How Supalonely became a global hit without Benne leaving home

Benee’s Supalonely became an isolation anthem, making the Top 10 in Australia and featuring in music charts across the world. And the Kiwi singer managed to do it all without leaving Auckland.

Kiwi singer Benee has managed to score a global hit this year without leaving home.

Benee’s Supalonely was already getting traction at the start of 2020, but the pandemic saw it embraced as an isolation anthem.

Supalonely went Top 10 in Australia, Top 20 in the UK and is sitting at No. 39 on the US chart, while the video has been viewed over 70 million times. It’s also been the soundtrack to countless Tik Tok videos – translating into another seven billion views.

Benee filmed performances for Ellen and Jimmy Fallon from her Auckland home as well as doing endless global interviews.

“It kind of changes everything,” Benee says. “I haven’t had to go anywhere. You realise you don’t have to fly to the States one day and London the next, you can do it from your bedroom on your computer.

“I’d Zoom every day and I had my pyjama pants on, I was quite happy.”

The 20-year-old (born Stella Bennett) also released a stripped back version of Supalonely, retitled Lownley.

“The song was originally written about my break up, but it’s not that now for a lot of people, it’s about isolation. For Lownley, I just wanted to highlight the actual mood I was in when I was writing the song.”

Benee admits her ex knows he’s the subject of a global hit, “but I’m no longer talking to them!”

Another career goal Benee has ticked off is being Apple Music’s Up Next act, becoming a global priority for the company, following in the footsteps of Billie Eilish, Khalid and Amy Shark. She’s also the first ever artist from New Zealand to get the honour.

She filmed her own Up Next doco in Auckland, on an iPhone, visiting some of her favourite haunts and explaining her charmed rise from making pizzas to making worldwide hits in under three years.

“I’ve always watched the Up Next docos on YouTube. I watch a lot of YouTube, so finding out I was going to be the next one was a real moment.”

The campaign also saw her interviewed by Apple Music’s Zane Lowe – not just another Kiwi, but a family friend who used to work with her dad at Max TV.

Benee’s parents have influenced her music tastes – introducing her to The Smiths, Bjork, Groove Armada and Radiohead.

In February Benee met Elton John, who had her as guest host on a New Zealand-themed episode of his Rocket Hour streaming show. He singled out Supalonely as “a smash record”, long before it had exploded.

Benee has “almost finished” her debut album, with a Wu-Tang-inspired, hip hop influenced single out Night Garden now – she’ll perform it live on the first episode of new ABC music show The Sound this Sunday at 5.30pm. She says having her most experimental release to date become her breakthrough hit gives her immense freedom.

“I didn’t think Supalonely would be a song of mine that a lot of people would like,” she says. “I have a ton of autotune in it, I’m swearing in it, that makes me confident I can write any kind of thing I want to in the future.”