It’s been almost a decade since vocalist Eric Benét has released an LP, but he’s returned with a fury this year. Benét, who’ll be appearing at the City Winery for two shows December 17, was extremely active from the early 90s until 2016. He had the successful LPs “True to Myself,” “A Day in the Life,” “Hurricane” and “Love and Life.” Each one either had hit singles and/or spent lots of time on the charts. He became known for many successful duets and collaborations.
Benét also started his own label in 2012, then subsequently released four more albums. But from 2016 until the present, Benét did other things, among them acting. He had a recurring role on “For Your Love” (1998–2002). Benét made his film debut acting alongside Mariah Carey in the 2001 film “Glitter.” He was also on the TV show “Half & Half” in 2005, and had a recurring role on MTV’s show “Kaya” in 2007. Benét made his second big screen appearance in the film “Trinity Goodheart,” and was a guest star during the second season of BET’s “The Real Husbands of Hollywood.” His most recent appearance was in the 2022 production “Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story.” Over the course of his eight studio albums and other projects, Benét has received four Grammy nominations.
But he’s been very active in 2025, with two new albums. One is a holiday release, “It’s Christmas.” But the more prominent effort is “The Co-Star,” which was released this past June. It pairs Benét with a sterling list of women artists, 16 in total. The list of collaborators: “The Co-Star” is the evolution of a five-song project Benét released in 2024 titled “Duets.” There are three singles from that release that also appear on “The Co-Star.” These are “Something We Can Make Love To” featuring Tamar Braxton, “So Distracted” with Chante Moore, and “Fly Away” with Corinne Bailey Rae. Benét also is joined by India.Arie, Goapele, Melanie Fiona, Ari Lennox and Alex Isley.
Benét is still maintaining a label, and he recruited recent signee Autumn Paige on a track with Jordin Sparks and EB. Yet another special guest is Judith Hill, a recent contestant on “The Voice,” as well as a Prince protégée. Additional artists working on this one with Benét include the Italian trio SalDoce, pop singer Pia Toscano and Keri Hilson. The Hilson/Benét duet “Can’t Wait” was one of the earliest singles released. In October a video for “Must Be Love,” the duet between Benét and India.Arie, was issued, and that song potentially could become the album’s biggest hit.
Benét’s shows will be at 6 and 9:30 p.m. City Winery is located at 609 Lafayette Street.
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