particular has stolen his heart. Blanco and pop star Selena Gomez announced their engagement late last year, and have chronicled their relationship in a new album, I Said I Love You First. We asked Blanco about his NoVA childhood, his early love of music, and his artistic collaborations with Gomez.
How did you spend your days growing up in Reston?
I was always thinking about music. I remember walking to South Lakes Village Shopping Center and just making songs up in my head. I always thought that I was going to be something in music.
And then you went and made it happen. Is it still hard to believe?
My mom still doesn’t believe it. (Laughs.) Even when I first started getting successful, she was like, ‘Well, what are you going to do afterwards? This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. This doesn’t happen to people.’
How did growing up in Northern Virginia impact your career?
I think people sometimes think that when you get big that you must have had so many connections growing up. You must have had so many things happening. And in Northern Virginia, there’s not much going on. But I think places like that always read for great creativity. You’re trying to come up with cool, fun, interesting ideas for yourself. And I think it lends itself to the imagination.
You recently released a new album, I Said I Love You First, with your fiancée, Selena Gomez. What was that experience like?
We’ve gotten to make so many songs over the years together, so to actually make a piece of music together that’s about our love and where we are and where we’re going and where we’ve been was so cool. It was such a cathartic and therapeutic experience.
Have you brought Selena to Reston yet?
I really haven’t. None of our family lives in Virginia anymore. The last time I was there was about a year ago when I put out my book (Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends) and I spoke at South Lakes High School. While I was there, I also went to my old elementary school, and I went to all my old favorite places, and that was really cool.
Is there anything specific you miss about Reston?
I will always crave that feeling I would get walking on that path to Lake Thoreau. I used to have a friend who had a dock boat, and I spent so much time around that lake with friends. I loved all the trees. That’s really what I miss.
Feature image by Johnny Miller
This story originally ran in our May Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
