Jason Quenneville (born February 23, 1982), professionally known as DaHeala (/dəˈhlə/ də-HEE-lə), is a Canadian record producer and songwriter managed by SAL&CO.[2] He has produced for artists such as the Weeknd, Halsey, Lil Uzi Vert, and Belly, among others. He was nominated for three Grammy Awards for his production work on the Weeknd's 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with producers like Max Martin, Daft Punk, Rick Rubin, and Metro Boomin.

DaHeala
Background information
Birth nameJason Quenneville
Born (1982-02-23) February 23, 1982 (age 42)
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • engineer
Years active2003–present
LabelsUniversal Publishing/SAL&CO[1]

Early life and career edit

Quenneville grew up in Gatineau, Quebec in a household that spoke both French and English. At the age of 13, he learned how to DJ at a youth center which led to him learning how to use FL Studio 3 (formerly FruityLoops). His first production work was at the age of 23, when he worked on a mixtape (Death Before Dishonor) for Belly.[3] He continued working with Belly on later projects including the 2007 album, The Revolution.[4] He also produced all the tracks on Massari's 2005 self-titled debut album.[5]

Quenneville began working with the Weeknd on the singer's 2013 album, Kiss Land.[3] He produced every song on the album in collaboration with DannyBoyStyles and the Weeknd himself.[6] In 2014, he earned a production placement on Rick Ross' album, Mastermind, for the track "In Vein" featuring the Weeknd. He collaborated with fellow producers, Metro Boomin and Rick Rubin, on the song.[7]

In 2015, Quenneville was the executive producer on the Weeknd's album, Beauty Behind the Madness. He also produced and wrote several tracks on the album including "Often", "Acquainted", "Dark Times" (featuring Ed Sheeran), and "Earned It".[8] The last song, alternatively titled "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)", appeared on the soundtrack to the 2015 film, Fifty Shades of Grey.[3] It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song[9] and two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media.[10] The nominations were shared among Quenneville, the Weeknd, Belly, and Stephan Moccio.[11] The album itself was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year[10] and won the award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.[11]

In 2016, Quenneville co-wrote five tracks on the Weeknd's third studio album, Starboy, including the title track which featured Daft Punk.[citation needed] For co-writing the song, Quenneville earned a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award.[12] Also in 2016, he co-wrote the Halsey track, "Not Afraid Anymore", which appeared on the soundtrack to the sequel film, Fifty Shades Darker.[13] Over the course of the next two years, Quenneville produced and wrote tracks for several other artists including Lil Uzi Vert ("UnFazed" featuring the Weeknd),[14] French Montana ("A Lie" featuring the Weeknd),[15] and Nav ("What I Need").[16]

In 2020, Quenneville co-wrote and produced tracks on the Weeknd's fourth studio album, After Hours,[17] including the 2019 single, "Blinding Lights", which eventually became the Billboard #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time in 2021.[18][19] In late March 2020, the Weeknd released three bonus tracks on the album, all of which were produced by DaHeala.[20]

Discography edit

List of songwriting and production credits
Year Artist(s) Album
[21][22]
Song Details
2020 The Weeknd After Hours "Alone Again" Writer, producer
"Too Late"
"Snowchild"
"Blinding Lights"
"Save Your Tears"
"After Hours"
"Nothing Compares"
"Missed You"
"Final Lullaby"
2019 Gesaffelstein Hyperion "Lost in the Fire" (feat. the Weeknd)
2018 Nav Reckless "What I Need"
2017 Lil Uzi Vert Luv Is Rage 2 "UnFazed (feat. the Weeknd)"
French Montana Jungle Rules "A Lie (feat. the Weeknd)"
2016 Halsey Fifty Shades Darker: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Not Afraid Anymore" Producer, programming
The Weeknd Starboy "Reminder" Writer
"Nothing Without You"
"A Lonely Night"
"Six Feet Under"
"Starboy"
Belly Inzombia "Die Alone"[23] Engineer, producer
Another Day In Paradise "Ballerina"
"Ballerina Remix (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)" Producer
"It's All Love (feat. Starrah)" Engineer, producer
Future Evol "Low Life (feat. the Weeknd)"
2015 The Weeknd Beauty Behind The Madness "Dark Times"
"As You Are"
"Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)"
"Acquainted"
"Often"
"Real Life"
2014 Rick Ross Mastermind "In Vein (feat. the Weeknd)"
2013 The Weeknd The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Devil May Cry" Writer
Kiss Land "Tears In The Rain" Engineer, producer
"Pretty"
"Kiss Land"
"Wanderlust (Pharrell Remix)"
"Wanderlust"
"Live For" (feat. Drake)
"Belong To The World"
"Love In The Sky"
"Adaptation"
"The Town"
"Professional"
2009 Belly Back for the First Time Vol. 1 "Hot Girl" (feat. Snoop Dogg)
2008 "Get To Know You" (feat. Keshia Chanté)
"Smells Like Money"
2007 The Revolution "Don't Be Shy" (feat. Nina Sky)|
"For The Love"
"Good Evening" (feat. Kurupt)
"Don't Be Shy (Remix)" (feat. Nina Sky)
"The Freshest" (feat. Fabolous)
"Follow Me"
"Leave Me Alone"
2006 Massari Rush The Floor "Rush The Floor Club Mix (feat. Belly)"
2005 Massari "Inta Hayati"
"Follow My Lead"
"Show Me"
"Don't Let Go"
"Who Knows"
"Gone Away"
"Rush The Floor"
"Real Love"
"When I Saw You.."
"Smile For Me (feat. Loon)"
"Be Easy"
"Intro"

