Stella Rose Bennett was born 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, Björk, 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 prioritize 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.
BENEE began her music career by posting covers to SoundCloud and began making her own music in her final year of high school. After dropping out of a communications degree at the Auckland University of Technology after two weeks, during what she called "a quarter-life crisis", she decided to enter the music business professionally. Her music caught the attention of Josh Fountain, a producer and member of the band Leisure, with whom she produced two singles: "Tough Guy", released in 2017, and "Soaked", released in 2018. she earned her first career entry on the Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2018 with "Soaked" at #58.
In both 2019 and 2020, she consecutively won Single of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Artist at the New Zealand 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 platform 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 five 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.
In an interview for The New Zealand Herald, Benee revealed that she has dyslexia. She also described her childhood experiences with songwriting:
"throughout school I struggled with writing....I liked creative writing, that was what I loved, but I was always making mistakes, and I was confined to this way that I should write....Songwriting for me was this place where I don't have to be grammatically correct. Learning the craft with [Josh Fountain], when he was sharing all his knowledge – something clicked, and I was just like, I love this. It's a great emotional outlet for me; I just love splashing what I feel on to a track."
Wishful Thinking
BENEE Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your name is echoing inside of my mind
Then I got to know you
Oh, false hopes rule
And then I opened
Right up to you
This stupid act, that things aren't bad
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now but that's wishful thinking
Hard to remember everything that you said
Won't let that pointless talk stay trapped in my head
Then I got to know you
Oh false hopes rule
Those days are gone now
You left too soon
This stupid act, that things aren't bad
We could never be like that
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now but that's wishful thinking
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just straight scared
Afraid it might work out
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just straight scared
Afraid it might work out
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now but that's wishful thinking
Everything you said (you said)
Makes sense to me right now (right now)
You were just straight scared (straight scared)
Afraid it might work out (work out)
Everything you said (you said)
Makes sense to me right now (right now)
You were just straight scared (straight scared)
Afraid it might work out
(Afraid it might work out)
In "Wishful Thinking," BENEE is expressing her feelings for someone who she can't be with anymore. At first, she didn't think about that person very often. However, after some time, their name started echoing in her mind. She then became closer to that person, but sadly, they left too soon. BENEE also admits that she frequently lies around daydreaming and wanting to be with that person when she knows it is just wishful thinking.
The song has a melancholic tone, with the lyrics indicating that BENEE is still dealing with the aftermath of her relationship with that person. BENEE repeats certain phrases in the song, such as "Lying around daydreaming, wanting you now but that's wishful thinking" and "You were just straight scared, afraid it might work out," to emphasize the heartbreak that she feels.
To summarize, "Wishful Thinking" is a sad and heartfelt song about a relationship that couldn't be, with BENEE wanting to be with that person, but knowing that it's just a fantasy.
Line by Line Meaning
Not like I think about it night after night
I don't constantly dwell on it
You're name is echoing inside of my mind
I can't stop thinking about you
Then I got to know you, oh false hopes rule
I thought there was a chance for us, but it was just wishful thinking
And then I opened, right up to you
I let my guard down and let you in
This stupid act, that things aren't bad
Pretending everything is fine is foolish
We could never be like that
We can't pretend like nothing happened
Live far away now
We're separated by distance
That's no joke
It's a serious situation
No way to reach you when I'm low
I can't turn to you for comfort
Lying around day dreaming
I'm lost in thought
Wanting you now but that's wishful thinking
I desire you, but I know it's not realistic
Hard to remember everything that you said
I struggle to recall our conversations
Won't let that pointless talk stay trapped in my head
I won't let our meaningless conversations consume me
Those days are gone now, you left too soon
Our time together is over, and it ended abruptly
Everything you said, makes sense to me right now
I understand you better now
You were just straight scared, afraid it might work out
You were afraid of the possible outcome
Afraid it might work out
Fear prevented us from trying
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stella Bennett
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Jairoalvarz
[Verse 1]
Not like I think about it night after night
Your name is echoing inside of my mind
Then I got to know you
Oh, false hopes rule
And then I opened
Right up to you
[Pre-Chorus]
This stupid act, that things aren't bad
We could never be like that
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
[Chorus]
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
[Verse 2]
I do remember everything that you said
Won't let that pointless talk stay trapped in my head
Then I got to know you
Oh, false hopes rule
Those days are gone now
You left too soon
[Pre-Chorus]
This stupid act, that things aren't bad
We could never be like that
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
[Chorus]
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
[Bridge]
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
[Chorus]
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
[Outro]
Everything you said (You said)
Makes sense to me right now (Right now)
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out (Work out)
Everything you said (You said)
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
(Afraid that'd I'd work out)
@ashketchumse
Not like I think about it night after night
Your name is echoing inside of my mind
Then I got to know you
All false hopes rued
And then I opened
Right up to you
This stupid act, that thing's aren't bad
We could never be like that
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
I do remember everything that you said
Won't let that pointless talk stay trapped in my head
Then I got to know you
All false hopes rued
Those days are gone now
You left too soon
This stupid act, that thing's aren't bad
We could never be like that
Live far away now, that's no joke
No way to reach you when I'm low
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
Everything you said
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Lying around, daydreaming
Wanting you now, but that's wishful thinking
Everything you said (You said)
Makes sense to me right now (Right now)
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out (Work out)
Everything you said (You said)
Makes sense to me right now
You were just transparent
Afraid that'd I'd work out
(Afraid that'd I'd work out)
@TheTouringBus
Can’t believe that Supalonely got insanely popular while AMAZING songs like Wishful Thinking and Find an Island are just chilling
@josephnguyen4701
supalonely is probably my least favourite one lol
@nobodyspecial4676
@@josephnguyen4701 agree
@scream8190
I feel like Supalonley is the least BENEE song BENEE has made 😑
@rizkygerry9252
Agreeee
@justinnguyen3906
Yuppp wishful thinking and afterlife hit different that “supalonely”..
@blackberry8615
Being in love has to be the worst and best feeling ever.
@ianmusic911
Ya it is
@wonholover2584
yuuup i know what you mean
@yurrnbbg
Yea it does