Harry Were“Supalonely” singer Benee‘s debut album Hey u x is out today. Although her home country of New Zealand now has COVID-19 under control, Benee says quarantine had a huge effect on the album.
“We were originally planning to have an album out a little bit earlier on and I was feeling like I was going to be really rushed and not have everything that I wanted to be on the album,” she tells ABC Audio.
But when her tour was canceled, Benee had the time to write more material.
“I spent the year kind of shuffling everything around and really making every song on it be a song that I’m super-excited about,” she notes. “And so it was actually like a good thing that I waited.”
Benee says the album’s title, pronounced “Hey You X,” is “quite cutesy.”
“I guess it’s kind of like a message that I send my mates,” she explains. “When I was figuring out a name for the album, I wanted it to feel very kind of personal for the person who’s listening to it…almost like a message that I’m sending to them.”
That message is pretty eclectic, with a variety of sounds and guest artists like Lily Allen, Grimes and Gus Dapperton.
“I just wanted it to be all over the place, to be honest,” says Benee. While noting that the “common theme” is “loneliness and relationships and stuff,” she says, “I always want everything to sound very different.”
Benee’s also up for Favorite New Artist at the People’s Choice Awards.
“It’s nice to be recognized for the work that you’ve been putting in,” she admits. “I used to play sports…getting an award in sport for me it was like the biggest thing ever! So it’s cool to get them now.”
By Andrea Dresdale
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