Posts made in May 2020

New Zealand’s indie pop sensation BENEE unveils “Lownely,” a brand new rendition of her breakthrough international smash “Supalonely” feat. Gus Dapperton—listen HERE!
 
BENEE strips down “Supalonely” to raw elements of ethereal guitar, delicate production and lush strings. Her vocals and lyrics echo with emotion over the dreamy and soulful soundscape. Recorded with producer Josh Fountain at Golden Age Studio the night that New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown, “Lownely” was made in the last few hours before the midnight curfew.
 
Of the song, BENEE says, “I decided that I wanted to show a different side to the song seeing as when I wrote it, I was actually at a pretty low point. I wanted to fully commit to making a really sad song (.: My guitar player Tiare came up with the guitar parts, which I loved! I wanted to create a slow, sad indie vibe, and she did a really awesome job of this! We ended up getting it mixed by Dilip Harris in the UK, who does a lot of work for King Krule (who I love). I thought he would really complement the style of the song.”
 
“Supalonely” eclipsed 400 million total streams and counting, as well 1.8 million-plus in global consumption. BENEE also recently emerged as “The 94th Most Listened to Artist in the World” on Spotify, and “Supalonely” peaked in the Top 10 of the platform’s Global Top 50 Chart.

Within a short time, BENEE has gone from canvasing Soundcloud with covers out of her teenage bedroom to rising on the charts with “Supalonely” feat. Gus Dapperton and amassing over 650 million streams of her catalog around the globe. Last month, “Supalonely” vaulted to #10 on the Spotify Global Top 50 Chart, #18 on the US Top 50 Chart and #58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the airwaves and online, the song has entered the Top 20 on the US Top 40 Radio Chart at #18 and has been used in 11 million plus TikTok videos, while earning 150 million-plus video views and counting. Other chart moves include #2 on the Pop Streaming Chart, #6 on Nielsen’s On-Demand Streaming Chart and #43 on the Top 200 Song Consumption Chart. In addition, the song has been certified Platinum in Australia and Gold in New Zealand, Canada and Norway, reached #1 on the New Zealand Top 50 and #6 on the Australian Top 50 Spotify Chart, Top 15 on the UK Airplay Chart and UK Singles Chart. 
 
Critics have been raving about “Supalonely” with Pitchfork calling it “sun-dappled and funky,” Los Angeles Times hailing it “deeply infectious” and People Magazine praising it with “kids are loving ‘Supalonely’ but the legends are too” – referring to BENEE’s recent appearance on Elton John’s Rocket Hour Radio Show on Apple Music where he called the track a “global smash.”
 
This unprecedented run follows a massive 2019, which she capped off by taking home trophies for “Single Of The Year” [“Soaked”], “Best Solo Artist,” “Best Pop Artist” and “Breakthrough Artist Of The Year” at the New Zealand Music Awards in November. Adding to these accolades, “Soaked” and “Glitter” have also been certified Double Platinum in New Zealand and Australia and “Evil Spider” and “Find an Island” have been certified Gold in New Zealand and Australia. Her two EP’s, STELLA & STEVE and FIRE ON MARZZ, have also been certified Gold in New Zealand.  
 
ABOUT BENEE
From her hometown in Auckland, New Zealand, breakthrough popstar Stella Bennett, aka BENEE, remains unphased, unchanged and almost impervious to the cataclysmic success coming her way since releasing her debut EP, FIRE ON MARZZ, last summer. Already her tale is one of eye-watering statistics and achievements: close to ten million TikTok videos made to her latest single “Supalonely” featuring Gus Dapperton, hundreds of millions of streaming numbers, the most added song on U.S. Top 40 radio and a collection of platinum records in her home country. Her story is international and expanding on the hour, across modern and traditional platforms. Her audience seems endless. BENEE, however, remains easygoing, centered and—most importantly—herself. It’s not yet six months since the release of her second EP of 2019, STELLA & STEVE, garnered knockout reviews. Breakthrough track “Supalonely” is a slice of upbeat and original pop—like its creator, a little exotic and cheerfully weird. The song hits like a ray of sunshine, jammed to the hilt with personality and punctuated by BENEE’s verbal tics. BENEE’s music runs the gamut of everything pop can be in 2020 and is filled with her quirks in the experimental indie sounds and the cartoon-ish sprawl of her lyrical imagery. Her fans have a naturally intimate connection with her deceptively easy-going pop and that thing she still loves to call her “BENEE-VISION.”