Nominations and awards edit

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2015 American Music Award Favorite Soul/R&B Album Beauty Behind the Madness Won [24]
2016 Academy Award Best Original Song "Earned It" (Music and lyrics by Jason Quenneville, et al.) Nominated [9]
2016 Grammy Award Best R&B Song Nominated [10]
Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated [10]
Album of the Year Beauty Behind the Madness (Production from Jason Quenneville) Nominated [10]
Best Urban Contemporary Album Won [11]
2016 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Album Nominated [25]

References edit

  1. ^ Bliss, Karen (May 26, 2016). "The Weeknd Co-Manager SAL Joins Guy Oseary's Maverick: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. ^ ago·, The961·People·3 years (2017-02-20). "Lebanese Manager of The Weeknd Just Made It On Billboard Power 100 List". The961. Retrieved 2020-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Legrand, Emmanuel (June 3, 2016). "Living for The Weeknd: 'We're the guys behind him who make the machine work'". Music Week. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Revolution - Belly". Genius. June 5, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "Massari Album". Lyrics.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. ^ De Leon, Mike (September 19, 2013). "Origins: The Samples From The Weeknd's "Kiss Land"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Charity, Justin (March 11, 2014). "Ranking Rick Ross' Albums From Worst To Best". Complex. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Tart, Chris (August 28, 2015). "The People Behind The Madness". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Edwards, Peter (January 14, 2016). "Canadians celebrate Oscar nominations". The Star. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Grammy Award results for Jason Quenneville". Grammy Awards. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. February 15, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Weeknd's "Starboy" earns Daheala a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award". SOCAN. February 27, 2017. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  13. ^ Lambert, Molly (February 15, 2017). "THE FIFTY SHADES DARKER SOUNDTRACK IS AN ESCAPIST POP THRILL". MTV. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  14. ^ Garcia Lawler, Opheli (August 25, 2017). "Here Are The Full Credits For Lil Uzi Vert's Luv Is Rage 2". The Fader. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Waggoner, Sam (July 14, 2017). "Stream & Download French Montana's New Album "Jungle Rules"". Run The Trap. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Jerome, Cristina (May 17, 2018). "NAV RELEASES TRACK LIST FOR NEW EP 'RECKLESS'". The Source. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  17. ^ Findlay, Mitch (March 18, 2020). "The Weeknd's "After Hours" Production Credits Revealed". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Molanphy, Chris (April 9, 2020). "Why the Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" Is the First Chart Topper of the Coronavirus Era". Slate. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Weeknd's Blinding Lights dethrones the Twist as all-time No 1 Billboard single". the Guardian. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  20. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (March 30, 2020). "The Weeknd adds three new songs to After Hours". The Fader. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  21. ^ "Jason Quenneville". Discogs. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  22. ^ "Jason Quenneville - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  23. ^ "Die Alone - Belly". Allmusic.com.
  24. ^ "American Music awards 2015 – all the winners". The Guardian. November 22, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  25. ^ "'Straight Outta Compton,' 'Empire,' Michael B. Jordan Top NAACP Image Awards". Variety. November 22, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

External links edit