‘LAST YEAR WAS A
Finding fame in a pandemic can be a double-edged sword, Benee explains to
AS a musician with a massive following, Benee takes her job as a role model pretty seriously. In some ways, at least. ‘‘I do swear a lot,’’ she laughs. ‘‘So maybe not the perfect role model.’’
With a largely young audience-base, though, Stella Bennett – more widely known by that stage name Benee – says she does want to be a voice for her fans. She feels it’s important to encourage them to fuel their creativity, be outspoken and to speak openly about mental health.
‘‘I haven’t been arrested, and I’m not naughty. I’m cheeky, but not naughty. So who knows. Maybe I am [a good role model].’’
Benee shot from singing karaoke on YouTube to international stardom in a few short years. Her 2019 single Supalonely gained her worldwide recognition, and she’s been riding a wave of international talk show appearances and TikTok and YouTube stardom since.
And she did plenty of it in the middle of a pandemic. Her debut album Hey U X, in fact, was released in November 2020 – right when the world was hunkered down and New Zealand’s borders were shut.
She still pinches herself at her success, but the ride hasn’t been easy. She admits there’s a feeling the timing stole some fun out of becoming a star while the world was in lockdown.
‘‘I’ve just been like, f…, I’ve missed the perfect chance to go out and have this huge audience open up,’’ she says.
Benee’s chatting from her bed in her flat in Auckland’s Western Springs. She’s surrounded by ‘‘too many pillows’’ and a few soft toys – including one she had custommade of her dog, Tu¯ ı¯.
Tu¯ ı¯’s a ‘‘mutt’’, Benee says. And she loves her.
Home is a place she’s all too familiar with these days. The world may have become enamoured with Benee, but she’s spent more time in her room than on the stage over the past year or so. And she’s felt the effects.
‘‘In the last year I’ve lost something like 20,000 followers on Instagram. That’s not something I’m constantly checking, but even the Benee fan accounts are tagging me, like, ‘Oh my god what’s happened?’’’
As an artist, part of the role, Benee says, is putting yourself out there on the road, on stage to draw in fans. Obviously throughout the pandemic this was nearly impossible, and the resulting drop off in her perceived fan-base has been hard to watch.
‘‘I definitely missed out on a very great little opportunity that was there,’’ she says, although she remains pragmatic about it.
‘‘I could complain about it for days, but then I’d just feel more sorry for myself so y’know. What can you do?’’
That’s not to say she hasn’t struggled in recent times.
‘‘I was also really depressed,’’ she says candidly. ‘‘Last year was a write-off year, honestly.’’
For a young pop star, it seems things can get especially hard when you’re in the middle of a pandemic, can’t travel and feel like your followers are forgetting about you. ‘‘Last year I felt like everyone was giving up on me,’’ she says. ‘‘You need that in-person experience as much as they need it.’’
She’s quick to point out that 2021 wasn’t an easy one for plenty of Kiwis, and she was ‘‘one of many’’
struggling with the new normal we find ourselves in. ‘‘I think [it was] just a build up of everything. It
was just not my year. I know a lot of people have dealt with a lot of s… the past year, and it was just not a good year for a lot of people.’’
Benee’s got a pretty effective, and fairly cute, tool in her belt when it comes to dealing with anxiety though.
‘‘I shouldn’t be telling people this, because I’m turning 22,’’ she laughs. ‘‘But I have a weighted fox. It really helps with anxiety. It’s like a weighted blanket, but it’s a fox.’’
The fox is heavy, and gives the feeling of being hugged. ‘‘I spent a lot of time last year under the weighted blanket. It’s nice.’’
Heading into 2022 though, has Benee looking at life through a brighter lens. She’s got an international tour coming up which she’s excited about. She’s medicated and seeing a psychologist. She’s feeling good about the year ahead.
‘‘It’s definitely a different vibe this year which is nice.’’
While the year started with Benee having to cancel her March, 2022 New Zealand tour due to Omicron restrictions, there is a return to live performances on the horizon, with two shows scheduled with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in October.
And before that she’s finally hitting the road for the worldwide tour that’s been a long time coming. She’ll be touring Europe in May, before travelling to the United States throughout June.
It’s been a long time coming, and she’s excited.
‘‘Obviously people are itching to go back and see music live,’’ she says.
