Benee

Stella Rose Bennett[1] (born 30 January 2000),[2][3] better known as Benee (stylized in all caps; formerly Bene)[4] is a New Zealand singer and songwriter from Auckland. In 2019, Benee won 4 New Zealand Music Awards, namely Single of The Year, Best Solo Artist, Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Pop Artist. She initially gained national prominence with her singles "Glitter" and "Soaked", before her 2020 single "Supalonely" gathered over 250 million streams after gaining international popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok. Since 2018, Benee has earned 4 credits on the Triple J Hottest 100, 3 of which were in the 2019 list.

Benee
Birth nameStella Rose Bennett
Also known asBene (2017–18)
Born (2000-01-30) 30 January 2000
Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2017–present
LabelsRepublic
Websitebeneemusic.com

Under the moniker of Bene, she made her solo debut with the 2017 single "Tough Guy", before later gaining prominence with her 2018 single "Soaked", which has been certified double-platinum in New Zealand. She released her debut EP, Fire on Marzz, with help from producer Josh Fountain in June 2019. Her second EP, Stella & Steve, was released in November 2019 and charted in the US, Canada and France as a result of the international success of the EP's final single "Supalonely".[5]

Life and career

2000–2017: Early life

Stella Rose Bennett was born and raised in the suburb of Grey Lynn in Auckland.[6][7] She grew up in a "really musical"[8] family with parents who would expose her to the catalogs of Radiohead, Björk and Groove Armada.[9][10][11] From the age of eight, Benee began taking guitar lessons in primary school before starting saxophone lessons in high school.[12] Benee eventually dropped all music in order to prioritize water polo.[12] She claims it "was [her] life" and that she at one point hoped to represent New Zealand competitively.[13][14] Benee later became interested in writing and recording music at the age of 17,[10] after deciding that she did not want to pursue a career in water polo.[13] Benee attended an all girls Catholic school, St Mary's College, where music was compulsory for four years.[15][10]

2017–2018: Online beginnings and solo debut

Benee began her music career by posting covers to SoundCloud, and began making her own music in her final year of high school.[16] After dropping out of a communications degree at the Auckland University of Technology after two weeks, during what she called "a quarter-life crisis", she decided to enter the music business professionally.[17] Her music caught the attention of Josh Fountain, a producer and member of the band Leisure, with whom she worked with for both her 2017 debut single "Tough Guy" as well as her 2018 single "Soaked".[18][19] Benee (as Bene) earned her first career entry on the Triple J Hottest 100 2018 with "Soaked" at #58.[20]

2018–2019: Fire on Marzz and Stella & Steve
Benee at The Forum in October 2019

In February 2019, Bene supported Lily Allen for an Auckland show during her No Shame Tour.[21] Under the moniker of "Bene", released her debut EP Fire on Marzz on 28 June 2019, before later adding an "e" because of "pronunciation woes",[22] and copyright issues.[23] She had signed to Republic Records in early 2019, prior to this release.[24] The EP, which was described by George Fenwick of The New Zealand Herald as "a funky, sun-soaked record", peaked at #13 on the New Zealand Albums Chart and at #75 on the Australian Albums Chart. The EP also earned Benee the award for Best Solo Artist at the 2019 New Zealand Music Awards in November 2019, where she also won awards for Single of the Year with "Soaked", Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Pop Artist.[25]

Benee's follow-up EP, Stella & Steve, was released on 15 November 2019.[24] The EP features the single "Supalonely" featuring Gus Dapperton, which later gained international success in March 2020 after a viral dance challenge accompanied by the song spawned on the online video-sharing platform TikTok.[26][27] This became her second song to become viral on TikTok after "Glitter" spawned a similar dance challenge in December 2019.[28] Benee also supported American singer-songwriter Conan Gray for nine nights of his Comfort Crowd Tour of North America during December 2019.[29] Benee's singles, "Glitter," "Find and Island," and "Evil Spider" each appeared in the 2019 Triple J Hottest 100 at 19, 25 and 51 respectively.[30]

