Syd, born Sydney Loren Bennett on April 23, 1992, in Los Angeles, California, is an American singer, songwriter, producer and musician who first gained recognition through the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future before becoming the founding frontwoman of the alternative R&B band The Internet. She was raised in Los Angeles in a musical family; her mother had an interest in DJing and sound engineering, while her father is Jamaican and his brother, Mikey Bennett, is a well-known Jamaican reggae producer. Her mother’s love of soul and reggae and her father’s family connection to music strongly influenced Syd’s musical upbringing. Syd began learning piano at age four, later learned drums and taught herself guitar, and attended Hamilton High School Music Academy, where her interest gradually shifted from simply playing instruments toward music production and engineering. At around 14, she built a small recording studio at her parents’ home and began producing and recording music there; that studio eventually became a meeting place for members of Odd Future, including Tyler, the Creator, after Syd connected with the collective through MySpace. Her younger brother Travis Bennett, known professionally as Taco, was also a member of Odd Future and later pursued acting and writing. Today, Syd is recognized not only for her work as a vocalist but also for her skills as a writer, producer and musician, having continued to develop her own sound while working with other major artists and maintaining her connection to The Internet.
Four: All About Me
“All About Me” is Syd’s first official solo single, released on January 11, 2017, through Columbia Records as the lead single from her debut solo album, Fin. The song was written by Syd and produced by her fellow The Internet member Steve Lacy, and it marked an important moment in her career because it introduced her as a solo artist after years of recognition as the lead vocalist of The Internet and a member of Odd Future. Syd’s “All About Me” has garnered over 15.2M streams on Spotify and over 4.4M views on its official music video on YouTube. Despite its title, the song is less about self-centeredness than it initially suggests: lyrically, Syd presents herself as an artist stepping into her own identity while emphasizing the importance of staying connected to the people who supported her. The song’s central message is essentially that going solo does not mean abandoning your family or your original circle, with Syd stressing loyalty and keeping her close-knit crew around her. Commercially, “All About Me” was not a major mainstream chart hit, so its importance is better measured by its role in launching Syd’s solo career rather than by chart numbers. It received positive critical attention, with Pitchfork praising its hypnotic production and describing the song as a strong indication of Syd’s more mainstream-leaning solo sound. Ultimately, “All About Me” is significant because it served as Syd’s official introduction as a solo artist, presenting her individuality while making it clear that her solo journey was still rooted in the people and musical community she came from.
FYI
- Syd co-founded The Internet with Matt Martians in 2011, establishing herself as one of the distinctive voices of alternative R&B, before launching her solo career with Fin in 2017 and later Broken Hearts Club in 2022.
Three: Birthday
Released on August 26, 2020, “Birthday” brought Syd together with British electronic duo Disclosure and singer Kehlani for a sleek, R&B-influenced track from Disclosure’s third studio album, Energy. The collaboration was particularly valuable to Syd because it brought her alternative-R&B sound to a much broader international audience through Disclosure’s electronic-pop platform, while also placing her alongside Kehlani, an established R&B artist. Syd was not simply a background feature on the record either—she was one of the song’s credited vocalists and co-writers alongside Kehlani and Disclosure’s Guy and Howard Lawrence. Commercially, “Birthday” became Syd’s first and, to date, only entry on the UK Official Singles Chart, reaching No. 81 and spending one week on the chart. It also garnered over 28.3M streams on Spotify and over 5.1M views on its official music video on YouTube. Lyrically, the song explores the awkwardness of considering whether to contact an ex on their birthday, with Syd and Kehlani portraying two people who still care about one another but recognize that reconnecting could reopen old wounds; Disclosure’s Guy Lawrence explained that the song came from the question of whether calling an ex simply to say hello would be inappropriate or awkward. Ultimately, “Birthday” helped Syd broaden her artistic reach, earn an official UK chart entry and demonstrate that her voice could comfortably translate into the electronic-pop/R&B space alongside major international collaborators, making it an important career moment during the 2020 period.
Two: Anytime
Syd’s most recent release sees her leaning into a more mature and open-hearted side of her songwriting, with “Any Time” featuring James Fauntleroy released on July 15, 2026 through Free Lunch Records/Warner Records. The song arrived just two days before her third solo album, Beard, which marked her first solo album in four years. This track has garnered over 746K streams on Spotify and over 50K views on its official music video on YouTube. The song is particularly significant because it reflects the broader personal growth behind Beard: Syd has described the album as a coming-of-age project and a snapshot of her life at this point, with the record centered on embracing parts of herself that she was once taught to feel insecure about and turning those insecurities into confidence. “Any Time” also highlights Syd’s development as a producer, with Beard showcasing her production abilities across 10 of its 12 tracks, including this collaboration with Fauntleroy. The accompanying music video, released alongside Beard on July 17, 2026, stars Syd and her wife, Simone, in a series of romantic-comedy-inspired scenes that visually reinforce the song’s theme of relationship chemistry and connection.
Awards/Nominations
- Syd has received two Grammy nominations in her career, although neither was a solo nomination: her first came as a member of The Internet when Ego Death was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at the 58th Grammy Awards in 2016.
- Her second came as a featured songwriter on Beyoncé’s Renaissance, which received an Album of the Year nomination at the 65th Grammy Awards in 2023. She has not won a Grammy to date.
- The Internet also received Soul Train Music Awards nominations, including a 2015 Centric Certified Award nomination and three nominations in 2018 for “Come Over,” Hive Mind, and its music video, further recognizing the group’s contribution to contemporary R&B.
Discography
* Fin (2017)
* Broken Hearts Club (2022)
* Beard (2026)
One: Daddy Issues (Remix)
“Daddy Issues (Remix),” is Syd’s collaboration with The Neighbourhood, which stands as the biggest hit associated with her in terms of the song’s enormous long-term reach and streaming impact. The remix was released in 2015, with Spotify listing the Syd version as a November 13, 2015 release, and it features Syd alongside The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford. The song itself explores the emotional effects of complicated relationships with parents and how those experiences can influence romantic relationships later in life, with the lyrics portraying two people recognizing that they share similar emotional baggage. Commercially, the song has achieved remarkable longevity: the Syd remix has garnered over 237M streams on Spotify and over 6.5M views on YouTube, while the original “Daddy Issues” has surpassed 2B Spotify streams and received 5× Platinum certification from the RIAA, reflecting the enormous resurgence the song experienced years after its initial release. The track’s renewed popularity during the streaming and social-media era introduced Syd’s voice to listeners far beyond the audience she had built through The Internet and her solo work, making it one of the most recognizable recordings connected to her career. Ultimately, “Daddy Issues (Remix)” is an important part of Syd’s catalogue because its extraordinary longevity, massive streaming numbers and association with one of The Neighbourhood’s biggest songs have made it arguably her most commercially impactful recording as a featured artist.