American Idol has been known to boost singers to stardom like, Kelly Clarkson, Lauren Alaina, Carrie Underwood, Phillip Phillips, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, and Scotty McCreery. After doing well at his American Idol audition, it looked like eighteen-year-old singer Benson Boone was bound for stardom as well. That was until Hollywood Week rolled around and the singer was nowhere to be seen. Weeks later, he announced on his Instagram that he was not continuing the show and had dropped out of the competition. Many fans were saddened by this, especially considering the comments Katy Perry had made at his audition including, “I see you winning American Idol,” and getting three yesses from the judge’s and his golden ticket to Hollywood.

After his departure from “Idol”, Boone went on to model and post travel photos on his Instagram before returning to the music scene during the summer of 2021. He teased a new song with a video of him singing in a studio asking fans what he should name the track.  The clip of the song got a lot of buzz on TikTok, thanks to Benson’s large following on the app, where he would usually sing or post comedic videos. With fans making videos, “Ghost Town” blew up pretty quickly and got pushed out to more people. Officially released on October 15^th, 2021, “Ghost Town” is a relatable heartbreak song that Benson wrote after watching one of his friends go through a toxic relationship.

In late January he went to TikTok and Instagram again to tease a clip of another new song. Fans went crazy for it, and around two weeks later, on February 18^th, he dropped the song, “Room For 2”.  More of a love song, in “Room for 2” Boone struggles and tells his love that he can be there for them and has room for two in his heart. The song is doing well, although Boone is not doing as much promotion for it as “Ghost Town”.  Fans are definitely still loving it as evidenced by the 1.4 million views on YouTube.

In late April, Benson began teasing a new song, “In the Stars”. This song, in particular, is different from his others he’s previously released as it is about grief and losing a loved one. The song officially released April 29^th on all streaming platforms. In Benson’s Instagram after the song released, he explained the writing process as, “…trying to help me get over the loss of someone I was very close with, but instead it helped me feel at peace with it.” He goes on to further explain that the song means a lot to him and hopes fans enjoy this little piece of his heart that comes through in vulnerability of the song. The cover art for song “In the Stars” was actually drawn by Benson himself as well, he’s definitely artistically talented in more than one way.

Although he didn’t take his chance on American Idol, Benson Boone is now becoming a well-known name on TikTok and the music industry all on his own, proving that the internet itself has the power to boost one to stardom. .Follow Benson on Instagram and TikTok to see where his musical journey goes next: @bensonboone.