2020–present: Debut album

Benee's first headlining North American tour with support from Remi Wolf was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31][32] In June 2020, the song "Supalonely" clocked over 250 million streams before Benee made her television debut performing it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside Gus Dapperton.[33][34] She later announced a headlining tour of New Zealand scheduled for October 2020.[35] Benee has said that she will be releasing her debut album in 2020,[36] noting that it will be very different from her previous releases.[37][38]

Personal life

In an interview for The New Zealand Herald, Benee revealed that she has dyslexia. She also described her childhood experiences with songwriting:[4]

throughout school I struggled with writing....I liked creative writing, that was what I loved, but I was always making mistakes, and I was confined to this way that I should write....Songwriting for me was this place where I don't have to be grammatically correct. Learning the craft with [Josh Fountain], when he was sharing all his knowledge – something clicked, and I was just like, I love this. It's a great emotional outlet for me; I just love splashing what I feel on to a track.

Discography

Extended plays
Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
NZ
[39]		 AUS
[40]		 CAN
[41]		 FRA
[42]		 US
[43]		 US
Alt.
[44]		 US
Heat.
[45]
Fire on Marzz 1375—————
Stella & Steve
  • Released: 15 November 2019
  • Label: Republic
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
 19—9115013851
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[47]
Fire on Marzz / Stella & Steve
  • Released: 14 February 2020[48]
  • Label: Republic
  • Formats: LP
 19[upper-alpha 1]

Singles
List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
NZ
[39]		 NZ
Artist
[50]		 AUS
[51][52]		 BEL
(FL)
[53]		 CAN
[54]		 IRE
[55]		 NLD
[56]		 NOR
[57]		 UK
[58]		 US
[59]
"Tough Guy"[60] 2017 ——[upper-alpha 2]———————— Non-album single
"Soaked" 2018 141———————— Fire on Marzz
"Evil Spider"[63] 2019 —[upper-alpha 3]3————————
"Want Me Back"[65] —[upper-alpha 4]12————————
"Glitter" 3220———————
"Find an Island" —[upper-alpha 5]583——————— Stella & Steve
"Monsta"[71] —[upper-alpha 6]18————————
"Supalonely"
(featuring Gus Dapperton)		 216
[73]		31011961839
"Lownely" 2020 —[upper-alpha 7]—[upper-alpha 8]———————— Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart, or charted on a subchart.

Other charted songs
List of songs, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
NZ
Hot
[80]		 NZ
Artist
[50]
"Afterlife" 2019 26— Fire on Marzz
"Wishful Thinking" 27—
"Kua Kore He Kupu / Soaked"[81] 85 Waiata / Anthems
"Blu" 31— Stella & Steve
"Drifting"
(featuring Jack Berry)		 32—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Guest appearances
Title Year Other artists Album
"Notice Me"[82] 2019 Role Model Oh, How Perfect

Awards and nominations
Year Awards Type Work Notes
2019 APRA Music Awards Silver Scroll "Soaked" Shortlisted
New Zealand Music Awards Single of the Year Won
Best Solo Artist Fire on Marzz Won
Breakthrough Artist of the Year Herself Won
Best Pop Artist Won
MTV Europe Music Award Best New Zealand Act Nominated
2020 Best Push Act Pending

Tours

Headlining
  • 2019 – Australian East Coast tour[83]
  • 2020 – North American tour[31]
  • 2020 – New Zealand tour[35]

Supporting
  • Conan Gray – Comfort Crowd Tour (2019; nine shows)

Notes
  1. A physical release combined both EPs, as did ARIA's chart listing.[49]
  2. "Tough Guy" did not enter the NZ Artists Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 1 on the NZ Artists Heatseeker Singles Chart.[61]
  3. "Evil Spider" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[64]
  4. "Want Me Back" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 16 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[66]
  5. "Find an Island" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 4 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[69]
  6. "Monsta" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 10 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[72]
  7. "Lownely" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles chart, but peaked at number 24 on the NZ Hot Singles chart.[78]
  8. "Lownely" did not enter the NZ Artists Top 20 Singles chart, but peaked at number one on the NZ Artists Hot Singles chart.[79]

