Ilya Salmanzadeh

ILYA
Birth name	Ilya Salmanzadeh
Also known as	KnocDown
Born	(1986-09-19) 19 September 1986 (age 38) Iran
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden, Iran
Genres	Pop Europop hip hop R&B
Occupations	Songwriter producer singer
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar bass guitar percussion
Labels	Warner/Chappell Capitol Island Republic Sony Universal Wolf Cousins

Ilya Salmanzadeh (/sɑːlmənˈzɑːdə/; born 19 September 1986), known mononymously as ILYA, is a Swedish/Iranian^[1] songwriter, producer, and singer. He rose to prominence outside of Sweden after co-writing and producing Ariana Grande's hit single "Problem" for her second studio album My Everything (2014).^[2]

Career

Ilya Salmanzadeh was born in Iran, raised in Denmark, and moved to Sweden at age 11.^[3] In 2005 at the age of 19, he 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.^[4][5] In 2011, he produced "Mama" and "Reba" from The Lonely Island's Grammy-nominated album, Turtleneck & Chain.^[6][7] In 2013, he produced Cher Lloyd's song, "I Wish", and Fifth Harmony's award-winning song, "Me & My Girls".^[8][9]

Alongside Max Martin, he co-wrote and produced Ariana Grande's "Problem" and Jennifer Lopez's "First Love" in 2014.^{[10][2][11][12][13]} "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.^{[14][15][16][17]} In June 2014, Ilya was nominated for the Denniz Pop Awards, an annual prize handed out to up-and-coming musicians.^[18][19][20] "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.^[21][22] 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.^[23] In May 2015, he remixed Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" with Kendrick Lamar, which became his first No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[24][25]

He co-wrote and produced large parts of Ariana Grande's later albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next. In 2019, Salmanzadeh co-wrote and produced Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated song "Spirit". He also worked on the production of Labrinth's singles "Miracle" and "Oblivion" (which features Sia), both taken from his sophomore solo album, Imagination & the Misfit Kid.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

• 2007: "Used To Be"^[26]

As featured artist

• 2009: "Get You on the Pool" (Kocky & Trash featuring Ilya)^{[citation needed]}
• 2011: "Got It Like That" (Lazee ft. Ilya)^[27]

Production discography

Ilya's works include:^{[28][29][30][31]}

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	"Alienized"	Linda Pritchard – Alive	Y	Y
	"Crying in the Rain"		Y	Y
	"Dance Your Tears Away"		Y
	"Erase & Rewind"		Y	Y
	"Glorious"		Y	Y
	"Miracle"		Y	Y
	"Not Even Hello"		Y	Y
	"On Time"		Y	Y
	"Rise Again"		Y	Y
	"Satellite"		Y	Y
	"Stuck in a Riddle"		Y	Y
	"Got It Like That"	Lazee – Supposed II Happen	Y	Y
	"Explosive Love"	Eric Saade – Saade Vol. 2	Y
	"Feel Alive"		Y
	"Mama"	The Lonely Island – Turtleneck & Chain		Y
	"Reba (Two Worlds Collide)" (ft. Kenan Thompson)		Y	Y
	"Finally Free"	Kimberley Locke – Four for the Floor	Y	Y
2012	"Get Started"	David Lindgren – Get Started	Y
	"Bastard"	Amanda Fondell – Bastard	Y	Y
2013	"Can't Hold Back"	Anton Ewald – A	Y	Y
	"We Are a Crowd"	The Lonely Island – The Wack Album	Y	Y
	"Me & My Girls"	Fifth Harmony – Better Together		Y
	"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
	"Dreamers"	Mohombi – Universe	Y	Y
	"Grow Old With You"		Y	Y
	"Just Like That"		Y	Y
	"Save Me"		Y	Y
	"Comeback"	Ella Eyre – Feline	Y	Y
	"Santa Tell Me"	Ariana Grande – Christmas Kisses	Y	Y
2015	"Love Me like You Do"	Ellie Goulding – Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)	Y
	"Things I Didn't Say"	Adam Lambert – The Original High	Y	Y
	"City Dove"	Tori Kelly – Unbreakable Smile	Y	Y
	"Back It Up" (ft. Pitbull)	Prince Royce – Double Vision	Y	Y
	"Back It Up" (ft. Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull)		Y	Y
	"Bad Blood" (ft. Kendrick Lamar)	Taylor Swift – 1989		Y
	"Good Thing" (ft. Nick Jonas)	Sage the Gemini – Bachelor Party	Y	Y
	"Around the World" (ft. Fetty Wap)	Natalie La Rose – Around the World	Y	Y
	"One in a Million"	Hilary Duff – Breathe In. Breathe Out.	Y	Y
	"Confident"	Demi Lovato – Confident	Y	Y
	"Mr. Hughes"			Y
	"On My Mind"	Ellie Goulding – Delirium	Y	Y
	"Codes"		Y	Y
	"Pay My Rent"	DNCE – Swaay	Y	Y
	"Toothbrush"		Y	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
	"Still Falling for You"	Ellie Goulding – Bridget Jones's Baby: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"Don't Talk About It"	Tove Lo – Lady Wood	Y	Y
	"Fire Fade"		Y	Y
	"They Don't Know"	Ariana Grande – Trolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"What U Workin' With?"	Gwen Stefani & Justin Timberlake – Trolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"DNCE"	DNCE – DNCE	Y	Y
	"Pay My Rent"		Y	Y
	"Toothbrush"		Y	Y
	"Zoom"		Y	Y
2017	"Lions"	Skip Marley – Lions	Y	Y
	"Calm Down"	Skip Marley – Calm Down	Y	Y
	"Act My Age"	Katy Perry – Witness		Y
	"Ain't About What You Got"	Star cast – Star (season 1) soundtrack	Y	Y
	"Would You Mind"	PRETTYMUCH – Would You Mind	Y	Y
	"End Game" (ft. Ed Sheeran and Future)	Taylor Swift – Reputation		Y[a]
	"Refugee"	Skip Marley – Refugee	Y	Y
	"Teacher"	PRETTYMUCH – Teacher	Y	Y
	"Open Arms"	PRETTYMUCH – Open Arms	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
	"Close To Me" (ft. Swae Lee)	Ellie Goulding & Diplo – Brightest Blue	Y	Y
	"Last Goodbye" (ft. Tove Styrke & Stefflon Don)	Clean Bandit – What Is Love?	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
	"Tu Vecina" (ft. Ty Dolla Sign)	Maluma – 11:11	Y	Y
	"Miracle"	Labrinth – Imagination & the Misfit Kid	Y	Y
	"Spirit"	Beyoncé – The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"How Do You Sleep?"	Sam Smith – Love Goes	Y	Y
	"Don't Call Me Angel"	Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey – Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"How It's Done"	Kash Doll, Kim Petras, Alma, Stefflon Don – Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"Bad to You"	Ariana Grande, Normani, Nicki Minaj – Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"Nobody"	Ariana Grande, Chaka Khan – Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"How I Look on You"	Ariana Grande – Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Y	Y
	"Motivation"	Normani – Motivation	Y	Y
2020	"I'm Ready"	Sam Smith & Demi Lovato – Love Goes	Y	Y
	"Worry About Me" (feat. blackbear)	Ellie Goulding − Brightest Blue	Y	Y
	"My Oasis" (feat. Burna Boy)	Sam Smith − Love Goes		Y
	"High On Your Supply"	Katy Perry − Smile	Y	Y
2021	"Oh Na Na" (with Myke Towers and Tainy)	Camila Cabello – Familia	Y
	"Alone Together"	Westlife − Wild Dreams	Y
2022	"Lightning"[32]	Charli XCX – Crash	Y
	"Unholy"	Sam Smith – Gloria	Y	Y
	"I Love Your Girl"	Mabel – About Last Night...	Y	Y
	"Grrrls"	Lizzo – Special	Y	Y
2023	"Brrr"	Kim Petras – Feed the Beast	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
	"New Woman" (ft. Rosalía)	Lisa – Alter Ego	Y	Y
	"It's OK I'm OK"	Tate McRae – So Close to What	Y	Y

