Stella Rose Bennett (born 30 January 2000), better known as Benee (stylised in all caps; pronounced /ˈbɛniː/[1]) and formerly Bene,[2] is a New Zealand singer and songwriter from Auckland. In both 2019 and 2020, she consecutively won Single of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards. Benee initially gained local prominence with her singles “Glitter” and “Soaked”, before her 2019 single “Supalonely” saw international popularity following its success on the video-sharing platforms TikTok and YouTube. Benee subsequently released her debut album, Hey U X, in November 2020.
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”. Since 2018, Benee has earned seven entries on the Triple J Hottest 100, three of which were in the 2019 list. She also released her third EP, Lychee, in March 2022 which charted at number 13 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.
2000–2017: Early life
Stella Rose Bennett was born on 30 January 2000 and raised in the suburb of Grey Lynn in Auckland. She grew up in a “really musical” family with parents who would expose her to the catalogs of Radiohead, Bjork and Groove Armada. From the age of eight, Benee began taking guitar lessons in primary school before starting saxophone lessons in high school. Eventually, Benee dropped all music in order to prioritise water polo. She claims it “was [her] life” and that she at one point hoped to represent New Zealand competitively. Benee later became interested in writing and recording music at the age of 17, after deciding that she did not want to pursue a career in water polo. Benee attended an all girls Catholic school, St Mary’s College, where music was compulsory for four years.