Salem Ilese

• Name — Salem Ilese • Birth Name — Salem Ilese Davern • Born — 19 August 1999 • Birthplace — Mill Valley, California, U.S. • Origin — Mill Valley, California • Genre — Pop • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Instrument — * Vocals • guitar • keyboards • ukulele • Years Active — 2018–present • Label — 10K Projects • Website — www.salemilese.com

Born on August 19, 1999, Salem Ilese Davern is originally from Mill Valley, California. 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.

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. The song peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Global 200 in 2020, and appeared on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Popular Songs in 2020. Additionally, Ilese co-wrote Jamie Miller's "Here's Your Perfect", ILLIT's "Magnetic", 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", 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".

AllMusic's Marcy Donelson described Ilese's style as "dissatisfied, relationship-themed dance-pop". Ilese often writes songs around a single concept. She considers brand and product names help songs gain traction. 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".

• High Concept (2023) • Growing Down (2025)

• 757 (2019) • (L)only Child (2021) • Unsponsored Content (2022)

Songwriting credits • Year — 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) • Imanbek — "Dancing On Dangerous" • Sean Paul • Sofía Reyes • Mia Rodriguez — "Billion Dollar Bitch" • MASN — "Don't Talk" • Jamie Miller — "Here's Your Perfect" • TXT — "Anti-Romantic" • Bella Poarch — "Build a Bitch" • "Inferno" • 2022 — Salem Ilese — "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" • Anson Seabra — "Hard To Be Human" • 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) • Rxseboy — "Nice to Meet Me" • Au/Ra • 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" • Jordana Bryant — "Taylor For President" • 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) • TIMMS — "Resting Sad Face" • Jamie Miller — "Untie The Knot" • Bella Poarch — "Don't Like Anybody" • 6arelyhuman • 2025 — Salem Ilese — "IM NOT SCARED" • "hahaha" • "if you love me.. • "fridge" • "growing down" • "dirty martini" • "new in town" • "storm" • "Merry Chirtmas From Australia" (with Go-Jo) • Harvey Brittain — "all in" (with Salem Ilese) • HITGS — "GROSS" • Alemeda — "I'm Over It" • yung kai — "tell me (a lullaby)" • Dayoung — "number one rockstar" • Ofenbach — "Need You The Most" • 2026 — Frank Walker — "All Cried Out" (with Salem Ilese) • Ari Abdul — "ENAMORED" • Salem Ilese — "My Bad" • "Love Like A Hobby"

She also worked under the name Salem Ilese. Her recorded language was English.