References
  1. Rowley, Glenn (19 March 2020). "With 'Supalonely,' Benee's Pop Stardom Reaches New Heights". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. "@beneemusic on Instagram: 20 🤎". Instagram. BENEE [verified account]. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  3. Donelson, Marcy. "BENEE: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. Fenwick, George (27 March 2019). "Meet Bene: The Kiwi teen taking over the charts". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  5. "Benee Talks Music Video Inspirations and Discovering Herself Through Experience". Popspoken. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  6. Sholly, Eliza (29 November 2019). "Get to know Benee, if you know what's good for you". Fashion Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. McAuley, Matthew (14 July 2019). "'It was a bit nuts, mindblowing': Benee on touring the world and stuffing up". The Spinoff. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. "Revealing BENE". Neck of The Woods. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. "Six things you probably didn't know about Benee". RNZ. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. Marsh, Ariana (4 February 2020). "BENEE and Gus Dapperton turn breakup blues into sunny pop on Supalonely". i-D. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  11. Tan, Ronn (9 April 2020). "Benee: A melodic conversation with the 'Supalonely' singer on her music, TikTok, and more". BURO. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  12. Higgins, Sam (29 April 2020). "BENEE: Kiwi pop star with TikTok banger taking her from Supalonely to superstardom". NME. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  13. Mar, Pete (18 April 2020). "Benee - Life Filled With Water Polo & Commercial Voiceovers Before Music Career". B Sides. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  14. Morgan, Hayley (16 May 2019). "Bene Is The New Zealander Cutie Making Music That Bops". Oyster. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  15. "St. Mary's College Music Important FAQs" (PDF). St. Mary's College. Retrieved 3 April 2020. Note: See Music Wall of Fame
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  23. Wass, Mike (2 July 2019). "Interview: BENEE Talks Debut EP 'FIRE ON MARZZ' & BENEEvision". idolator. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  24. Ginsberg, Gab (13 November 2019). "Benee Interview: Singer Talks 'Stella & Steve' EP". Billboard. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  25. "Kiwi pop sensation Benee claims four titles at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards". Stuff NZ. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
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  27. Murray, Robin (6 March 2020). "BENEE's 'Supalonely' Is Ultra-Infectious". Clash. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  28. Reid, Poppy (19 December 2019). "Benee's 'Glitter' is a dance challenge on TikTok". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  29. "Conan Gray on Instagram: "HEY Y'ALL 🖤 so excited to announce that @whoisumi and @beneemusic are coming on my upcoming north american tour with me!! check out dates…"". Instagram. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  30. "triple j Hottest 100 2019". ABC Australia. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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  50. Peak positions for Benee's singles on the NZ Artist singles chart:
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    • For "Evil Spider", "Want Me Back": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
    • For "Kua Kore He Kupu / Soaked": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
    • For "Find an Island": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
    • For "Monsta": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
    • For "Glitter": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
    • For "Supalonely": "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  51. Peaks on the ARIA Singles Chart:
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  70. "NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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  73. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  74. "New Zealand single certifications – Benee feat. Gus Dapperton – Supalonely". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  75. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – Singles 2020". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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  77. "Canadian single certifications – Benee – Supalonely (ft. Gus Dapperton)". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
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  79. "Hot NZ Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  80. Peak positions for Benee's singles on the NZ Hot singles chart:
  81. "Waiata / Anthems". iTunes. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  82. "ROLE MODEL's 'oh, how perfect' Is for All the Freaks and Geeks". Live Nation. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  83. Fuamoli, Sose (3 July 2019). "BENEE announces Australian east coast shows for November". triple j. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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