Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Benny Blanco is a singer and music producer. He made a new album called Hermoso.
The album came out on Friday. It is his fourth album.
This is his first album with songs in Spanish. One song is with his wife, Selena Gomez, and singer Becky G.
Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez got married last year in California.
- singer
- a person who sings, often as a job
- producer
- a person who helps create and shape music in the studio
- album
- a collection of songs released together
- release
- to make something available to the public
- Spanish
- a language spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
- duet
- a song performed by two singers together
- married
- joined together as husband and wife
- wife
- a woman who is married to someone
Level 2 — Elementary
Benny Blanco, the hit songwriter and producer turned recording artist, released his fourth studio album, Hermoso, on Friday.
The album marks his first project built around Spanish language songs, a new direction for an artist best known for pop and hip hop production.
One of the standout tracks, Te Olvido (La La), is a duet featuring his wife, pop star Selena Gomez, alongside singer Becky G, and includes a music video starring actor Danny Trejo.
The release comes about eleven months after Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez married in Santa Barbara, California, in September, in a ceremony attended by close friends including Taylor Swift.
- songwriter
- a person who writes the words and music for songs
- recording artist
- a musician who performs and releases music officially
- studio album
- a collection of music recorded and released as a complete project
- direction
- a general path or style that something follows
- hip hop
- a music genre featuring rhythmic speech, or rap, over a beat
- standout
- something that is especially noticeable or impressive
- ceremony
- a formal event held to mark an important occasion
- attended
- was present at an event
Level 3 — Intermediate
Benny Blanco, long celebrated behind the scenes as one of pop music's most prolific hitmakers, stepped further into the spotlight on Friday with the release of Hermoso, his fourth studio album and the first built entirely around Spanish language material.
The record follows a string of previous releases, including two volumes of Friends Keep Secrets and last year's collaborative album with his wife, pop star Selena Gomez, I Said I Love You First, signaling a deliberate pivot toward a broader Latin audience.
Among the album's centerpieces is Te Olvido (La La), a summery duet pairing Gomez with singer Becky G, accompanied by a music video starring veteran actor Danny Trejo that had already generated buzz following its release two weeks earlier.
The album's arrival, roughly eleven months after Blanco and Gomez married before around 150 guests at Santa Barbara's exclusive setting in September, underscores how thoroughly the couple's personal and professional lives have become intertwined since their engagement was announced in late 2025.
- prolific
- producing a large amount of work, especially creative work
- hitmaker
- someone who repeatedly creates commercially successful songs
- spotlight
- the center of public attention
- pivot
- a significant change in direction or strategy
- centerpiece
- the most important or attention drawing part of something
- veteran
- a person with long experience in a particular field
- buzz
- excited talk or attention surrounding something
- intertwined
- closely connected or linked together
Level 4 — Advanced
Benny Blanco, whose name has long anchored production and songwriting credits across pop's biggest hits, formally stepped further from behind the boards on Friday with the release of Hermoso, his fourth studio album and the first conceived entirely around Spanish language material, a departure that repositions him as a genre crossing artist in his own right.
The project extends a discography that includes two installments of Friends Keep Secrets and last year's collaborative record with his wife, pop icon Selena Gomez, I Said I Love You First, and its linguistic pivot reads as a calculated bid to court a broader Latin market rather than an isolated stylistic detour.
Its centerpiece, Te Olvido (La La), a breezy duet uniting Gomez with singer Becky G, arrived accompanied by a music video featuring veteran character actor Danny Trejo, a pairing that had already generated considerable anticipation in the two weeks preceding the album's full release.
That the record surfaces roughly eleven months after Blanco and Gomez exchanged vows before an intimate gathering of about 150 guests in Santa Barbara underscores the extent to which the couple's romantic and creative partnerships have become mutually reinforcing since their engagement was first disclosed in late 2025.
- discography
- the complete recorded output of a musician or group
- genre crossing
- spanning or combining multiple musical styles or categories
- linguistic
- relating to language
- calculated
- done deliberately, as part of a planned strategy
- detour
- a deviation from a usual or expected path
- anticipation
- excitement or expectation about something that is going to happen
- intimate
- closely personal, involving a small and close circle
- mutually reinforcing
- each strengthening the other in a two way relationship