Bio

Prior to becoming a household name in New Zealand, Benny Tipene spent his early years in Palmerston North and initially taught himself the piano in order to learn Let It Be as a tribute to his grandmother. After wanting to play in a band but being told by musicians that no-one played piano in a rock band, he learned guitar. The band then let him in, and they named themselves The Nerines.

Later, Benny ventured over to the UK and Europe on his Big OE, taking a guitar and teaching himself to write songs. Not long after returning home, the 23-year-old heard about The X Factor auditions and went along out of curiosity to see what it was all about – having never seen the show before.

But from that very first audition, Benny had New Zealand hooked – with this faux ‘50s look, skin-tight black jeans and that knee-weakening grin, not to mention his soulful folk voice and charismatic charm.

Fast forward six months and the self-taught musician had taken out the third spot in the competition and cemented his place on the New Zealand music scene.

Links

• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Bandcamp Page
• Apple Music Page