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.

For more information check out the muzic.net.nz Profile for Benny Tipene

Benny Tipene first debuted in the Official New Zealand Top 40 Singles on 2 August 2013 with the song Laura (x Factor Performance). There are seven entries by Benny Tipene in the charts.