SINGAPORE - The world is catching on to the catchy pop tunes of Auckland-born singer Benee, thanks to the hit song Supalonely.

In New Zealand, the 20-year-old, who released debut single Tough Guy in 2017, is one of the country's fastest rising music stars.

She won four prizes at the 2019 New Zealand Music Awards, including for Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist.

Growing up in a musical family, she picked up the saxophone and guitar at the age of eight.

"It was always kind of a fantasy idea for me," she says of making music full-time after dropping out of university. "I didn't really even think that I would make it because, you know, New Zealand is so small and there are (already) so many people in the industry."

1

Her name is pronounced 'Bee-nee'

Born Stella Rose Bennett, she previously used the stage name Bene but had to add the extra "e" at the end as people kept pronouncing it wrong.

She also got tired of people sending her photos of brunch staple eggs benedict - simply called "bene" in some cafes - especially as she does not eat eggs.

2

Her breakout single Supalonely is in Top 10 charts all over the world, including in Singapore

"It's insane," she says in a telephone interview from her home in Auckland, where she is staying in due to the Covid-19 outbreak. "It's obviously never happened to me before."

The song, one of the tunes in her second EP Stella & Steve (2019) and featuring American singer Gus Dapperton, has since taken on a life of its own.

"It's so cool how it's opened up all of these kinds of doors to places that didn't previously know about my music."

3

Supalonely has become an anthem for many under quarantine

Benee says that she originally wrote it as a break-up song as she was feeling low after the end of a relationship.

"Instead of making a kind of slow, sad break-up song, I wanted to put a spin on it and be super self-deprecating and poke fun at myself for being sad and lonely at the time.

"I think that's why it's resonated so well with everyone right now, because it is kind of a weird time where a lot of people probably are feeling quite lonely."

4

Her song has sparked close to 10 million TikTok dance videos

The disco-tinged Supalonely sparked off a TikTok dance craze that has even been done by stars such as singer-actress Jennifer Lopez.

But Benee's favourite TikTok video was one that featured a hamster seemingly dancing to the song.

"We don't have hamsters in New Zealand unfortunately but I love animals," she says.

5

She has been working on new songs while under quarantine

The singer-songwriter has been using the time indoors to improve her guitar-playingand has come up with new songs on the instrument.

She describes them as being somewhat mellow.

"I've made a couple of quite slow ones with the guitar. I think being in isolation kind of brought out that chill, indie vibe."