Birth name Ilya Salmanzadeh Role Songwriter | Name Ilya Salmanzadeh Also known as KnocDown | |
Born 19 September 1986 (age 37) ( 1986-09-19 ) Genres Pop
Europop
hip hop
R&B Occupation(s) Songwriter
producer
singer Record labels Universal Music Group, Republic Records Nominations Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song Similar People Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Tove Lo, Ali Payami, Peter Svensson | ||
Associated acts Shellback, Savan Kotecha | ||
Ilya & Max Martin
Ilya Salmanzadeh (; born 19 September 1986), known mononymously as Ilya, is a Swedish songwriter, producer and singer. He rose to prominence after co-writing and producing Ariana Grande's "Problem" and Jennifer Lopez's "First Love".
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Career
In 2005 at the age of 19, Ilya signed with Warner/Chappell Music in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2009, he graduated from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. "Miss Me", Mohombi & Nelly's song in 2010, was Ilya's first internationally acclaimed production. In 2011, he produced "Mama" and "Reba" from The Lonely Island's Grammy-nominated album, Turtleneck & Chain. In 2013, he produced Cher Lloyd's song, "I Wish", and Fifth Harmony's award-winning song, "Me & My Girls".
Alongside Max Martin, he co-wrote and produced Ariana Grande's "Problem" and Jennifer Lopez's "First Love" in 2014. "Problem" went on to become one of the fastest-selling singles in iTunes history before winning a Teen Choice Award, VMA and EMA months later. In June 2014, Ilya was nominated for the Denniz Pop Awards, an annual prize handed out to up-and-coming musicians. "Bang Bang", co-produced by Ilya, was released as a joint single by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj on 29 July 2014 to universal acclaim. In January 2015, Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do", co-written by Ilya, was released for the soundtrack album to the motion picture, Fifty Shades of Grey, becoming the most-streamed song in a week on Spotify. In May 2015, he remixed Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" with Kendrick Lamar, which became his first No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Singles
Production discography
Ilya's works include: