Salem Ilese
Salem Ilese | |
|---|---|
Ilese performing in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Salem Ilese Davern August 19, 1999 Mill Valley, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Mill Valley, California |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2018–present |
| Label | 10K Projects |
| Website | www |
Salem Ilese Davern (ˈseɪləm ee liː seɪ; born August 19, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter known for her singles "Mad at Disney" and "PS5". She has also co-written songs for artists such as Bella Poarch, Demi Lovato, and Illit. In 2019, she released her debut EP, 757 and in 2023, she released her debut album High Concept.
Early life
Born on August 19, 1999, Salem Ilese Davern is originally from Mill Valley, California.[2][3] Her songwriting career began at the age of 10 when she began classes with Bonnie Hayes (songwriter for Bonnie Raitt and Cher) in San Francisco. She also attended Berklee College of Music and spent two years majoring in Hayes' songwriting program.[2][4]
Career
Ilese moved to Los Angeles, where she signed to Homemade Projects and released her debut EP, 757, in 2019.
In 2020, Ilese released the song, "Mad at Disney" after a series of Disney live-action remakes which drew the ire of fans. It became her breakout hit because of its popularity on social media platforms such as TikTok and was certified by the RIAA.[5][6] The song peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Global 200 in 2020,[7] and appeared on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Popular Songs in 2020.[8]
Additionally, Ilese co-wrote Jamie Miller's "Here's Your Perfect", Bella Poarch's "Build a Bitch", and Tomorrow X Together's "Anti-Romantic". Her second EP (L)only Child was released with a food truck in May and collaborated with Alan Walker on "Fake a Smile".
Her other song, "Crypto Boy",[9] rose in popularity in social media including YouTube Shorts and TikTok.
She also wrote and sung with Tomorrow X Together, produced by Alan Walker, the song PS5 in 2022 which was a success on social media.
In July 2023, she announced that she would release her debut album, High Concept, on September 15, 2023. The album was promoted with the release of several singles including "Strongly Worded Letter" and "PainHub".
Artistry
AllMusic's Marcy Donelson described Ilese's style as "dissatisfied, relationship-themed dance-pop".[3] Ilese often writes songs around a single concept.[2] She considers brand and product names help songs gain traction.[3][4]
Writing for NBC News, Morgan Sung noted that some social media users complained about a particular style of music which new artists use to try to break out on TikTok. Marked by a nostalgic melody and simple lyrics attempting to be relatable, the "mad at Disney genre" has been criticized as unoriginal and inauthentic. Sung cited examples such as Ilese's "Mad at Disney" and Gayle's "ABCDEFU".[10]
Discography
Studio albums
- High Concept (2023)
- Growing Down (2025)
EPs
- 757 (2019)
- (L)only Child (2021)
- Unsponsored Content (2022)
Songwriting credits
| Year[11] | Artist | Track |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Salem Ilese | "Awake" |
| 2019 | "Impatient" | |
| "Numbers Game" | ||
| "Roshambo" | ||
| "Time Machine" | ||
| "757" | ||
| "Bad Word" | ||
| 2020 | "Mad at Disney" | |
| "It Gets Better" | ||
| "Roses to His Ex" | ||
| "Marry Christmas" | ||
| "Coke & Mentos" | ||
| Gattuso | "Love Is Not Enough" (featuring Salem Ilese) | |
| Myrne | "Splinter" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| TIMMS | "Itsy Bitsy" | |
| Lev | "When I Hurt You" | |
| 2021 | Salem Ilese | "Ben & Jerry" |
| "Hey Siri" | ||
| "(L)only Child" | ||
| "Good, Not Great" | ||
| "Romeo & Juliet" | ||
| "Dinosaurs" | ||
| "Forgiveness" | ||
| "About a Breakup" | ||
| "Thank You Note" | ||
