You’d think Benson Boone would be on top of the world.
He’s had a huge hit album, “Fireworks and Rollerblades,” for almost 18 months with his massive chart song, “Beautiful Things.” He’s selling out tours, backflipping and cartwheeling like an Olympic tumbler over the place.
But the album and single are old now, and it’s time for new music. That’s where the trouble comes in.
On Friday, Benson dropped a new single called “Mystical Magical.” It’s third single he’s released since last summer away from his album. And it’s a flop.
“M&M” was preceded by two singles. The most recent, called “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else,” has sold a healthy but not great 400,000 copies all from streaming. It’s never been a radio or charted very high after its initial impact.
The prior single just died.
The “Mystical Magical” video has about 2.3 million since its release last Friday. That’s not a lot but it’s better than nothing. It’s obviously nowhere near “Beautiful Things,” still in the iTunes top 20. “M&M” is stuck at number 15.
The record is only two minutes, forty six seconds. It’s surprisingly short. The lyrics are simple. Benson is singing about very little of import.
The chorus goes: Once you know what my love’s gonna feel like
Nothing else will feel right
You can feel like
Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans
Benson is 22 years old. But imagine if those lyrics wound up in a dark alley with lyrics from past 22 year olds like James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, or Jackson Browne. Or Elvis Costello. They wouldn’t make it out the other side.
So what is Benson Boone supposed to be about? Doing shirtless gymnastics while eating moonbeam ice cream?
I always wonder why one hit wonders are born that way, Think of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” Or Vanessa Charlton’s “A Thousand Miles.” That was it. “Beautiful Things” may be their offspring.
Benson’s new album, “American Heart,” will be revealed in June. Let’s hope it’s not a broken heart. So far, his new promo picture shows a formerly svelte Boone shirtless and gaunt a la Jesus with an American flag instead of cross.