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref.
2012	Grammy Award	Best Comedy Album	Turtleneck & Chain (songwriter & producer)	Nominated	[7]
2014	Radio Disney Music Awards	Best Song to Rock Out to With Your BFF	"Me & My Girls" (producer)	Won	[33]
		Catchiest New Song	"I Wish" (songwriter & producer)	Nominated	[34]
	Denniz Pop Awards	Rookie Songwriter/Producer	Himself	Nominated	[20]
	Swedish Music Publishers Prize	Year's Breakthrough		Nominated	[35]
	Teen Choice Awards	Song: Female Artist	"Problem" (songwriter & producer)	Won	[36]
	MTV Video Music Award	Best Female Video		Nominated	[37]
		Best Pop Video		Won	[38]
		Best Collaboration		Nominated	[39]
		Best Lyric Video		Nominated	[40]
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best Song		Won	[41]
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Song	"Bang Bang" (producer)	Nominated	[42]
		Favorite Album	My Everything (songwriter, producer & programmer)	Nominated	[42]
	Grammy Award	Best Pop Duo/Group Performance	"Bang Bang" (producer)	Nominated	[43]
		Best Pop Vocal Album	My Everything (songwriter, producer & programmer)	Nominated	[43]
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Song of the Year	"Bang Bang" (producer)	Won	[44]
			"Problem" (songwriter & producer)	Nominated	[45]
	iHeartRadio Music Awards	Best Collaboration	"Bang Bang" (producer)	Won	[46]
			"Problem" (songwriter & producer)	Nominated	[47]
	Radio Disney Music Awards	Song of the Year	"Problem" (songwriter & producer)	Won	[48]
	ASCAP Pop Music Awards	Writer Among the Most Performed Songs	Himself	Won	[49]
	Billboard Music Award	Top Soundtrack	Fifty Shades of Grey (songwriter)	Nominated	[50]
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best Song	"Bad Blood" (producer)	Won	[51]
			"Love Me like You Do" (songwriter)	Nominated
	Latin Grammy Award	Best Urban Song	"Back It Up (Spanish Version)" (songwriter & producer)	Nominated	[52]
	American Music Award	Top Soundtrack	Fifty Shades of Grey (composer)	Nominated	[53]
		Collaboration of the Year	"Bad Blood" (producer)	Nominated
2016	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Song of the Year		Nominated	[54]
			"Love Me like You Do" (songwriter)	Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Best Original Song		Nominated	[55]
	Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Song		Nominated	[56]
	Grammy Award	Best Pop Solo Performance		Nominated	[57]
		Best Song Written for Visual Media		Nominated
		Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media	Fifty Shades of Grey (songwriter)	Nominated
2022	Grammy Award	Album of the Year	Justice (producer & songwriter)	Nominated	[7]
2023	Grammy Award	Album of the Year	Special (producer, engineers & mixer)	Nominated	[7]
2025	Grammy Award	Best Dance Pop Recording	Yes, And? (producer)	Pending	[7]

See also

• Persian Swedes
• List of songs recorded by Jennifer Lopez

Notes

1. Additional vocal producer

References

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3. "Hitmaker of the Month ILYA Talks Making 'Unholy' With Sam Smith"
4. "Mohombi – MoveMeant". discogs. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
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External links

• Ilya Salmanzadeh on Facebook
• Ilya Salmanzadeh on Instagram
• Ilya Salmanzadeh on Twitter
• Ilya Salmanzadeh's channel on YouTube