Before becoming a pop sensation, singer-songwriter Benson Boone was a contestant on the singing competition American Idol in 2021. After making it to the top 24, he left the show and decided to begin releasing his own music in late 2021.
Since 2021, he’s signed a record deal with Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds. Now releasing music under Night Street Records, Boone continuously releases singles.
One of his singles, “Beautiful Things,” has exploded in popularity online after going viral shortly after its release. Following its popularity, the song has spent six consecutive weeks on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart reaching as high as number three.
To promote “Beautiful Things,” Boone sent PR packages including posters and bookmarks to high school journalism publications around the country, including ours.
Following this, Boone released his debut album, “Fireworks & Rollerblades,” on April 5. The album describes the ups and downs of love, loss and everything in between. It is a short and sweet album displaying the full capacity of Boone’s vocal range.
The first song, “Intro,” introduces you to the nostalgic radio pop vibe that the album follows. The song starts with a slow tempo before speeding up and becoming a sweet song. While short, the song makes us wonder if he’s trying to find closure through his music.
The second song, “Be Someone,” continues straight from the end of the “Intro” into a more fleshed-out pop song. It feels like a summer love song straight from the radio, making you imagine you’re driving in the summer with the windows rolled down and the radio blaring.
The following two songs, “Slow It Down” and “Beautiful Things,” were both singles previously released before becoming part of the album.
“Slow It Down” describes the feelings of drowning and hopelessness, while learning how to navigate these feelings with someone you love.
In the end, he perfectly ties in the title of his album in the heartbreaking song “Hello Love.”
The most emotional song, though, was “My Greatest Fear.” It has a different level of emotional depth that all of the others simply lacked.
Lyrics describe him fearing death and fearing what he can’t control. Boone lets down his guard and gets vulnerable to his audience.
The album has a very cohesive sound throughout. While the subject matter of each song varies, it all gets tied together by the accompanying instrumentals.
Yet while the songs were good, it almost felt as if Boone made music for social media and the radio. Nothing made the songs particularly stand out. At one point, it felt as if all the songs were repetitive.
After listening to the whole album, you could tell who Benson Boone was as a singer-songwriter.
The album acted as an introduction to the type of artist he is and what music he inspired to make, which might be catchy to influencers and radio listeners, but fell short in my book.