| Surfaces | "Come with Me" (featuring Salem Ilese) | |
| Alan Walker | "Fake a Smile" (featuring Salem Ilese) | |
| LLusion | "Yoga" (featuring Salem Ilese) | |
| Mia Rodriguez | "Billion Dollar Bitch" | |
| MASN | "Don't Talk" | |
| Imanbek | "Dancing on Dangerous" | |
| Jamie Miller | "Here's Your Perfect" | |
| TXT | "Anti-Romantic" | |
| Bella Poarch | "Build a Bitch" | |
| "Inferno" | ||
| 2022 | Salem Ilese[12] | "Jake from State Farm" |
| "PS5" (with TXT & Alan Walker) | ||
| "Crypto Boy" | ||
| "ExBox" | ||
| "Secret Santa" | ||
| "Moment Of Silence" | ||
| "Intuition" (Blade Runner Black Lotus) | ||
| Taeyeon | "Toddler" | |
| Pussy Riot | "Princess Charming" | |
| Demi Lovato | Holy Fvck ("Holy Fvck" and "City of Angels") | |
| Bella Poarch | Dolls ("No Man's Land (feat. Grimes)") | |
| Sub Urban | "UH OH!" (with BENEE) | |
| Le Sserafim | "Good Parts (When the Quality Is Bad but I Am)" | |
| CG5 | "MINION" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| Sam Feldt | "Hate Me" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| Imanbek | "Married to Your Melody" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| 2023 | Mike Posner | "Howling at the Moon" (with Salem Ilese)) |
| Salem Ilese | "The Trailer" | |
| "2much2think" | ||
| "Team Sport" | ||
| "Boys "R" Us" | ||
| "PainHub" | ||
| "Tall Boi" | ||
| "Ketchup" | ||
| "don't shop when ur hungry !!" (with. vaultboy) | ||
| "Spaghetti" | ||
| "Threesome" | ||
| "Strongly Worded Letter" | ||
| "Designated Driver" | ||
| "Taylor Made" | ||
| "Can of Hurt" | ||
| "Whiplash" | ||
| "Snowglobe" | ||
| 2024 | "12 Months of Christmas" | |
| "Christmas Mourning" | ||
| JAX | "holiday" | |
| Alexa | "Joy of Missing Out" | |
| Illit | "Magnetic" | |
| eaJ | "Mad" | |
| "Burn" (with Salem Ilese) | ||
| Ofenbach | "feelings don't lie" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| Zedd | "No Gravity" | |
| TXT | "Sugar Rush Ride", | |
| "Open Always Wins" | ||
| Ava Max | "Spot a Fake" | |
| V | "FRI(END)S" | |
| Emei | "Agree to Disagree" | |
| Cheat Codes | "TYSM" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| vaultboy | "closer" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| mafalda cardenal | "tu fan" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| 2025 | Salem Ilese | "IM NOT SCARED" |
| "hahaha" | ||
| "if you love me.. | ||
| "fridge" | ||
| "growing down" | ||
| "dirty martini" | ||
| "new in town" | ||
| "storm" | ||
| Harvey Brittain | "all in" (with Salem Ilese) | |
| HITGS | "GROSS" |
References
- ^ Salem Ilese Is Your New Favorite Songwriter
- ^ a b c Leight, Elias (September 10, 2020). "'Mad at Disney': How an Angry Fan Made a Massive TikTok Hit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c Donelson, Marcy. "Salem Ilese Biography by Marcy Donelson". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ a b "Salem Ilese and Berklee's Bonnie Hayes on Viral TikTok Hit 'Mad at Disney'". Berklee Online Take Note. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ "Get To Know: Salem Ilese". mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
- ^ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ "Top 100 Popular Songs Rolling Stone Music Charts". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ Safronova, Valeriya (June 30, 2022). "A Party Crawl With Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova". The New York Times.
- ^ Sung, Morgan (May 24, 2022). "People are getting tired of the 'TikTok music formula'". NBC News. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ "Written By salem ilese". Spotify. 28 October 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ "Salem Ilese Is Turning Brand Names Into Playful Pop Songs". Elite Daily. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
External links
Media related to Salem Ilese at Wikimedia Commons
- Salem Ilese at IMDb
- Salem Ilese discography at Discogs