Benee: More Than A One-Hit, Viral Wonder
Photo by Julie Rønberg on Unsplash
Everyone has heard Benee’s hit ‘Supalonely,’ by now after it went viral on the video sharing app, TikTok, these past few months. It was posted on YouTube in February and it already has over 117,000,000 views as of this writing. With her whimsical flair and breezy vocals, Benee has proven to be an artist worth watching in the coming years.
I too have hopped on the ‘Supalonely,’ train, but Benee has so much more to offer than one funky jam. With tracks like ‘Monsta,’ ‘Evil Spider,’ and ‘Afterlife,’ Benee’s art taps into an eccentric aesthetic overlaid by dark themes — and her newest single ‘Night Garden,’ is no different.
The song takes you on a creepy, albeit curious journey into a garden at nightfall and the sound reflects the track’s concept seamlessly. With every strolling drum beat, Benee’s impeccable harmonizing and hum-drum bassline, you truly feel as if you’re being watched, but somehow you’re not mad at your predicament. The charm of Benee’s music is the juxtaposition of macabre storylines with a dreamy wistfulness.
‘Night Garden’ reminds me a lot of ‘Monsta,’ especially lyrically. Both songs talk about men watching you from the dark, being followed through the night and feelings of fear mixed with inquisition. Each song feels like a leisure walk through a park, but demands that the listener pay attention to the tale. They both remind me of tracks I would play next to a campfire, telling ghost stories to my friends before bed.
The wonder of these two pieces is the gentle way in which they describe the awful situation of being stalked, but in an artful, cathartic moment in time. I believe there are several characteristics that make a work of art great, but for me one of the best ones is being able to take something terrible, horrific or ugly and transform it into something beautiful. Each time Benee crafts a song like this, she nails that idea on the head.
Featured artists Kenny Beats and Bakar throw in their own dashes of charisma to the song, adding to the eerie atmosphere. In the music video, Bakar’s character sees what we assume is Benee herself transforming in and out of a ghoulish form, implementing another layer to this grim adventure. Bakar meets an unfortunate end at the hands of the demon of the ‘Night Garden,’ as he’s tricked and wrapped into a hedge. “Walk through the garden of Eden / Night time, I need it / With a girl called Eve, she don't really like speakin,'” hails to the experience of being entranced by someone, only to discover their villainy that lies beneath the surface. The flavor of Bakar’s segment allows the listener to hear multiple sides of the Night Garden’s essence, leaving you well-bewitched and spooked. The song ends with a familiar final frame that reminds me of ‘Thriller,’ by Michael Jackson.
Whether you’re in the mood to listen to something nostalgic, forlorn or even vengeful, Benee is an up-and-coming artist to keep an eye on. Her recent success only piggybacks to her next release — she certainly went viral for a reason. In the future, I look forward to hearing more of these dreamlike songs and perhaps when the COVID-19 quarantines are over, Benee will be able to bring this momentum back on to the stage soon.
To listen to Benee, visit her Spotfiy profile here.
