‘I see you winning American Idol if you want,” judge Katy Perry told Benson Boone when he was on the show in 2021. He pulled out of the running, not wanting to be known for being a talent show winner, but fame was written in the stars regardless. Soon he had viral tracks on TikTok and had been taken under the wing of Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, who mentored him on how to write songs and signed him to his Warner imprint.
These are early days for Boone and tonight, the sold-out UK date on his first world tour is a solid display of his straightforward commercial appeal and strong vocal ability. There is no obvious marketing shtick or sorrowful backstory but the class he’s entering doesn’t require those: he’s an everyman musician in the vein of a Lewis Capaldi or Hozier, all blustery vocals and heartfelt, digestible ideas with pianos and guitars as sidekicks.
He emerges for a pitch-perfect run-through of his small discography that includes his global hit and UK No 1 Beautiful Things. Much to the delight of the largely female audience he looks like Paul Mescal dressed as Mario, in white dungarees, topped with spirals of curly hair and a tiny moustache. The night is ultimately pleasant, all chirpy chat about the weather and his friends and his signature backflips, though there is one glaring miss: the band’s wall of sound doesn’t allow for much stripped-back showcasing of his full-bodied voice, the instrument his songs are clearly built around.
He and his best friend grew up as big One Direction fans, which makes sense considering the palatability of his offering. Boone is a strong live performer you feel you’ve seen and heard before. But in his soft attitude, similar vocal performance and cocksure movements, Boone is undeniably reminiscent of Harry Styles. In that sense, given that he is as young as Styles was when he was in 1D, there is plenty of space for individuation and truly beautiful things to emerge.
