If you haven’t heard of the backflipping, chandelier-swinging, insanely talented vocalist (whose released songs absolutely do not showcase his angelic voice to its fullest extent), Benson Boone, where have you been for the past year?
From “Beautiful Things” topping 70 weeks on the Billboard 100, to backflipping off the AMA stage during his performance of “Mystical Magical,” to becoming what some say is the Kelly Clarkson male equivalent with his covers, Boone has been making waves. He’s been hated, he’s been loved, and what makes Boone stand out so much (at least, to me) is his nonchalant attitude towards his fame. In TikToks and interviews, it’s easy to see that Boone is just having fun with the exposure he gets. His socially awkward personality, juxtaposed with a loud stage presence, is so charming to me.
However, I wasn’t always charmed by Boone. I have to admit I was a participant on the hate train in the past…
The first time I heard the name Benson Boone was during a swim lesson I was teaching in the fall of 2024. One of my kids heard “Beautiful Things” playing over the pool speakers during her private lesson, and started getting really excited about it, going so far as to tell me she was going to a Benson Boone concert. Up to this point, I had only heard the song played so many times that I wanted to rip my ears out, and hadn’t even heard the singer’s name. Benson Boone, I thought to myself, who the h*ll is that?
Oh, past me, if you could see me now.
So, as any reasonable high school senior does, I poked fun at the kid, making fun of her for liking music like that. She thought I was funny, and now I’m sitting here typing this, wondering how ecstatic she would be at the amount of times I’ve watched the TikTok of Boone singing “My Way.” The answer is: a lot.
I pretty much forgot about Boone for like, a year and a half, and then this summer, his song “Mystical Magical” got super popular and I got to hear “moooonbeam iceeeecream” all over my TikTok feed. Coincidentally, this summer I was also working as a lifeguard at my local pool, and all my work friends hated that song. I am nothing if not someone who succumbs to peer pressure, and so, I, too, hated “Mystical Magical,” and that was that.
In late August, TikTok edits of the end of “Mystical Magical” started to pop up all over my For You Page (FYP). I was annoyed at first, breaking the fourth wall by rolling my eyes as if my friends at work would somehow see me keeping up with the hate train, and then, my annoyance turned into something… else.
I found myself getting the urge to pop my shoulder at the tune I was hearing. I wanted to dance. I told myself no, and that I didn’t like Benson Boone’s music, and yet, every time I got another edit, I would get Boone stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Exposure therapy, I guess.
I was distraught. My whole identity of being a Boone hater (with literally two insubstantial points of evidence, mind you) was falling apart. I was becoming a Benson Boone… fan.
When Boone began touring for his album American Heart, covers he did of other artists’ songs began popping up on not only my TikTok FYP, but also my Instagram feed, YouTube suggestions, and every other social media platform. I was being haunted, and yet, I was enjoying it. The covers Boone sings are really freaking good. Like, genuinely, the vocals this strange man has are absurd, and his released music doesn’t showcase how unbelievably good his voice is. He’s brought tears to my eyes with his renditions of “Sparks,” “Somewhere Only We Know,” and “Rolling in the Deep.”
About two weeks ago, I went into a research spiral about Boone’s life, music, and overall silliness. And what can I say? There’s no more lying behind false hatred (I’m so sorry to my coworkers, please don’t disown me), I have to admit it with my full chest: Benson Boone has charmed me.
And if that isn’t mystically magical, then I don’t know what is.