An Interview with Benson Boone: Before he Blew Up
"It's hard and you you everything you have”
Photo: Dennis Leupold
"Five years ago, I didn't actually even know I could sing," he says. "It's just Happened so fast." Grammy Nominated Benson Boone talks to us about the rapid rise to pop stardom and his journey to get here.
We caught up with the (at the time) emerging artist from Monroe, Washington, at Irving Plaza – a venue much smaller than those he plays now. "It's hard and you have to understand that if you don't give it everything you have, you can't expect to have a crazy outcome". This mantra, as Benson Boone explains, has become the guiding principle of his burgeoning music career. "Life is so short and you don't have very much time to be young and to like go out and do what you want."
Benson Boone’s journey into music is a testament to embracing the unexpected. "I got into music about three years ago by signing up for Battle of the Bands, my senior year of high school," he recalls. "And I thought I was gonna play the piano, but our singer quit and I tried singing and it worked. So here we are."
This seemingly accidental discovery ignited a passion within him. "I kind of grew up more on the outdoors side of things," he admits. "I never really tried singing as a kid. It wasn't ever something I considered." However, as he began to explore his voice, things quickly accelerated. "I started posting videos on social media, and that's kind of when things started to pick up," he explains. This online presence caught the attention of American Idol, leading to an unexpected opportunity.
Benson shares his experience with the show: "They were like, hey, we'd love for you to, like be on the show and try out for American Idol. And I was like, cool. I'd never really watched the show, but I did it. I auditioned and I made it through. And I went pretty far in the competition." However, he made a pivotal decision: to step away from the show. "I didn't feel right about it," he explains. "I didn't know if like, if that's what I wanted to do the rest of my life." This self-reflection proved to be a turning point.
"Shortly after Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons reached out and asked if I wanted to write music with him," Benson recalls. "And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna start writing my own music and I'm just gonna, I'm gonna give it everything I got."
Benson Boone’s musical influences are a diverse blend of classic and contemporary artists. "Growing up, I mostly listened to older music," he shares. "A lot of Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, like Earth, Wind, Fire." He continues, "And then when I was a teenager, like getting into high school, I listened to a lot of Adele and Sam Smith, Dean Lewis, and a lot of artists like that. So I think my musical background is mostly like pop soul and that's kind of where I've also taken my music, so I guess it makes sense."
And it started pretty slowly
Oh, when you asked about the old me
Oh, is he gone? Oh, is he gone? Oh, I don't know
I think I left him somewhere I no longer go
And I watch you run away now
From all the lovely things we hate now
Where did we go? Where did we go? Oh, I don't know
But I know it feels like somewhere far away from home
Benson Boone (Pretty Slowly)
For Benson, songwriting is a deeply personal process. "If you don't have any life that's being lived, you can't write about anything," he emphasizes. "And so I do like to, you know, every couple weeks, every couple months, have a week off or two weeks off to go out with my friends and just be somewhere in the world. so that when I go to the studio, I have things to write about and experiences to write about and people to write about."
He highlights two songs as particularly significant: "In the Stars" and "Coffee Cake." "In the Stars" is a poignant tribute to his great grandmother. "When I wrote that song, I was kind of in a place where like, I didn't know what to write my songs about," he explains. "And I thought of my great grandmother. And the last couple of years of her life, she lived really close to us. So I saw her every day." The song, he reveals, became a cathartic experience: "Once we like really just dove into the emotions of her being gone, That is kind of what helped me get over that experience."
Reflecting on his journey, Benson acknowledges the rapid ascent of his career. "Five years ago, I didn't actually even know I could sing," he says. "It's just so fast." While the whirlwind experience can be overwhelming, he remains grounded and focused on his goals. "I have a lot of things I want to do and a lot of goals," he shares. "I want to sell out Madison Square Garden. I want to buy my parents a house. I want to buy my parents cars. I want to be able to support all my sisters."
Benson’s message to aspiring artists is clear: "Give it everything you have." He understands that the journey is not always glamorous. "A lot of people just see the best things that I do," he explains. "They just see like when I'm on stage and you know when I have a big video or when I have a big song and those moments are incredible but also…that's not all I do." Despite the challenges, he remains excited for the future: "It 100 million percent pays off. And so I'm just excited to keep going and see where things go."
Benson Boone's music is available on all major streaming platforms.
