"Supalonely" is a song by New Zealand singer Benee featuring American singer Gus Dapperton, released through Republic Records on 15 November 2019 as the third and final single from her second extended play Stella & Steve (2019). It also appears on Benee's debut studio album, Hey U X (2020). The song gained immense popularity on the online video-sharing platform TikTok in March 2020, gaining more than 6.9 billion plays for the month. It peaked on the top 40 in over 25 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands and New Zealand, earning a gold certification in its second week in the latter.
The Straits Times also credited the success of "Supalonely" to be owed to those who resonated with the song's themes at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which were ongoing at the time of the song's popularisation.
Background
"Supalonely" was written during a month-long trip to Los Angeles. It was inspired by Benee's breaking up with her boyfriend, and was written as a song in which she could mock her own sadness. The song "Blu" from Stella & Steve was recorded the day after "Supalonely" during the Los Angeles trip, and was inspired by the same break-up.
Up to three versions of the song exist: the explicit version, the clean version which omits the word "fuck" and replaces the word "bitch" with "chick", and another that completely omits Gus Dapperton's verses and skips straight to the outro after the second chorus.
Music video
The song's music video clocked 70 million views in June 2020, four months after its initial release. The song's music video was described as "dreamy" and "colourful" by Billboard. Emily Rose of Ones to Watch dubbed the music video as "a technicolor dream" and wrote that Benee "shows off some killer dance moves while proving that you can still have a great time all on your own." Rose Riddell of Coup de Main simply wrote that the music video features Benee "dancing around a house and chilling in a bathtub" before shouting out the lyric "Now I'm in the bathtub crying." The singer herself said on the video, "It starts with me being a lonely teen at home then turns into this weird dreamscape, where I end up dancing around with Gus."
Critical reception On his Apple Music show, Elton John described "Supalonely" as a "smash record", and further described Benee as "an amazing young artist" who "writes really brilliantly". Ariana Marsh from i-D wrote that the "sunny pop" song "turns your typical breakup song on its head". The song was described by Glenn Rowley of Billboard as "a quirky, knowing ode to the art of loneliness". Billboard also ranked "Supalonely" at number 17 on their list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2020".
Commercial performance The song was certified Gold on its second week on the New Zealand Top 40, when it rose to number two, from its debut at number three the week before. It peaked in the top 10 of many other countries including Australia, Canada, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as in the top 40 of countries such as the UK, the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland and Denmark.
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2020) Peakposition Argentina (Argentina Hot 100) 19 Colombia (National-Report) 100 Croatia (HRT) 3 Germany Airplay (BVMI) 1 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 6 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) 9 Lithuania (AGATA) 9 Malaysia (RIM) 3 Mexico Airplay (Billboard) 1 Mexico (Monitor Latino) 9 Netherlands (Mega Top 50) 1 Singapore (RIAS) 8 Slovenia (SloTop50) 4 US Rolling Stone Top 100 41
Year-end charts Chart (2020) Position Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino) 73 Australia (ARIA) 26 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 33 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 19 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 41 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 54 Denmark (Tracklisten) 92 France (SNEP) 184 Hungary (Stream Top 40) 69 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 30 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 39 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 16 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 62 US Billboard Hot 100 84 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard) 38 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 25 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 8
Certifications
Release history Region Date Format Label Australia 6 December 2019 Contemporary hit radio Republic New Zealand Italy 13 March 2020 United States 17 March 2020 Norway 20 March 2020Release dates in Norwegian radio stations: NRK P1 NRK P3: United Kingdom 27 March 2020 Various 6 December 2024 7"
Acoustic version
In May 2020, Benee released an acoustic remix of the song, entitled "Lownely". This "dreamy" version of the song was recorded at Golden Age Studio in Morningside, Auckland on 25 March, a few hours before the national lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand began.
Charts Chart (2020) Peakposition New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 24 New Zealand Artist Hot Singles (RMNZ) 1
Release history Region Date Format Label Various 6 May 2020 Digital download Republic
References