Benson Boone's Favorite Hobby Proves He's a Thrill Seeker On and Off the Stage
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'Beautiful Things' singer Benson Boone has a new album out called American Heart.
The 22-year-old Grammy nominee didn't discover his singing talent until his junior year of high school.
When he's not making music, Boone spends his time cliff jumping and enjoying a sober lifestyle.
If his platinum-certified debut album from 2024 is any indication, Benson Boone is about to crash the charts again. His new album, American Heart, released Friday.
The 22-year-old musician has previously said the 10-track record is heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen and Americana music. He's out to prove there's much more to his artistry than the ubiquitous hit 'Beautiful Things.' The No. 2 single propelled Boone to superstardom and helped him earn a 2025 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
'I think I'm getting to the point where I just want people to know that there's more than just that song,' he told Rolling Stone in March. 'I think I'm a little past that point. But of course I still love the song. I'm still proud of it. And I'll be performing it for a while, so I hope that feeling sticks around.'
It remains to be seen if any American Heart singles—such as 'Mystical Magical', which features interpolations from the late singer and actor Olivia Newton-John—will reach the same heights. However, Boone is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in music following his recent meteoric rise.
Here are a few things you might not know about Boone's rapid success.
Perhaps not surprising given his on-stage theatrics (see his front flip off a piano at the Grammys), Boone first showed promise as an athlete. Boone, the middle of five siblings who was born in June 2002, performed aerial stunts from a very young age. 'When he was probably 3 years old, we just could never stop from having him do backflips off the couch or flips wherever he could,' his father, Nate, recalled.
Boone later competed as a diver at Monroe High School in Washington. He was pretty good, too, earning a sixth-place finish at the 2020 state championships.
However, Boone's musical talent was an unexpected discovery. According to the Everett Daily Herald, he was a junior when a friend asked him to play piano and sing for a battle of the bands competition. Turns out his voice was made for the stage. As a senior, he played main character Buddy in a school production of Elf: The Musical.
Boone graduated in 2020 and attended college for one semester but dropped out to focus on his new passion.
Like many other aspiring music stars, Boone tried out for the reality TV competition American Idol. His Season 19 audition impressed judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry. 'I see American Idol, and I see you, and I see you winning American Idol if you want to,' Perry told him.
While Boone, then only 18, was clearly an early favorite, we'll never know the true accuracy of Perry's vision. Not wanting to be forever associated with the show, Boone bet on himself and dropped out after reaching the top 24.
In a recent interview, Boone revealed he spoke to Perry earlier this year about his decision to walk away. 'She was like really happy for me, also really worried about me. I think she understands that when you're starting to go through all this, there's just a lot of hate coming your way, a lot of people that want things from you,' he told The Scott Mills Breakfast Show. 'So, she was more just checking in on me. She was like, 'Leaving that show was like the best thing you ever did.''
Boone built a large following by posting clips of his music on TikTok, where he now has more than 8.9 million followers. Although you might say his biggest 'believer' is Dan Reynolds, frontman for the Grammy-winning rock band Imagine Dragons.
Reynolds, 37, reached out to Boone via Instagram after his exit from American Idol and offered to work with him. 'I had never written any of my own music, so I flew out to Vegas for like three days to work with him,' Boone recalled. 'At the end of that, he said he really liked working with me and he really liked my personality, and so I literally packed up and moved to Vegas the next day. It was crazy! But yeah, he, like, has been my mentor through all of this.'
The star vocalist went a step further—Reynolds helped Boone earn a record deal with his label Night Street Records in 2021. 'We sign artists so rarely at Night Street—it was one of those moments where you know you have no choice,' Reynolds told Billboard. The emerging artist's first single with label was 'Ghost Town.'
Boone's ascent continued from there, with 'Beautiful Things' becoming a global sensation in 2024. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, setting a record with its 55-week climb to the top spot. Even sweeter, the hit song helped him land one of his biggest gigs yet as an opener on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour this past June.
The thrill of performing for thousands of screaming fans still isn't enough for Boone. In his down time, the singer enjoys the extreme sport of cliff jumping.
Although he's normally diving into bodies of water, he isn't too picky about his leaping locales. Large buildings will also suffice, as when Boone jumped from the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2022—a plunge of 629 feet! Don't worry; he was tethered the entire time and completely safe.
'Maybe a part of me has a death wish, and I just don't know that part of me yet, because I don't want to die,' he told iHeartRadio in 2022. 'I really like Earth.'
In addition to satisfying his need for an adrenaline rush, the activity helps Boone prepare for the stage, which he says provides a similar yet 'elevated' feeling. 'It's like a challenge to me, like how big can I make this song, how good can I hit, like how high can I go on this note?' he said.
Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boone was instructed to abstain from substances including drugs and alcohol. Although he has distanced himself from the faith, Boone said this March he still maintains a sober lifestyle as a personal choice.
Listen to American Heart on Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify
'I have such an addictive personality,' Boone told Rolling Stone. 'I feel like if I started, I would do it so much that my health would just decline, and I wouldn't enjoy touring as much.'
Boone was also taught to avoid hot drinks, according to Mormon tenets, but admitted to trying coffee on outings with his girlfriend, TikTok influencer Maggie Thurmon. He isn't a fan and compared the taste to 'burnt wood.' Ouch.
If you needed any more proof of Boone's massive appeal, look at the blink-and-miss-it ticket sales for his 2025 North American tour. The string of 34 shows—which begin August 22 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and run through November—sold out in only 9 seconds (!) earlier this year. So, it looks like you're limited to the resale market if you want to see him live.
Boone is currently prepping for the tour by following a consistent workout regimen, eating healthier, and undergoing vocal training. 'I'm gonna work on my voice and make sure I'm singing healthy, and I feel like I'm gonna be, like, physically very ready for this tour,' he told MTV.
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