Salem Ilese

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]

Ilese moved to Los Angeles, where she signed to Homemade Projects and released her debut EP, 757, in 2019.^{[citation needed]}

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", 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".^{[citation needed]}

Her other song, "Crypto Boy",^[9] rose in popularity in social media including YouTube Shorts and TikTok.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2023, she announced that she would release her debut album, High Concept, on September 15, 2023.^{[citation needed]} 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".^[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]