‘‘I think that’s a mutual feeling for the artists. It’s such a huge part of the job, and it’s one of the most rewarding parts because you meet the people who listen to your music. You become friends with these people who are randoms, who you’ve never talked to before.
‘‘It’s hard to feel that kind of love through the internet.’’
It makes sense, then, that Benee plans to make a more permanent international move. She’s planning to do a ‘‘minor’’ move to the United States to coincide with her tour this year, then will make a full move to Los Angeles next year. Though she’s adamant she’ll always call New Zealand home. ‘‘This is still by far my favourite country in the world. And it’s nice that I have a place here with my dog and [friends and family]. I wouldn’t want to have any other base to call home and to go back to. In summer this is like paradise.’’
‘The internet’s f…ed up. The internet has a lot of work to be done. I don’t even know how you’d approach that, how would you tweak that? I don’t know. It’s so toxic.’
While New Zealand may be paradise, living in it has meant that Benee’s profile was primarily maintained through the internet. That means she’s all-too familiar with just how ‘‘mean’’ people online can be.
‘‘I get people calling me a one-hit wonder on TikTok every day, and it’s just like, ‘f..k’, but that’s alright, we just roll on,’’ she says. Although just rolling on isn’t always as easy as it seems.
Benee’s label wanted her creating TikTok videos, and while she felt she wasn’t interesting or creative enough for the platform, she relented and started making ‘‘cringe videos’’.
And she’s been amazed at just how nasty people on TikTok can be to each other.
‘‘These kids are obviously bored, but they’re being so mean to people. I’ve watched videos of [adults] crying saying people are being so horrible.’’
Sure, Benee’s a celebrity, and celebrities are prime targets for online bullies, but she’s also pretty sensitive. And she says online bullying isn’t something that anyone should have to put up with, regardless of their public profile.
‘‘There’s this weird thing that people don’t understand – that artists are humans. Even if someone’s an influencer, they still have feelings,’’ she says.
And so her solution? She starts a conversation.
Funnily enough, when pulled up on their behaviour, she says a lot of the cruel commenters back down pretty quickly.
Although that ‘‘fighting back’’ stance has landed Benee in hot water with users too, as she explains how one user accused her of starting a ‘‘witch hunt’’ when she replied to the woman’s cruel comments.
‘‘She was like, ‘how do you think this feels to me?’ I was, like, bro…
‘‘That’s exactly what it’s like for me, only I get it every day. It sucks that you have to be put into the same position to be able to understand that’s not something you should say to someone.
‘‘The internet’s f…ed up,’’ Benee says, adding that she’d never get the comments in person that she gets online.
‘‘The internet has a lot of work to be done. I don’t even know how you’d approach that, how
Growing up in Auckland suburb Grey Lynn, Benee was lucky to be brought up by creative parents – encouraged to play instruments and express herself creatively, she grew up with her parents’ ‘‘muso friends’’, with the Grey Lynn Festival and local artists.
‘‘I was one of those little kids that played with mud pies, and played with the saxophone,’’ she says.
Although it wasn’t until her final year of high school at St Mary’s College that Benee started really getting into music.
‘‘I was like, what the f… am I going to do with my life. It’s so s…ty. I felt like there was so much pressure in the final year of high school to know what you’re going to do.
‘‘Sorry I swear so much,’’ she says, covering her mouth and laughing.
Benee realised, though, that she wanted to do something creative. She wanted to be a YouTuber or singer. She went to AUT to study communications, but dropped out after two weeks. And so she turned to SoundCloud and started releasing lo-fi recordings of demos.
Pretty quickly, she was discovered by producer Josh Fountain
and eventually released her single Tough Guy in 2017.
Benee’s eyes light up when she recalls her first ever live show at Auckland venue Neck of the Woods. ‘‘[I thought] this is the coolest thing ever. It was insane,’’ she says.
And now, she’s on the verge of releasing her new 7-track EP, Lychee.
‘‘I think there’s definitely darker elements [in this music], some bits of rock in there. I’m not saying I’m making rock music, but I’ve pulled from that genre,’’ she says. ‘‘I love when I have songs that sound completely different from my other work.’’
And she’s excited about letting it out into the world. ‘‘I think it’s always going to be a bit nerve-racking, but it’s also exciting. Feeding people new music. I think that’s what people love. To receive music.’’ And Benee loves playing.
So if all goes according to plan, 2022 will be the year of everyone getting what they want.
Lychee