Benson Boone has been riding high for over a year with one hit single, “Beautiful Things.”
The histrionic Queen-like record has been a mainstay on the top 10 and on radio forever, it seems. It won’t go away.
“Beautiful Things” finally made Boone’s album, “Fireworks and Rollerblades,” go top 20. But it never produced a follow up hit. “Beautiful Things” just kept sucking up the oxygen.
Boone, meantime, became famous for acrobatic flips and not wearing a shirt.
Now tonight his new album, “American Heart,” arrives after midnight. It has only 10 tracks. Three of them are already failed singles: “Momma’s Song,” “Mystical Magical,” and “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else.” Two more — including “Mr. Electric Blue” — are known to his fans. That’s half of the album already exposed.
Can “American Heart” overcome the success of “Beautiful Things?” After the first flush tonight, will fans give the five other songs a chance? Or this going to be an uphill battle?
Many pop stars have had this problem. Miley Cyrus’s new album is a total flop. Her last one, which included mega hit “Flowers,” was huge. But this time around, Miley has gone begging for sales.
There are also many hundreds of one off singles like “Beautiful Things.” Carly Jepsen had a transcendent hit, for example, with “Call Me Maybe.” Like “Beautiful Things,” “Call Me” was everywhere. But then, nothing. That was it.
Right now, you can hear Vanessa Carlton’s 2002 hit, “A Thousand Miles,” on commercials day and night. It was her only significant hit. The same can be said for Lorde, whose song “Royals” induced the same fate.
So let’s see if Boone’s five new songs can turn the tide for him. He’s a good singer and writer, so that’s not the issue. But “Beautiful Things” — which has no doubt brought him beautiful things — may be an albatross that can’t be loosened.
