New Zealand's BENEE continuing her breakthrough at Coachella

Alt-pop rocker BENEE made her Coachella debut on Friday, and she said the life-changing moment was a success with one minor exception.

"I may need to rethink my outfit for next week," the 23-year-old from New Zealand said with a laugh. She's referencing her dark gray, leather-looking biker-jacket and shorts combo with knee-high boots, which, while stylish, proved to be much too hot for the desert temps that climbed into the high 80s during her afternoon set. At one point, she guzzled some water, paused for a second, looked out at the crowd, and then just poured the rest of the water on her head.

It was all part of a performance that showed no signs of nervousness as BENEE delighted her fans, many of whom have latched onto her via TikTok, with a high-energy show that included her latest hit "Green Honda," her biggest hit "Supalonely" and a mix of old and new stuff in between.

BENEE (which is pronounced like Binny, not Buh-nay) took time out Saturday, the day after her Coachella debut, to sit down with The Desert Sun to talk about her performance and her career.

DS: Looked like you had a ton of fun on stage, how would you describe your first Coachella?

B: I mean you grow up and you hear about Coachella and yeah, maybe you've played at other festivals, but this was definitely something I'll never forget. Being up there, the crowd was showing a lot of love. Couldn't be happier.

Interacting with the crowd seems to be an important part of the experience for you (BENEE sat on the stage for a song, even laid down on the stage during a song, and at the end, saw a pair of fans with a big New Zealand flag and got down from the stage and put the flag around her like a cape), is that something you plan out to an extent? I particularly liked your fun facial expressions.

Is it too much, though? Sometimes I worry.

No, not at all.

OK, good. Yeah I try to just pretty much be myself up there, and I'm having fun, and I think the fans sort of respond to that, too.

Speaking of your fans, you've really gotten a boost from your TikTok presence. (Her song "Glitter" was used as the background music to a viral TikTok dance before she was even on TikTok) When did you realize that this was a smart way to put yourself out there?

During the pandemic, like a lot of people, I had more free time and I started playing around on TikTok. TikTok, though, is a lot about dancing and I have the worst dance moves, but I still love it. It's a way to get some stuff out there to fans in a different way. And I was surprised, of course, just how much love I've received on there. ... Also, though, the amount of hate on social media is insane, too, if we're being honest.

Does it rankle you at all if someone says something like "Oh, BENEE, that's that TikTok star" or not really?

I know what you're getting at, but I guess I would say no. I don't take offense to something like that, social media has helped me along and I'm happy that more people have gotten to know about me in that way.

Let's talk about your music, obviously right now "Green Honda" is blowing up and it seems a little different, harder and more of a straight dance banger maybe than your earlier stuff, which had a bit more of a mellow tinge to it. Is this an indicator that your sound is changing or evolving in a way?

No, not really, I don't think. It's more of a one-off. I don't think of it as a new direction or anything. In fact, I also played two other new songs yesterday ("Love Voodoo" and "Sports Mode," which she played live for the first time at Coachella) and those are, I think, similar to what I've always done. So I don't think so.

So what's next for you, aside from Weekend 2 at Coachella (BENEE hits the Mojave tent at Coachella again on Friday around 3:45 p.m.), as far as your music goes?

A new album. (Big smile on her face, revealing her bejeweled front teeth)

Really? Exciting. How far along are you? (It would be the follow-up to her debut album "Hey U X" released in 2020.)

I would say, half done, maybe not quite half done, but it's going well. I'm in the process of moving to Los Angeles, and once I'm settled, I'll be able to put all my focus into finishing the album, so I'm really looking forward to that.

BENEE'S Coachella Weekend One Setlist

• "Kool"

• "Find an island"

• "Soaked"

• "Love Voodoo"

• "Green Honda"

• "Sports Mode"

• "Glitter"

• "Never Ending"

• "Supalonely" (with Gus Dapperton)

• "Sheesh"

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Rising star BENEE discusses Coachella debut, new album